December 2016, Senegal, a member of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (“WAEMU”) became the second largest country in the world after Tunisia to launch a block-chain based national digital currency which could either provide big opportunities or competition in the banking sector. Known as the eCFA, it is designed to operate alongside the CFA Franc, the country’s and the region’s national currency, adopted by fourteen countries in the region. The new currency will be compatible with other digital cash systems like MPesa which have themselves been revolutionary for the millions of unbanked population in the African continent. eCFA […]
A number of issues were raised on the East AfricaCom Mobile Money panel in May regarding the future of the USSD mobile money channel, the breadth of services offered through the channel and the potential threats to and opportunities for this business model. The panel was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya, the birthplace of mobile money. Ed Higenbottam, Managing Director of Verdant Capital identified two competing themes: (i) the ever-broadening product offering through the USSD channel: payments, micro-loans, micro-insurance, remittances, micro-investments (for example the recent M-Akiba bond); and (ii) the long-term potential threat to the USSD-business model as a result of […]
Caisse Centrale de Garantie (“CCG”) based in Morocco won the “Financial Inclusion” trophy hosted at the African Banker Awards 2017, organized on the side-lines of the annual meetings of the African Development Bank (“AfDB”) held in Ahmedabad, India. Such an award recognizes CCG’s commitment and successful strategy in terms of financial inclusion with a demonstrated impact on improving access to financing for MSMEs and low-income individuals. Established in 1949, the CCG is a public financial institution, which is assimilated to a credit institution under the banking law. The CCG is administered by a Board of Directors chaired by the Minister […]
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