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Fintech Services Contribute to Increase in Financial Literacy in India
With nearly 2000 fintech startups in the country, one would imagine India’s financial literacy to be high. Yet, statistics show that despite a population of over 1.3 billion people, about 76% of the adult population still lacks basic financial concepts.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Reaching Informal Savings Groups with Formal Financial Products: A Study’s Unexpected Findings Reveal the Challenges of Digitizing Transactions
Formalizing the financial activities of informal savings groups has long been a priority in financial inclusion. Since 2015, the Savings at the Frontier program has worked to deepen the relationships between these groups and formal financial service providers, on the assumption that this would lead group members to open individual accounts and reap the benefits of digital transactions. But as Raksha Vasudevan explains, the results of a program evaluation have challenged these assumptions. She explores these findings, and their implications for efforts to digitize informal savings groups.
- Categories
- Finance, Impact Assessment, Technology
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Led by Kenya-Based Entrepreneurs Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, Marketforce Closes the Largest Series A Round of Its Kind in East and Central Africa
MarketForce, the Nairobi-headquartered B2B platform for retail distribution of consumer goods and digital financial services in Africa, has announced the closing of a $40 million Series A round.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Asia Pacific
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Malawi Gets $14.2 Million Grant for Financial Digitalisation
The African Development Fund (ADF) and the government of Malawi have signed a grant agreement for $14,2-million to undertake infrastructure upgrades and create a more efficient and transparent digital payment system.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Google’s Africa Investment Fund Makes First Investment in Uganda’s SafeBoda
Internet giant Google announced that it has made the first investment from its Africa Investment Fund in Ugandan super app SafeBoda.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Visa and Belvo Combine Efforts To Develop New Open Finance Capabilities in LataAm
Belvo, the open finance API platform in Latin America has partnered with Visa, the global paytech, to drive open finance in the region. The announcement follows Visa’s investment in Belvo’s Series A funding round which saw $43million raised.
- Categories
- Finance
- Region
- Latin America
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4DX Ventures and Flutterwave Co-invest in Payments Processor CinetPay in Africa
CinetPay, a digital finance platform that enables merchants in Francophone Africa to seamlessly accept and make payments, has announced a $2.4 million seed fundraising round from 4DX Ventures and Flutterwave.
- Categories
- Investing, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Ins and Outs of Launching a Digital Savings Product in Kenya: Regulatory Guidance for Fintech Startups
Kenya is among the most advanced markets in the world in terms of fintech innovation and digital financial services. But according to Abby Butkus at BFA Global's Catalyst Fund, this innovation has yet to extend to digital savings, where the uncertain regulatory environment requires startups to be creative in their approach. She discusses four ways startups are approaching the regulatory process for their digital savings products, and shares a set of guides Catalyst Fund has released to aid founders in navigating the regulatory environments in Kenya and other countries.
- Categories
- Finance, Technology
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