This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version. How African entrepreneurs are using cell phones and small-scale finance to drive remarkable business innovation. Finance and communications are the foundations for successful markets. The rapid growth of cell phones and banking across Africa is not only an indication of the success of these industries but also creates a platform for further growth. Many small businesses have already been established by placing a cell phone and a microloan in the hands of industrious entrepreneurs ... If you liked this Element, read more from Vijay Mahajan, including Africa Rising: How 900 Million African Consumers Offer More Than You Think (ISBN: 9780132339421). Available in print and digital formats.

This Element is an excerpt from Africa Rising: How 900 Million African Consumers Offer More Than You Think (ISBN: 9780132339421) by Vijay Mahajan. Available in print and digital formats. How African entrepreneurs are using cell phones and small-scale finance to drive remarkable business innovation. Finance and communications are the foundations for successful markets. The rapid growth of cell phones and banking across Africa is not only an indication of the success of these industries but also creates a platform for further growth. Many small businesses have already been established by placing a cell phone and a microloan in the hands of industrious entrepreneurs....

FinTech is a major force shaping the structure of the financial industry in sub-Saharan Africa. New technologies are being developed and implemented in sub-Saharan Africa with the potential to change the competitive landscape in the financial industry. While it raises concerns on the emergence of vulnerabilities, FinTech challenges traditional structures and creates efficiency gains by opening up the financial services value chain. Today, FinTech is emerging as a technological enabler in the region, improving financial inclusion and serving as a catalyst for the emergence of innovations in other sectors, such as agriculture and infrastructure.

This is the eBook version of the printed book. This Element is an excerpt from Africa Rising: How 900 Million African Consumers Offer More Than You Think (9780132339421) by Vijay Mahajan. Available in print and digital formats. Discover Africa, the world’s fastest-growing cellphone market—and learn how those cellphones are creating a foundation for breakthrough growth. There are now more than 130 million Africans with cell phone subscriptions, and it is the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world. A 2007 study by the Africa Media Development Initiative found that cell phones were achieving a compound annual growth rate of 85 percent or more in 10 of the 17 African nations surveyed...

This paper studies the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT), especially mobile phone rollout, on economic growth in a sample of African countries from 1988 to 2007. Further, we investigate whether financial inclusion is one of the channels through which mobile phone development influences economic growth. In estimating the impact of ICT on economic growth, we use a wide range of ICT indicators, including mobile and fixed telephone penetration rates and the cost of local calls. We address any endogeneity issues by using the System Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) estimator. Financial inclusion is captured by variables measuring access to financial services, such as the number of deposits or loans per head, compiled by Beck, Demirguc-Kunt, and Martinez Peria (2007) and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP, 2009). The results confirm that ICT, including mobile phone development, contribute significantly to economic growth in African countries. Part of the positive effect of mobile phone penetration on growth comes from greater financial inclusion. At the same time, the development of mobile phones consolidates the impact of financial inclusion on economic growth, especially in countries where mobile financial services take hold.

Digital technologies are spreading rapidly, but digital dividends--the broader benefits of faster growth, more jobs, and better services--are not. If more than 40 percent of adults in East Africa pay their utility bills using a mobile phone, why can’t others around the world do the same? If 8 million entrepreneurs in China--one third of them women--can use an e-commerce platform to export goods to 120 countries, why can’t entrepreneurs elsewhere achieve the same global reach? And if India can provide unique digital identification to 1 billion people in five years, and thereby reduce corruption by billions of dollars, why can’t other countries replicate its success? Indeed, what’s holding back countries from realizing the profound and transformational effects that digital technologies are supposed to deliver? Two main reasons. First, nearly 60 percent of the world’s population are still offline and can’t participate in the digital economy in any meaningful way. Second, and more important, the benefits of digital technologies can be offset by growing risks. Startups can disrupt incumbents, but not when vested interests and regulatory uncertainty obstruct competition and the entry of new firms. Employment opportunities may be greater, but not when the labor market is polarized. The internet can be a platform for universal empowerment, but not when it becomes a tool for state control and elite capture. The World Development Report 2016 shows that while the digital revolution has forged ahead, its 'analog complements'--the regulations that promote entry and competition, the skills that enable workers to access and then leverage the new economy, and the institutions that are accountable to citizens--have not kept pace. And when these analog complements to digital investments are absent, the development impact can be disappointing. What, then, should countries do? They should formulate digital development strategies that are much broader than current information and communication technology (ICT) strategies. They should create a policy and institutional environment for technology that fosters the greatest benefits. In short, they need to build a strong analog foundation to deliver digital dividends to everyone, everywhere.