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Regulatory considerations for the use of mobile records for retail credit scoring

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The RBI Committee on Comprehensive Financial Services for Small Businesses and Low-Income Households asked us to share our thoughts on the use of mobile network operators’ (MNOs) customer data to establish the financial status and credit worthiness of individuals.

Emerging Trends In Mobile Agriculture – Highlights from mAgri’s event at M4D Summit

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The first Mobile for Development Summit provided a unique opportunity to gather first-hand insights from the emerging field of mobile agriculture, and GSMA mAgri team hosted a round-table discussion at the event. The discussion was marked by a great attendance, with ...

Mobile money and virtual currencies for cross border remittances: opportunity or risk?

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In July 2013, Kipochi Ltd, a Kenyan bitcoin wallet, released a press statement announcing the launch of “a groundbreaking solution that allows people to send/receive bitcoins and convert it to and from an M-PESA balance.”

The role of mobile, tech and mapping in crisis response

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The International Conference of Crisis Mappers (ICCM) was held this November in Nairobi, Kenya, at the African Headquarters of the UN. Olly Parsons was present and discusses his key takeaways here.

GSMA mWomen Working Group meeting Manila: Where do we go next?

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In the wake of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, a dedicated group of operators, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, and donors came together in Manila for the GSMA mWomen Working Group from November 19 to 21st.  This event, co-hosted by Smart and Grameen, was a unique gathering ...

MECS On Site: Mobile opportunities abound in Rwanda

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Arriving in the Kigali airport, the ICT4Agri Conference poster and other social media posters set the tone: Rwanda welcomes technology. I was on my way to meet with Living Water International, partners with Portland State University’s Sustainable Water Energy and Environment ...

GSMA mHealth in Nigeria: Innovating mobile solutions that push towards the MDGs

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Health and Nutrition Landscape  It is worrisome that, with less than 2 years to the set date for attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the numbers are not looking good regarding the situation of women and children in Nigeria. It is reported that about 53,000 ...

An interview with Yolande van Wyk, CEO of FNB eWallet Solutions

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In October 2009, First National Bank (FNB) launched the eWallet in South Africa, a mobile money solution to bridge the gap between the banked and the unbanked. Almost four years later, FNB eWallet is the largest mobile money service in South Africa.

Partnerships are still hard: lingering questions from the GSMA mWomen session at M4D Summit

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Considerations for establishing fruitful partnerships when working with women and mobile

Highlights from GPM’s Francophone Regional Working Group in Senegal

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GPM successfully convened its first Francophone Regional Working Group in Dakar, Senegal on 7 & 8 November 2013. Co-hosted by TIGO Senegal, a Millicom Group operator, it was attended by 53 people across 30 organisations including MNOs, ESCOs, vendors, solution ...

Addressing the gender gap for Mobile Financial Services in the Pacific

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Connected Women's position on addressing the gender gap in mobilefinancial services in the Pacific

Banks in Nepal are building interoperable mobile money offerings

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This post is co-written with Arunjay Katakam, MMU's Market Intelligence Analyst. In Nepal, two 3rd party initiatives are attempting to bring together the banks and offer the tools needed for them to successfully operate mobile money.

The Service Maturity Tool: Evaluating the Maturity of mHealth Products & Services

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I’d like to introduce you to the Service Maturity Tool (SMT), the newest addition to the GSMA mHealth research tools. Over the past year the GSMA has been working on the development of the SMT in collaboration with a varied group of mHealth industry experts ...

Building a Robust Financial Ecosystem – Panel at NFC & Mobile Money Summit

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The final panel of the MMU seminar at the NFC & Mobile Money Summit last month in New York was titled ‘Building a robust financial ecosystem’.

Top Takeaways from Mobile for Development Summit

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Last week, senior executives and stakeholders from the mobile industry and development community joined us at the debut thought leadership event, Mobile for Development Summit, in Cape Town. Over the two days, attendees participated in morning plenary sessions focused on our ...

Reading the M-PESA half-year results for 2013-2014

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Last week, Safaricom released their half year results for 2013-2014, and once again Safaricom continues to impress the industry with their achievements. Monthly active M-PESA customers now stand at an impressive 11.6 million.

Mobile Donation Platforms Contributing to International Relief Efforts for Typhoon Haiyan

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As the international response to Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) grows, mobile operators and the humanitarian community are launching donation platforms to help drive the fundraising needed to meet the estimated $301 million dollars required for relief.

Regulatory reforms and the mobile money opportunity for India: GSMA submission to the Reserve Bank of India

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The full potential of digital financial services in India has not yet been realised. Millions of people still lack a viable alternative to the cash economy and informal financial services, and mobile money represent a great opportunity for the country.

Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan): Initial responses and network restoration update

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On Friday November 9th, one of the most powerful storms ever to make landfall, Haiyan - dubbed "Yolanda" locally - hit the Filipino eastern coastal provinces of Leyte and Samar. The devastation was almost complete. We provide an update of our activities here.

GSMA mWomen awards Innovation Fund grant to Airtel Uganda

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Announcement of Connected Women awarding innovation fund grants to Airtel Uganda