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Countries around the world could adopt their own digital currency yet there is still work to be done by central banks to weigh up the risks and benefits.
The research assessed newspaper coverage of fintech in Kenya, Uganda and South Africa.
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Coverage is celebratory and offers limited cautionary and critical reporting to the public and to policymakers.
Mobile operators also offer money sending and receiving services.
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The outcomes of increased financial inclusion in Ghana have been mixed
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Women’s Day is used to draw attention to the issues women still face in South Africa.
‘Are you sure you don’t want more?’
Alex Segre
Illegal money lending has almost certainly become a bigger problem during the cost of living crisis.
The Bank of England has new plans for a digital pound.
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The UK economy could benefit from a digital pound, but is there a role for crypto?
Farmers in India are among communities around the world hit hard by unscrupulous microlending.
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Market-led microcredit innovations dominated by profit maximisation can harm the very vulnerable.
Financial systems have evolved to allow contactless payments but people who cannot use digital services are being left behind.
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Not only are physical banks out of reach, people also face barriers to using digital financial services.
A Ugandan woman sending money by phone. Godong/Universal Images Group via.
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E-payments make it easy for banks to keep trail of transactions because they are recorded in real time.
Uganda is heavily reliant on foreign financial aid.
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It’s individuals, communities, and institutions who build the necessary confidence to pursue complex and challenging solutions to their problems.
A woman places her mobile phone over credit card reader at grocery store checkout counter.
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The FinTech ecosystem in Ghana provided the basis for understanding how various actors work together to shape financial inclusion.
A woman running her stall on Vilakazi Street, Orlando West. Soweto, Johannesburg.
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South Africa has a huge gender gap in terms of policies and interventions that would help women entrepreneurs.
Children in a classroom in Gondar in the Amhara Region. Ethiopia has signed a deal to register 5 million school children using blockchain.
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It’s time to shift focus away from bitcoin and to pay more attention to other blockchain projects promising to make real contributions to the world.
Banks must innovate to include financially vulnerable people.
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Banks can deploy artificial intelligence to create an understanding of current and prospective consumers and develop products that meet their needs.
Ghana is in the throes of a mobile money boom.
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An attempt to prevent fraud in Ghana’s burgeoning mobile money sector could be a setback for access to financial services.
Financial inclusion in Nigeria must target smallholder farmers.
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Sustainable financial inclusion in Nigeria requires interventions that strengthen financial capability, participation and well-being of small-scale farmers.
A closed mobile money kiosk in Harare. Up to 50,000 small agents are affected countrywide.
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Stringent restrictions could stifle innovation among mobile money operators and hinder access to financial services.
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More financial services should target low-income households in South Africa.
Women smallholder farmers contribute significantly to the Nigerian economy.
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Nigeria needs to adopt gender specific strategies to financially include women smallholders in agriculture.
Taking a loan has never been easier thanks to the proliferation of mobile lending platforms.
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Mobile loan platforms have given Kenyans access to easy loans, but they come at a high price.