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Opportunity or Threat: Are Healthy Partnerships Possible Between Digital Financial Services and Microfinance Institutions in Bangladesh?
Microfinance institutions in Bangladesh reach over 32 million customers with a loan portfolio of around US $9 billion. According to Jakirul Islam at Bank Asia, partnerships with digital financial services (DFS) could benefit both microfinance and DFS providers and their customers – but these partnerships are not functioning at their full potential. He shares four key benefits that are driving interest in these collaborations, and explores their inherent challenges – and some partnership models that could address them.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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Nigeria’s Flutterwave Partners Amole to Drive Seamless Remittance and Financial Inclusion in Ethiopia
Nigerian Fintech company, Flutterwave has partnered with Amole, Ethiopia’s largest mobile Digital Wallet platform, to facilitate remittance into Ethiopia.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Congo: REDD+ to Reduce CO2 Emissions and Preserve Forests
Congo has just signed an agreement with the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mastercard and Uber Extend Partnership to Boost Growth of Digital Economy in Middle East and Africa
Mastercard and Uber has announced extending their long-standing partnership with a new strategic initiative focusing on digital payments and advancing financial inclusions, facilitated by Mastercard across the Middle East and Africa (MEA).
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- North Africa & Near East
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In the Race for Dominance in African Fintech, Partnerships With Phone Makers Are Transforming the Landscape
Corporate partnerships and acquisitions have proliferated in Africa's fintech sector in recent years, as companies fight for dominance in the growing digital payment space. Digital economy analyst Jill Lagos Shemin highlights an emerging element of this trend: alliances between mobile phone makers and payment providers and telecom operators. She explores how these partnerships can boost customer access to smartphones and digital credit, while expanding Africa's digital finance ecosystem and building tech players' footprint in this sought-after market.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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Scale up of Healthcare Innovations for Low- and Middle-Income Countries
A strategic Collaborative Agreement to support the scaling up of healthcare innovations in low- and middle-income countries has been signed between the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Development Innovation Alliance (IDIA).
- Categories
- Health Care
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The Shift Toward Partnership: How African Banks Can Gain a Competitive Advantage Through Strategic Alliances
The African banking sector is going through a technological revolution, as fintech firms, mobile money operators and other non-traditional players now provide services that had formerly been reserved for banks. Osahon Akpata at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated explores how strategic partnerships can help banks stay profitable and relevant to their customers amidst this disruption.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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A New Test for Old Technology: How COVID-19 is Sparking Innovation in PayGo Financing for Biodigesters
Biodigesters transform animal manure into high-quality fertilizer and biogas, replacing the need for wood-burning cooking stoves – and PayGo financing enables smallholders to afford them. But as Laura Harwig at Feed the Future explains, COVID-19 has made it harder for farmers to make their payments. She explores how the biodigester company ATEC* has adapted its PayGo model to help farmers weather these challenges.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Coronavirus, Technology
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