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India Unseats China as Asia’s Top Fintech Funding Source
Like China, India’s enthusiasm for finance technology is in part a result of the country’s lack of financial infrastructure. Lending startups are gathering steam as they, like their Chinese counterparts, tailor services to the country’s large unbanked and underbanked consumers and enterprises.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital finance, fintech, startups
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Kiva’s Co-Founder Is Joining This Leo DiCaprio-Backed Bank
A wave of tech-centric “neo-banks” have popped up in recent years, usually promising a smoother customer experience marked by lower fees and branch-less, online-oriented services. And some have sought to go even further—differentiating themselves from the competition via a focus on on socially and environmentally conscious values, investments and product offerings.
- Region
- North America
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Bridging the ‘Off-Grid/On-Grid’ Divide: How Grid Integration Can Build the Energy System of the Future
The cost of solar modules has dropped by over 80% since 2009, and it’s estimated that the world’s solar power capacity will triple by 2022, driven in part by off-grid energy. Yet without an effort to make connections between off-grid systems and national grids, the growing global movement toward mini-grid solutions cannot reach its potential, says Tatiana Bessarabova at Endeva. She explores how Endeva, SOLshare and other players in the energy sector are working to make grid integration a reality in Bangladesh.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment
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Gates Foundation’s Mojaloop Finance Code Gains in Africa And Asia
Mojaloop will make payments faster, and through its centralist directory, more secure, said DFS.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology, Telecommunications
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India’s ZestMoney Raises $20m to Grow Its Digital Lending Service
The round is led by Quona Capital, a stealthy Washington-based fund that invests in emerging market fintech and has an office in India.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Africa’s Startup Ecosystems Are at a Major Turning Point
Back in 2015 the then-African Internet Group (now Jumia) would have been among the few African startups worth a closer look from US tech investors for an international play.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- e-commerce, startups
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A Financial Lifeline for Tech Startups: The Value of Bridge Funds in Social Enterprise
Social entrepreneurs working in next-gen tech startups are often well-versed in the intricacies of acquiring early-stage investments. But according to Sahaj Desai, they may be less aware of another type of financing that can be equally vital to their growth: bridge funding. Desai explores the uses and advantages of this funding, and why it can be uniquely valuable to social startups.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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Venture capital funds are starting to make bigger bets on African startups
Funding has long been a challenge for African startups but the tide has started to turn in the last year as the sector heats up and both investors and entrepreneurs start to see some of their long term efforts come to fruition.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- startups, venture capital
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