CGAPYoung entrepreneurs will be more likely to succeed if they are provided with integrated services that empower them with the technical know-how to put their business ideas into practice, the business acumen and soft skills to make that practice profitable and the financial savvy to identify and leverage financial services that will allow them to
AccionGlobal nonprofit Accion announced that its seed-stage investment initiative Accion Venture Lab is adding $33M to its initial capital pool, with the launch of a new $23M fund and an additional, separate $10M investment from Accion. The new fund brings together a group of third-party impact and commercial investors that share Venture Lab’s commitment to
AccionDestacame, an online platform—and Accion partner—through which consumers manage and build their financial health—is speaking about the important role data plays in opening doors for the underserved. The platform analyzes alternative data to create credit profiles for each user, which they package accessibly, in order to empower customers to understand their finances, access appropriate services,
CGAPBy pooling resources, cloud providers allow financial institutions to avoid the heavy investments otherwise needed to store, manage, and process data by storing, managing, and processing this data over the internet. But the cloud comes with risks as CGAP notes in its recent evaluation “Regulator’s Friend or Foe?” Read more
AFRAFR and FSD Africa, through Umutanguha Finance Company and MTN Rwanda, have developed and launched a savings and loan product that responds to the needs of refugees and their host communities in Rwanda. Read more
MercyCorps AFAMercyCorps’ AgriFin Accelerate program worked with the Zambia National Commercial Bank, as an innovation partner by developing a farmer-centric product and business modeling as well as brokering partnerships to launch AgriPay, a mobile-based platform that provides a holistic customer value proposition for smallholder farmers. Read more
DFIThe emergence of Fintech lenders has created a rift and a warzone between traditional lenders and fintech lenders, with banks and credit unions questioning the adequacy and authenticity of the data being used by Fintech lenders to give credit to the marginalized. From a design thinking and even the processes perspective, Fintechs have availed ubiquitous,
DFIWalking along the streets of Lusaka Zambia, you see mobile money kiosks on almost every corner of popular streets. The roads are filled with numerous kiosks that offer various mobile money services to people around the premises. The kiosks are usually manned by friendly young women who are always ready to offer money transfer, deposit
GSMASub-Saharan Africa: The enduring epicentre of mobile money—Part 1 discusses how, while the adoption of mobile money has grown across the globe, sub-Saharan Africa maintains the lead in both adoption and use. And Part 2 looks at the future of mobile money listing the key areas of future growth in sub-Saharan Africa. Read more
GSMATo support the industry with inclusive innovations, the GSMA are committing to a bold new endeavour shaped by experimentation and a willingness to take risks. With a team of dedicated ‘technopreneurs’, the Lab will take a hands-on approach to research, test and develop the inclusive technologies of the future. Read more