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Pay-As-You-Go Solar Power Takes Off in Africa
In Kenya the cell phone is being used to transform the way that people consume energy. M-KOPA Solar – the word 'kopa' is Swahili for 'borrowed' – is a Nairobi-based business that has pioneered the idea of "pay-as-you-go" solar energy in Africa.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments, solar
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This New Messaging App Has a Built-in Wallet That Lets You Send Money to Your Friends
Did you ever text a coffee to your buddy? Now you can with this new app. Created in the Philippines, Cheers is the first social messaging app that’s built around a mobile wallet.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
- Tags
- digital payments
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Safaricom Will Reduce Investment if Kenyan Regulators Move to Limit Its Dominance
Safaricom Ltd. will cut its planned $400 million investment in East Africa’s biggest economy this year if Kenyan regulators impose penalties on the wireless carrier to limit its market dominance, its chief executive officer said.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Smart ATMs Allow Mobile Money Transactions in Zimbabwe
Smart cash machines installed by Steward Bank, which is controlled by Zimbabwe's Econet Wireless, will allow mobile money users to make cardless transactions and airtime top-ups for account holders with other banks.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- digital payments
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The Secrets to Closing a $100m Venture Capital Funding Deal
London-based online money transfer business WorldRemit has closed a funding round worth $100m, backed by Technology Crossover Ventures and prior investor Accel Partners.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Europe & Eurasia
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Half the World’s Banks Could Disappear, and Most of the Branches
Banks have three to five years to get their digital act together before they enter a spiral of decline, according to a paper by McKinsey & Company. This view was echoed by BBVA chairman and CEO Francisco Gonzalez, who told media and analysts at the announcement of BBVA’s latest results that up to half the world’s banks could slip through the cracks as digital transformation takes hold.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Tags
- digital payments
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Africa Tech Trends: The Age of Start-Up Accelerators
Start-up accelerators are common in Europe and the United States, where the likes of Y Combinator and Startupbootcamp have emerged as leaders in the model and have offered hundreds of start-ups both equity funding and mentorship to assist them in scaling. But in Africa the concept is still very young, having only really arrived in 2012.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Mexican Banks Using Mobile Payments Technology to Enable Digital Transactions at Mom-and-Pop Stores
In a bid to increase card payments and financial inclusion, Mexican banks are collaborating with mobile payments technology vendors to deploy mPOS solutions at mom-and-pop stores. The Mexican government encourages these initiatives, as around 70 percent of all purchases in Mexico are made with cash and the informal economy represents 30 percent of GDP.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Latin America
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