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Technology is helping middle-class Nigerians turn to farming without getting their hands dirty
More than 80% of farmers in Nigeria are small holder farmers who cultivate a few acres of land to feed their family and also sell produce to earn a living. Yet, while the government has failed—getting middle-class Nigerians to take up farming—thanks to technology, a crop of new agro-tech startups are finding success.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Maisha Becomes First Microfinance Bank in Kenya to Offer Mobile Loans
Maisha MFB becomes the first telco-backed microfinance to launch a savings and mobile money solution in the market and the fourth financial institution, alongside banks like Commercial Bank of Africa (CBA), Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and Equity.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech, lending, microfinance
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New Case Study Details How to Deploy Successful Agency Banking in Africa
Agency banking utilizes a network of local merchants and shopkeepers, in areas where FINCA usually doesn’t have a presence, to provide basic banking services. The agents are equipped with POS (Point of Sale) machines, a portable device that securely connects to FINCA bank accounts through biometric fingerprints.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Hospitals in crisis in Uganda as Middle Eastern countries poach medical staff
Nurses, laboratory technicians and doctors in different fields are being recruited from public health facilities, private hospitals and the not-for-profit sector, with no clear government plan to mitigate the impact on the domestic health sector, medical workers say.
- Categories
- Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Sustainable Investments Are Not Always What They Seem
Developing countries in particular often have informal or incomplete land titling, and lack clear maps of existing individual and community land use, empowered community representation and local government, written contracts in local languages, and clear arbitration procedures.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- ESG, global development
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Kenya: Facebook-Linked Mobile Lender Raises $2M for M-Pesa Loans
Branch, a Facebook-linked mobile phone lending app, has raised 200 million Kenyan shillings ($2M) by issuing a commercial paper. The Silicon Valley start-up will use the funds to grow its loan book.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- fintech
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Ghana Launches Free High School Education
Ghana introduced free compulsory education at the primary and junior high school levels in 1995 as required by the constitution, but implementation took time. It wasn't until 2014 that the World Bank said Ghana had achieved near-universal access at the primary level.
- Categories
- Education
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Africa a guinea pig for the feasibility of digital payment systems
The term “leapfrog” is popular among Africa tech analysts, who point to how the continent embraced mobile phones at a time when few African countries had a properly developed fixed-line network.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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