Technology

The paper reviews the relevance of formal financial services – and in particular savings – to poor people, the economic factors that have hindered the mass-scale delivery of such services in developing countries, and the technology-based opportunities that exist today to make massive gains in financial inclusion. We also highlight the benefits to government...
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How does the possession of a title deed—or tenure security affect the choice of inputs used on land? This is a question that needs to be addressed within the Vision 2030 strategy. The role of agriculture in Kenya’s economy cannot be over-emphasised, especially in providing food, employment, income and foreign exchange. The sector contributes...
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Regular readers of this blog are familiar with mobile banking and its potential to bring vast numbers of the unbanked into a more formal financial system and revolutionize the way they manage their money. Yet although microfinance institutions (MFIs) have spent decades serving this clientele with loans and increasingly savings and other financial products,...
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The clean-tech innovations that will solve the world’s most urgent environmental problems might come from where we least expect it: by first serving the needs of consumers at the base of the economic pyramid, says Stuart Hart, a professor of management at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management and chairman of the university’s Center...
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Where do Kenyans access reliable credit? The unlikely answer — at their neighbourhood kiosk. It took a 2007 study to unveil this basic truth. The findings turned conventional logic on borrowing on its head. The study showed that the ubiquitous shopkeeper found in every estate, village and even footpath is the most frequent source...
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When Kenyan graduate Roy Wachira, 25, set out to start his first business, he turned to the Internet, whose growth in the east African nation is spawning opportunities unthinkable even a year ago. Mr Wachira runs a free social photography site that allows users to view special occasions or travel photos online and provides...
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Mobile payment gateways, location based data services and integrated multichannel e-commerce solutions are some of the most attractive ventures for venture capitalists in Africa, but challenges still persist. Venture Capitalists are counting on the high mobile penetration rates and low PC penetration in Africa to identify ventures that are likely to yield higher returns...
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When your business establishes a presence on Facebook, you make a commitment to be a good neighbour, a trusted Facebook friend. The emphasis is on being a friend, not a store, a business, or even a customer service help desk (although these days, your customers are just as likely to ask you a product...
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Increased access to finance, and the development of new and innovative financial instruments for Kenya’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, is key to achieving Vision 2030. Finance is an important driver of economic growth, and access to finance for individuals and smaller businesses is a crucial indicator of economic development. So how is Kenya...
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Grameen Foundation today announced it is expanding its technology for microfinance initiative to provide enhanced support to high-growth, mid-size microfinance institutions (MFIs) serving up to one million clients.  It also plans to extend the Mifos® platform to enhance connectivity to mobile payment systems and improve the integration of the Progress out of Poverty Index™...
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