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nouhaila_zaki

The future of Africa's Agriculture rests with the youth | E-Agriculture - 2 views

  • The youth in the study said that their biggest obstacle to a career in farming was learning the digital and technical skills needed in todays’ market. Technologies such as cloud computing, soil sensors, drones have changed food production and processing – digital literacy is now a must!
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This excerpt is important because it emphasizes on how digital literacy could contribute to the creation of jobs in Africa, which are most needed.
  • he second important reasons they raised was land ownership, most youths who receive farming land get smaller pieces of land parceled out. The challenge is that young farmers must produce more yields from smaller spaces, without innovative technologies In some countries for example in Kenya, some youth are innovatively establishing youth-driven innovations which sadly do not receive political or financial support that allows for viability and scalability.
  • Africa is in the height of a crisis and an opportunity. Africa’s population stands at 1,2 billion people and over 60% are below the age of 25. Yet most African youths are not employed, and according to the World Bank by 2035, 350 million new jobs will be needed. Africa’s population is growing faster than jobs are created. There is a potential for agriculture to create employment, however, African youths in Sub-Saharan Africa do not realize agriculture as a profitable opportunity for livelihood. There is a growing notion that the best way to entice young people back to the farms is through making youths access information and communication technologies tailored for agriculture.
nouhaila_zaki

What Kenya's mobile money success could mean for the Arab world - 1 views

  • For a successful model, the Arab World can look to Kenya’s development of mobile money or “M-Pesa”. In many ways, the elements that lead to M-Pesa’s success in Kenya are already present in the Arab World. Young people in MENA are digitally savvy, are active on social media and are some of the heaviest users of mobile phones in the world.
    • hichamachir
       
      M-Pesa can influence many countries to believe in the power of technology and innovation. I think that embracing the entrepreneurial lifestyle can help many countries to innovate and create successful business and M-Pesa is a great example.
  • The growth of M-Pesa is the result of many factors, including the ease of setting up an account (which is free and only requires an official ID), its simplicity of use, its affordability, the high literacy rate of the population, and the high penetration of mobile phones.Another key element to M-Pesa’s growth worth emphasizing is the regulatory stance adopted by the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK). It decided not to oppose the entry of the telecom operator into the financial sector as long as it offered sufficient guarantees. CBK adopted an “above the fray” position as a regulator and allowed for experimentation in order to foster innovation.
  • The successful adoption of M-Pesa in Kenya reverberated across the African startup scene. It acted as a catalyzer and a signal for young entrepreneurs in Kenya and Africa as a whole: revolutionary ideas could be successfully implemented in Africa and generate both business opportunities and a development path for local communities.
    • samielbaqqali
       
      M-Pesa will influence many nations to believe in the potential of creativity and technology. I think it will help many countries to innovate and build effective companies by adopting the entrepreneurial lifestyle, and M-Pesa is an excellent example.
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  • A MENA perspectiveMENA could easily follow in Kenya’s footsteps, and reap immense benefits. The adoption of mobile payment systems makes transactions cheaper, easier and safer. By simplifying how clients can pay for goods and services, it helps firms reach out to new customers and foster private sector development across the economy. Moreover, as is often the case with innovations, it has the potential to be built upon and used by other new technologies and to create a positive momentum in fintech as a whole.Governments in the Middle East and North Africa should enable digital innovation with conducive regulations and the development of a regulatory ‘sandbox’, which guarantees the security of transactions but allows for experimentation, that would stimulate the development and adoption of disruptive innovations.Today, economic connectivity is achieved by the development and harmonization of optic fibers, IT equipment, online payment systems, information transmission and data protection policies. If the MENA region puts sufficient efforts in this direction, it could propose a new path to its citizens, in particular the youth, and bring about a new development strategy adapted to the modern age.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This except is very interesting because it touches upon the way in which M-Pesa could benefit MENA societies. It encourages MENA governments to legislate in favour of innovation and digital products in order to propose a new development strategy that befits the modern age.
  •  
    I think that this article has some great information on how to replicate the success story of M-Pesa in the Arab World. I think that the Arab World is in need of such service to facilitate the life of unbanked people, and especially women. This article also highlights the importance of having a lenient regulatory system.
nouhaila_zaki

How TPAY MOBILE is supporting inclusion across the Middle East and Africa - TPAY MOBILE - 4 views

  • And today our technology does just that, by allowing merchants and operators to accept mobile payments from consumers without the need for a traditional bank account.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This reflects how the company targets underbanked groups, and how it achieves financial inclusion.
  • Coupled with the differing financial, legal, and operational processes across the MEA region is limited access to traditional banking infrastructure, with 63% (circa 1 billion) of the adult population unbanked. While this is a common trait in emerging markets, it does mean that traditional transactions based on credit and debit cards are not a realistic prospect for many consumers. However, with smartphone penetration growing apace, and with it the ability and desire to purchase goods and services through digital channels, there is an increasing need for alternative payment methods to support access and consumption.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      Here the article explains why there is a need for TPAY Mobile products: 1- Largely unbanked population = traditional transactions based on debit and credit cards are not realistic. 2- Smartphone penetration + ability & desire to purchase digitally = need for alternative payment methods.
  • And our team’s inclusion efforts don’t stop there. TPAY MOBILE employees have been volunteering and hosting financial literacy workshops with INJAZ Egypt, a non-profit organization empowering young people to own their economic success through partnering with businesses and educational institutions across the country.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      Social work for financial inclusion appears to be a priority for the company. Collaboration with an NGO in Egypt reflects that.
  •  
    Very interesting company! Even though it is an Algerian company, its scope goes beyond the African borders to include the whole MEA region!
ayoubb

FinTech in Sub-Saharan African Countries : FinTech in Sub-Saharan African Countries : A... - 0 views

  • SimbaPay is a UK-based digital money transfer service serving Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Ghana that delivers money via existing mobile money wallet services and using its SimbaPay app. Simbapay and Kenya’s Family Bank recently launched an instant payment service from East Africa to China. Users can send funds to China through Family Bank’s PesaPap app or Safaricom’s M-Pesa.
    • nourserghini
       
      This article shows the origin of SimbaPay that is the UK and its location which is kenya, Uganda, Nigeria and Ghana. The article also shows its services which are delivering money via mobile money wallet services or the app and instant payment service from East Africa to China.
  • Founded in 2009, Paga offers digital bank services (peer-to-peer money transfer, bill payments, online payments, and payroll), achieving a wide reach in Nigeria.
  • Financial intermediation and financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa remain low, despite progress in recent years. Helped by reforms, the depth and coverage of financial systems in sub-Saharan Africa—as measured by the standard indicators of financial development, such as the ratios of private sector credit to GDP and broad money to GDP—have significantly improved over the period 1995 to 2013 (Kasekende 2010). However, on average, countries in sub-Saharan Africa continue to have a shallower financial system than those in other developing regions of the world (Figure 1). In terms of financial inclusion, only 20 percent of the population has a bank account compared to 92 percent in advanced economies and 38 percent in nonadvanced economies (Table 1). Underinvestment, poor infrastructure, and comparatively low levels of financial literacy have contributed to the region being underbanked.
    • ayoubb
       
      FinTech in Sub-Saharan Africa
nouhaila_zaki

AgroCenta: Digital food distribution platform creating shared value for businesses and ... - 0 views

  • This is our financial inclusion platform targeted at smallholder farmers. We make it super easy for institutions to on-lend and disburse funds to a large network of smallholder farmers. We don't just give you access to farmers, we give you access to trustworthy low risk farmers.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This excerpt reflects the financial inclusion concern of AgroCenta. The LendIt platform allows farmers to access to digital payments, micro-lending and crop insurance more easily thanks to it.
  • Farmer Registrations Know where your farmers reside, how much money they've been making in the past, their family sizes, their literacy levels and more. Inventory Management Easily track how many tons of commodities you have available across multiple locations. Quickly know where to concentrate more effort. Logistics & Tracking Which route is the most efficient to use for commodity pickups? How long will it take for customers to receive commodities they ordered?
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This excerpt reflects what the Cropchain platform introduced by AgroCenta does for its customers, namely enforcing traceability, transparency and accountability in the agricultural supply chain.
tahaemsd

Bismart - Greentec - 0 views

  • Bismart is working with GreenTec Capital and Konfid.io to develop a blockchain based solution to administer and process insurance claims. To facilitate insurance premium payments, the company is developing a mobile-money based digital wallet  system with Flowcash to help users save up for payments.
    • tahaemsd
       
      Insurance penetration in Sub-Saharan Africa is generally low due to distrust of the industry partially due to low financial literacy and the complexity of financial produts
kenza_abdelhaq

Digital Innovation in Emerging Markets: A Case Study of Mobile Money | MIT CISR - 0 views

  • We describe the success of M-PESA in Kenya and the subsequent disappointment when M-PESA was replicated in Tanzania. We show how emerging markets are likely to be more different from than similar to one another. Thus, companies should consider a strategy of exploration as they attempt to expand within emerging markets. 
  • In 2008, a year after launching in Kenya, Vodafone attempted to replicate this success in neighboring Tanzania, a country that resembled Kenya in many important ways—size of population (40+ million) and main languages spoken (Swahili and English), as well as levels of literacy, unbanked, and mobile phone usage. But M-PESA in Tanzania did not grow on anything like the scale and scope of M-PESA in Kenya
  • M-PESA was initially developed by Vodafone as a mobile-based, microfinancing application funded partially by the UK Department for International Development to extend financial access to the unbanked populations in East Africa.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
       
      Developed by the mobile telecommunications company Vodafone, M-Pesa was first a microfinancing solution promoting financial inclusion in East Africa.
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  • Managed by the corporate social responsibility (CSR) group within Vodafone, M-PESA was designed for a niche market: microfinancing institutions and their clients. The project was intended to be low-cost, low-key, small in scale, and modest in scope—focused on addressing issues of financial inclusion within the developing world. 
    • kenza_abdelhaq
       
      M-Pesa's niche market: microfinancing institutions and their clients.
  • The redesigned M-PESA system launched in Kenya in April 2007, growing rapidly through uptake and user innovation of new services. Now used by over 17 million Kenyans—which is more than two-thirds of the adult population—it is estimated that annually some 31% of the country’s GDP flows through it.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
       
      - Important customer reach. - Facilitates the transfer of funds as 31% of the country's GDP flows through the platform.
  •  
    I think that this article shows something very important that we should into consideration in our capstone research. It shows how the same service was launched in very similar African countries, yet the penetration and growth results were far from the same. It's important because it shows that if we want to use a fintech strategy followed by a foreign company to an African one, it could result in very bad consequences even if this same strategy works for the foreign company.
  •  
    "M-PESA was initially developed by Vodafone as a mobile-based, microfinancing application funded partially by the UK Department for International Development to extend financial access to the unbanked populations in East Africa. Managed by the corporate social responsibility (CSR) group within Vodafone, M-PESA was designed for a niche market: microfinancing institutions and their clients. The project was intended to be low-cost, low-key, small in scale, and modest in scope-focused on addressing issues of financial inclusion within the developing world. "
hibaerrai

Y Combinator-backed Thndr receives first new brokerage license of Egypt in ten years fo... - 0 views

  • Founded in 2019 by Uber Egypt’s former General Manager Ahmad Hammouda, Thndr is starting with a Robinhood-like mobile-first equities trading platform that enables people to invest in stocks in The Egyptian Exchange.
    • ayachehbouni
       
      Thndr hopes to increase Egypt's financial literacy which is key for families to move up in social mobility.
    • hibaerrai
       
      This fintech encourages egyptian individuals to invest more in stocks and bonds and other securities. The goal is to enhance investments in the country.
  • Ahmad Hammouda, the co-founder and CEO of Thndr, said, “Our vision is to put wealth in the hands of everyday individuals. With the rise of technology, and the foresight of a very supportive Financial Regulatory Authority, we can make this vision come to life — Egypt is expected to be the 7th largest economy by 2030 and has more than 100 mn people, most of which are young and are looking for a convenient and digital way to invest their money. That’s why we are excited to bring a new breed of young investors to the market.”
    • aminej
       
      I love the fact that people in Egypt are really concerned about teaching the young generation some important concepts such as trading and investing in either national or international markets
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