Innovations in Delivery Channels

Europe’s digital gap with the world’s leaders is now being compounded by an emerging gap with the world’s leaders in its development and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. Without faster and more comprehensive engagement in AI, that gap could widen. Europe may not need to compete head to head but rather in areas where it has an edge (such as in business-to-business [B2B] and advanced robotics) and continue to scale up one of the world’s largest bases of technology developers into a more connected Europe-wide web of AI-based innovation hubs.

In a bid to accelerate women’s financial inclusion in MENA, the region with the lowest female economic participation in the world, the DFID-funded Arab Women’s Enterprise Fund (AWEF) led a study to understand the scope for Digital Financial Services (DFS) in Egypt, map key constraints to women’s financial inclusion and identify opportunities to transform the livelihoods of low-income Egyptian women through improved access to finance.

Washington, D.C. January 29, 2019 –  4G Capital became the newest member of the SME Finance Forum, a global membership network that brings together financial institutions, technology companies, and development finance institutions to share knowledge, spur innovation, and promote the growth of SMEs. 

“200 million businesses worldwide need financing to invest, grow and create new jobs. We are proud to have 4G Capital join our network of 150 members who work to expand access to finance for small and medium businesses,” said Matthew Gamser, CEO of the Forum. 

The National Crowdfunding and Fintech Association of Canada (NCFA) and TODA Network have presented an inaugural pop-up digital magazine called "Blockchain Fintech Confidential." The magazine features the five missing necessities to move blockchain from .02 percent global penetration to the remaining 99.8 percent; Amazon, Alibaba, Walmart and Tencent in India, turning payments into lifestyle companies; and how one company raised $220 million in four years.

Erik Feyen, Lead Financial Sector Economist, FCI and Michael Casey, author and senior advisor at MIT Media Lab's Digital Currency Initiative presented The Truth Machine: Blockchain and the Future of Everything on Nov 5. View Feyen's presentation slides from the discussion.

Fintechs understand the importance of access to finance for SMEs and so do companies. 

With about 95 percent of SMEs contributing as much as 30 percent of the country’s gross domestic product and are employing about 60 percent of the country’s workforce, companies like First Circle are rising to the occasion. The company, which provides business financing for SMEs in the Philippines will soon be launching a credit facility worth up to $30 million, according to the article.