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Nigeria to wield axe on failing mobile money brands
The newspaper tipped the majority of the 21 companies operating services in the country to fall foul of tough new cash requirements. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rules, effective from the end of December 2017, stated operators must have NGN1 billion ($2.8 million) in reserves.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, mobile finance, regulations
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Rwanda becomes first poor country to provide eye care for all
Dr Jennifer Yip, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, explained the vital importance of looking after people’s sight. “Without the resources to access eye care you are significantly more likely to become blind.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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Kenya: Mobile money interoperability to launch in March 2018
Interoperability will also present consumers with choices of services and not being locked into one service or mobile network, given how costly it has been to transfer money between mobile money services.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Everyone’s a winner? How ‘impact investing’ can make money – and do good
Previously the domain of corporations and the wealthy, impact investing is now available to anyone with small amounts of cash to spare - with investments in community cinemas, affordable housing or low cost gyms - from as little as $70.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Impact funding for Kenyan firms set to hit $1.2B
The rise of social impact investors — who invest in firms or projects that will have a wider social impact such as high job creation — is opening up an additional funding stream for start-ups which have traditionally relied on private equity and venture capital funds for financing.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- impact investing, startups
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The Controversial Silicon Valley-funded Quest to Educate the World’s Poorest Kids
Faith works for Bridge International Academies, a Valley-backed chain of schools in Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda, and India.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is paying off Nigeria’s $76 million polio debt
The news comes as Nigeria counts down to becoming polio free and completing another year without the discovery of any new cases. No new cases were recorded in 2017. That’s a far cry from 2012 when Nigeria accounted for more than half of all polio cases worldwide.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- public health
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Fintech startups took nearly a third of all African venture funding in 2017
While fintech is seen as disrupting the traditional financial sector in more advanced economies, in Africa it is bridging gaps that have not been addressed by the banking industry to begin with. Between 2015 and 2017, African fintech startups including names like Flutterwave and Paystack jointly raised more than $100 million.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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