Young Africans are less likely to have a bank account than adults on the continent. At the same time, they are more likely to have a mobile phone, try out new things and be aware of digital channels.
... See More + This seems to suggest that digital banking could be a winning strategy for advancing financial inclusion among the youth. Youth in Sub-Saharan Africa have limited access to formal financial services despite their active financial lives. Many young Africans are actively using informal options to meet their financial needs. Digital financial services (DFS) could be the solution to banking the youth. African youth are tech savvy and curious about digital channels. Research shows that youth’s ability to use mobile phones has attracted them to mobile money. The report gleans insights into possible strategies to further increase DFS usage among youth, by identifying drivers of usage among youth as well as reasons for youth inactivity on DFS platforms. In sum, these findings provide the context for industry actors to design products and strategies to better meet the needs and desires of their current youth clientele and to expand reach to new youth customers.
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Economies achieve their highest potential when all citizens can participate fully and without discrimination. Economic exclusion means lost opportunities, with significant negative consequences for individuals and families, as well as the broader economy.
... See More + In Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the great efforts made to advance economic opportunity and equality for women, especially with the advent of digital financial services (DFS), gender differences in financial inclusion persist. This study shows that there are pronounced differences in the way men and women engage financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is reflected by the differences in the types of products men and women engage, with men more likely to use DFS than women. Women are more likely to use informal services, suggesting that informal services continue to provide value unavailable from other channels. Data shows that men use mobile money more frequently than women and send money as well as buy airtime more than women. On the other hand, women use mobile money more to receive money and store value than men. It is therefore recommended that financial service providers (FSPs) invest in gender-lensed data analytics (where gender data is available), as this is key to including women in the formal financial system.
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Working Paper 134167 DEC 01, 2018
Chamboko,Richard; Heitmann,Soren; Van Der Westhuizen,MorneDisclosed
This field note summarizes the steps taken by the World Bank and IFC to operationalize themobile money-based government-to-person (G2P) transfers together with the government of Côte d’Ivoire.
... See More + While there were many steps in the course towards implementation, this note focuses primarily on three main areas of collaboration: (1) supporting the government to scope availablepayment mechanisms and develop a payment strategy, (2) training beneficiaries on the usage of the payment mechanism, and (3) preparing for scale-up. The field note ends by presenting some lessons learned that may be useful for stakeholders in other contexts planning similar initiatives.
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Belarus has a long tradition in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector and was always a primary consideration for development in ICT by foreign companies, universities, and research centers.
... See More + Historically, Belarus was one of the most technologically advanced republics of the former Soviet Union, when most of the computers and computers’ components were being produced in the country. In terms of business, Belarus possesses a significant potential in information technology (IT) export, especially in the field of software development and ICT outsourcing. The country used to be the high-tech zone of the Soviet Union, where technology was used to design products for both civil and military applications. The country’s reputation for scientific and IT excellence is currently complemented by the competitive labor market that has attracted the interest of numerous IT-intensive companies. Moreover, the Belarussian government is interested in growing IT exports and, as a result, some radical regulatory measures have already been taken to create a highly favorable climate for IT businesses in the country. This report touches upon the main issues related to the formation and development of the ICT industry in Belarus. Its goal is to study and analyze most of the aspects affecting the current state of the industry: infrastructure, legal ecosystem, market maturity, the most promising industries for digitalization, and so on. At the same time, it also describes the IT talents, as it is the key issue for review of the second part of the report. Because some information cannot be obtained from open sources, we have also conducted a survey of the opinion of the current industry players: IT professionals, IT students, and IT professors, on a number of issues concerning the current state of the industry.Thus, the data provided in the report allow us to assess the current potential of the IT industry in Belarus as well as to identify the main directions for its further development.
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Remittances are an important source of income for households in the Southern African Development Community (SADC), as well as a crucial source of foreign exchange for countries in the region.
... See More + Despite the relatively large inflows of remittances to SADC, the cost of sending money to and within the region is significantly higher than other regions in the world. To address the high cost of remittances globally, the World Bank has been involved in a number of initiatives aimed at improving the efficiency and safety of the market for remittances. At the regional level, the SADC Committee of Central Bank Governors (CCBG) has led several initiatives aimed at enhancing the regional payment system infrastructure, also with a focus on reducing the cost of remittances within the region.
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Uruguay has much to gain from further integration with the global marketplace. Increased trade allows economies of scale and increases exposure to technological and knowledge spillovers, resulting in greater productivity.
... See More + Participating in global and regional value chains is an important launch-pad for international integration. Uruguay requires a multipronged strategy that targets increased sophistication of Uruguay’s productive structure and diversification into specialized, high-value, modern services exports unconstrained by lack of economies of scale or distance. This report analyzes the dairy and Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and ICT Enabled Services (ICTES) value chains in Uruguay to identify opportunities for industry-specificupgrading and integration with global value chains (GVCs). By taking the dairy and ICT/ICTES value chains as concrete cases, the analysis piloted here illustrates how a traditional industry, locked in low value added exports, such as dairy, and a new export service industry, such as ICT/ICTES, can tackle the remoteness and ‘smallness’ challenges of Uruguay, and pursue economic upgrading andbetter international integration. The analytical approach targets opportunities to both enter new international production networks and participate in higher-value-added business segments. These objectives align with the Government of Uruguay’s priority to determine how the country can integrate better with global markets through GVCs. GVCs have four key features that set them apart from traditional production and trade: (1) customization of production—with intensive contracting between parties, often subject to distinct legal systems, (2) sequential production decisions going from the buyer to the suppliers, (3) high contracting costs, and (4) global matching not onlyof goods and services, but also of production teams. These distinct features of GVCs have implications for the overall business environment conducive to fertile grounds for GVCs to prosper, as well as for the types of trade facilitation efforts, infrastructure, skills, and trade and investment policies that are best suited for this reality.
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Uruguay has much to gain from further integration with the global marketplace. Increased trade allows economies of scale and increases exposure to technological and knowledge spillovers, resulting in greater productivity.
... See More + Participating in global and regional value chains is an important launch-pad for international integration. Uruguay requires a multipronged strategy that targets increased sophistication of Uruguay’s productive structure and diversification into specialized, high-value, modern services exports unconstrained by lack of economies of scale or distance. This report analyzes the dairy and Information & Communications Technology (ICT) and ICT Enabled Services (ICTES) value chains in Uruguay to identify opportunities for industry-specificupgrading and integration with global value chains (GVCs). By taking the dairy and ICT/ICTES value chains as concrete cases, the analysis piloted here illustrates how a traditional industry, locked in low value added exports, such as dairy, and a new export service industry, such as ICT/ICTES, can tackle the remoteness and ‘smallness’ challenges of Uruguay, and pursue economic upgrading andbetter international integration. The analytical approach targets opportunities to both enter new international production networks and participate in higher-value-added business segments. These objectives align with the Government of Uruguay’s priority to determine how the country can integrate better with global markets through GVCs. GVCs have four key features that set them apart from traditional production and trade: (1) customization of production—with intensive contracting between parties, often subject to distinct legal systems, (2) sequential production decisions going from the buyer to the suppliers, (3) high contracting costs, and (4) global matching not onlyof goods and services, but also of production teams. These distinct features of GVCs have implications for the overall business environment conducive to fertile grounds for GVCs to prosper, as well as for the types of trade facilitation efforts, infrastructure, skills, and trade and investment policies that are best suited for this reality.
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