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Viewpoint: RushCard Disruption Reveals Why Prepaid Debit Cards Should Not Exist At All
It’s a sad truth of American life that the poorer you are the more you pay for banking. And as thousands of Americans have discovered this month, it can also be very perilous to live outside the mainstream banking system. But there may be a solution on the horizon – one unused since the 1960s.
- Categories
- Technology
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NexThought Monday – Tech Done Right to Do Good: As The Tech Awards turn 15, how to stay cutting edge in a world of u-turns
Technology is at the heart of many interventions in the lives of the poor and under-served. The Tech Awards celebrate and support these innovations, and will celebrate their 15th anniversary in November. NextBillion is serving as a media partner for the Awards, and Scott Anderson spoke with their director, Leslie Zane, about the past, present and future of the competition, and how it stays cutting edge.
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- Entrepreneurship, NextBillion Originals, Technology
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In India VCs Scramble to Cash in on FinTech Boom, Capitalize on Disruptive Technologies
Venture capital (VC) investments in fintech, or start-ups in the financial technology area, have seen a threefold increase over the last year as investors seek to cash in on potentially disruptive technologies shaping a cashless economy.
- Categories
- Entrepreneurship, Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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This Microfinance Startup Teaches Students in Bangladesh and Africa How to Code
Microfinance loans are small, do not require an extensive credit history, and are just enough to build something basic, like launching a grocery business or buying a taxi. In recent years, they have come to represent a source of salvation for the economically disadvantaged.
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- Education, Entrepreneurship, Technology
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Seven Mobile Wallets Every Indian Should Know About
Today, most people you know are probably using a smartphone, and mobile wallets have also become quite widespread, even if most people use them for a very specific reason. For some, a mobile wallet is just a way to recharge their phone; for others, it's the app they use to refill the taxi money; and a few people have even started using these to buy a drink at Cafe Coffee Day.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Technology to Be Key Enabler of Financial Inclusion: Samit Ghosh
While ten entities are on the cusp of becoming small finance banks, aiming to bring the financially excluded population of the country under the banking purview, technology will be the game changer in the space, said Samit Ghosh, chief executive officer and managing director, Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited.
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- Technology
- Region
- South Asia
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Why the Aid Model is Perverse (Part 2): Tech startup mWater dreaming of the day health and wealth structures are under local control
mWater CEO Annie Feighery says, "We have to keep doing a better job at getting the word out that digital monitoring can help every single aspect of the aid industry do its job better. There are so very many malthusians out there who say things like, 'Technology is not a solution.' Imagine saying that to a librarian organizing card catalogues in 1995. Technology is the solution."
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- Agriculture, Health Care, Technology
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Creating an Exit Strategy for Aid (Part 1): Nonprofit mWater, in striving to eliminate diarrheal disease, runs like a for-profit Silicon Valley startup
The world met the Millennium Development Goal target for water – doubling the number of improved water sources by 2015 – but that accomplishment won't save lives unless those new water sources are safe. Making sure they are is the goal of a nonprofit tech startup, mWater, that's being run like a for-profit tech startup in Silicon Valley.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care, Technology