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Viewpoint: Don’t write off India’s payments banks
The withdrawal of three licencees should not be read as a doomsday omen for the idea and underlying rationale. It is too early to write off a well-intentioned idea that puts change and innovation before incumbency. Rather, these withdrawals should be seen as signaling the need for introspection and course-correction to adapt to the fast-changing, competitive landscape of India’s banking and payments sector.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Africa: First Lady Roots for Social Entrepreneurship
First Lady Jeannette Kagame has said social entrepreneurship can be one of Africa's most befitting avenues for economic transformation of the continent. The First Lady said social entrepreneurship provide optimal responses to the most pressing needs of societies, such as empowering men and women to make good use of their potential and design creative solutions, to positively impact lives around them.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Three Ways to Optimize the Smartphone Experience for the Next Billion Users
Across emerging markets, smartphone adoption is predicted to outpace bank accounts by the end of the year, opening up an increasingly clear opportunity for more multifaceted financial services. However, a range of technical constraints still hold some users back. Here are three ways to optimize for a more inclusive future.
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- Technology
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An Economist Who Helps Women Help Themselves
The Life of Science – Cells, electrons or chemical bonds are not on her mind. Hemlata Manglani is a different kind of scientist – she observes the deposits in bank accounts of women in India.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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Can Cash Lead the Revolution That the Humanitarian System So Badly Needs?
Recently, in a Liberian refugee camp, I met Christelle, a young mother who was recovering from the violence and insecurity in her home country of Côte d'Ivoire. In our discussions, she didn`t want to talk about her needs for shelter, psychosocial support, or the any of the humanitarian challenges I had come prepared to discuss. Instead, Christelle spoke of the unfamiliar food she had been given during an aid distribution, and the lack of options to feed her children. “My children are getting sick. I don’t know how to cook this, I need rice - please,” she said.
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- Uncategorized
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Report: Microfinance Institution Gross Loan Portfolio Grows 84% In Q4 in India
Microfinance institutions saw their aggregate gross loan portfolio grow 85 per cent year-on-year to Rs 53,233 crore in the fourth quarter of 2015-16, an industry study said on Wednesday.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- South Asia
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MasterCard Commits Up to $1 Million to Advance Financial Inclusion in Rwanda
The MasterCard Centre for Inclusive Growth has committed up to $1 million over the next three years in order to advance economic growth and financial inclusion in Rwanda. The funds will be used to deliver a holistic mix of tools and resources, providing an opportunity to connect micro-entrepreneurs in Rwanda to the formal economy. This will help them to expand their business.
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- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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The Unstoppable Rise of Fintech Is Rapidly Changing the Way Africans Transact
Africa is fertile ground for new fintech services which are leveraging the power of communities and social media to make financial services more relevant, while using data to deliver more meaningful financial services on an ongoing basis.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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