NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Kopo Kopo Helps Bring Mobile Microfinance to Sierra Leone

Kopo Kopo, a software company that operates a services platform connecting mobile money to microfinance institutions, has partnered withHope Micro and Splash Mobile Money to bring mobile financial services to the country. Hope Micro customers will now be able to repay their loans via Splash Mobile Money, a service that allows users on the top three mobile networks to load cash onto their phones, send money, pay bills, withdrawcash, and buy goods. As a result, Hope Micro customers n...

Source

Mobile-Financial.com (link opens in a new window)

Categories

Uncategorized

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Chevron foundation, USAID give Nigeria $50M

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) - Chevron Corp.’s foundation and USAID are to pour $50 million into Nigeria’s impoverished delta where militants have kidnapped foreign oil workers and demanded that more oil profits come back to the region, the U.S. oil giant said Thursday. Chevron’s Niger Delta Partnership Initiative and the U.S.-government funded USAID will each invest $25 million toward the development of the region over the next four years. The money will support programs desig...

Source

Associated Press (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Ethiopia Launches Industry Extension Service Package Targeting SMEs

In an attempt to replicate success stories from its ’Agriculture Extension Program’, which has been showing some good results in changing the lives of poor farmers, the Ethiopian government launched today ’Industry Extension Service’ package targeting urban Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs). Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions will provide the new service package, which targets solving all the major headaches of SMEs...

Source

New Business Ethiopia (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

From Reeds to Roads: Bamboo Bikes in Ghana

When Columbia University professor John Mutter went to Ghana in 2007, he noticed how necessary a reliable source of transportation was to people’s livelihoods and wellbeing. "You can’t go to any of the poorer countries in Africa and not be struck by how many people get around by walking or bicycling," said Mutter. With roads in generally poor condition, it can take a long time to get from place to place, he said. Even the seemingly simple task of getting cash crops to mark...

Source

PBS Newshour (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Nigeria: Global Malaria Control – It’s Time to Cast Down the Net

Maybe as her own demonstration of love during the Valentine season, the First Lady of Nigeria - Dame Patience Jonathan on Sunday February 13, 2011 turned a portion of Aso Rock into a repository for insecticide-treated nets (ITNs) that were subsequently distributed to some categories of Nigerian women. Her love gift is one out of the numerous efforts by various individuals, groups, communities, societies, agencies, governments, stakeholders and non stakeholders alike, in the fight agains...

Source

allAfrica.com (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Zimbabwe: Fewer Extramarital Partners and Dollars Push Precipitous Decline in H.I.V. Rate

Defying expectations in a region devastated by AIDS , rates of H.I.V. infection in Zimbabwe have fallen precipitously in the last decade. In 1997, an estimated 29 percent of adults were infected. A decade later, 16 percent were. The basic explanation is simple, according to ...

Source

The New York Times (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Rwanda: Bloodless male circumcision to boost HIV prevention

The Rwandan government plans to expand its national voluntary male circumcision programme using a new device, the PrePex system, which officials say saves both time and money. The PrePex system works through a special elastic mechanism that fits closely around an inner ring, trapping the foreskin, which dries up and is removed after a week. A study conducted by the Rwandan Ministries of Defence and Health in 2010 found the device to be safe and effective. "Yo...

Source

IRIN Global (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa

Movirtu Awarded Contract with Airtel Madagascar

Movirtu, the leading provider of Mobile Identity Management (MIM) solutions to wireless telecommunication service providers, announced today a contract with Airtel Madagascar to implement the Movirtu Cloud Phone services nationwide in Madagascar. The main channel for purchase will be the Village Phone Operators (VPOs) with whom the service has been piloted. Airtel has a stated goal to attract new subscribers from rural areas in Madagascar. 70% of rural consumers do not have acces...

Source

Neondrum (link opens in a new window)

Region

Sub-Saharan Africa