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Inside fight between Kenya, IMF over financial inclusion
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) insists it will still prescribe painful financial regulations as long as Kenya’s banking system continues to face vulnerabilities.
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- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Nigeria’s Central Bank could hamstring local fintech startups with costly new regulation
In a draft policy document, CBN recognized products by fintech companies are “gaining acceptance” but argued their emergence would heighten existing risks in the financial system.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africans Fear Trend Toward Taxes on Data, Mobile Money
The telecom companies say taxes on mobile payments introduced by a string of countries hurt their revenues and threaten much-needed investment in infrastructure.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Missing Link in the Blockchain: The Need for Trust in a ‘Trustless’ System
Blockchain has become the ultimate tech buzzword, and development organizations are seeking to apply it in projects of every stripe. But as Rose Davis discovered in researching the technology’s social impact applications for Stanford, reliable digital identification is an essential precursor to many blockchain initiatives. Does a distributed ledger that has supposedly transcended the need for centralized oversight actually require some form of verification from trustworthy authorities? And if so, who should provide it? Davis explores these questions in this thought-provoking post.
- Categories
- Technology
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Viewpoint: Tax on internet, mobile cash will dim ‘Silicon Savannah’ dream
Kenya is a rising star in ICT and is fondly referred to as the “Silicon Savannah”. ICT exhibits potential to be a key player in turning around an overburdened economy and could even haul Kenya into industrialisation. Over-taxing it is hardly the way to run around the wheel and reinvent growth.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Zimbabwe is hiking mobile money taxes to plug its fiscal deficit, but it could backfire
In a country with a history of cash shortages, multiple currencies and hyperinflation, mobile money had become a key payment alternative. Cash is hardly ever accessible in Zimbabwe as banks frequently run out of monetary notes, leaving mobile money and bank cards as the only transaction options.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Introducing the Mobile Money Regulatory Index
The Mobile Money Regulatory Index is intended to support dialogue between regulators and mobile money providers on reforms that can promote market growth. For the development community, the Index will help identify subject areas and markets where technical assistance to governments and regulators can have the biggest impact.
- Categories
- Finance
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Moving Past Microfinance: How India’s Small Finance Banks Aim to Take Financial Inclusion to the Next Level
The proliferation of microfinance in India has been a double-edged sword: On the one hand, MFIs have reached customers that most mainstream banks have overlooked. On the other, a lack of clear regulation and oversight has had devastating consequences for some borrowers. But regulators have responded with a new category of financial institution, the “small finance bank.” Andreas Nilsson and Nina Freudenberg of Sonanz explore the evolution of these institutions and whether a wider range of products could also mean deeper social impact.
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- Uncategorized
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