PLENTY of progress has been made on increasing the size of Africa’s banked population. The trouble is, from the amount of noise that is made about the topic, you would be forgiven for thinking we had fixed the problem when we really haven’t. According to the World Bank, 62% of the world’s population has a...
November 10, 2026
265 search results for: mobile money
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Safaricom to switch M-Pesa off to test major upgrade
By BDAfrica.com reporter Safaricom plans to completely shut down its popular money transfer service for about half a day this weekend for testing as it completes “the journey to bring M-Pesa home” — a reference to moving its servers to Kenya. This follows at least two other recent suspensions of the service for routine maintenance...
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Could Bitcoin ease the pain of Africa’s migrant workforce?
By Tom Jackson Cape Town Over 30 million Africans live in the diaspora. They sent almost $40bn (£26.5bn) home in 2014, a figure that is likely to grow significantly in the coming years. While north African countries such as Morocco, Algeria and Egypt receive the most, east African countries are particularly dependent on remittances. The...
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No successor yet as CBK boss exits
By EDWIN OKOTH Professor Njuguna Ndung’u will not be the Central Bank of Kenya governor from midnight, as the question of who will succeed him remains unanswered. Prof Ndung’u’s tenure ends after seven years at one of Kenya’s most powerful offices. His term has been characterised by huge expectations, most of which are largely unmet,...
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Central bank chief battles to keep Somalia connected to world finance
By Drazen Jorgic NAIROBI- (Reuters) – In a world where many central bankers fret about deflation, defaults and currency break-ups, Somalia’s central bank chief has a more straightforward mission: helping a financial industry that grew up in war to survive in peace. It has become an urgent matter. Money transfer firms which kept cash flowing...
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Nairobi is the smartest city in Africa
Nairobi is the most intelligent city in the Africa according to a report released by Intelligent Community forum For the second time, Kenya’s capital made it to the top ICF l 21 smartest cities but however missed out on the top seven positions, losing out to cities such as New Taipei City, Rio de Janeiro,...
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Somalia: Al-Shabaab- It Will Be a Long War
By ICG (Report) Al-Shabaab has given the impression of being financially competent and less corrupt than the central and local authorities it opposes.82 But above all, and unlike its armed Somali adversaries including the SFG, it pays its soldiers and operatives well and regularly and provides for its veterans and the families of its “martyrs”.83...
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Somali Diaspora Not Ready to Buy One-Way Tickets Home Yet
By Amy FallonReprint Kisenyi slum, in Uganda’s capital, Kampala is believed to be home to a large portion of the country’s almost 12,000 Somali immigrants. Credit: Amy Fallon/IPS KAMPALA (IPS) – On a Friday afternoon men wearing kamis — long white traditional robes — climb the steps to Somcity Travel, a small family business and travel agency in...
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A Ugandan Living and working in Mogadishu
By Christine W. Wanjala “If you had told a younger me fresh out of high school that I would one day be living and working in Somalia, I would have thought you crazy. But here I am 37, and this is my second year of doing so. I have lived in Mogadishu since March 2012 and...
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Breaking the cycle of youth unemployment, poverty
DAKAR, (IRIN) – Youth unemployment and underemployment are among the main barriers to development in West Africa, say experts. Not only does the exclusion of young people from the labour force perpetuate generational cycles of poverty, it also breaks down social cohesion and can be associated with higher levels of crime and violence among idle...