Over the last decade, mobile money services have brought banking to populations that have lacked formal financial services by allowing users to manage money on their mobile phones. First launched in Kenya in 2007, 96 percent of Kenyan households now use mobile money and can withdraw funds in physical currency from 110,000 agents across the country.

Fact of the Week: Adoption of Mobile Money in Kenya Lifted 194,000 Households Out of Extreme Poverty

Adding 10 more bank branches per 100,000 adults in developing economies increases the probability that businesses will invest in R&D by 7.6 percent, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: In Developing Countries, Increasing the Availability of Bank Credit Raises the Probability a Firm Will Invest in R&D by 7.6 Percent

While there are more advancements to be made, Kenya’s long-term innovation policies for improved digital access prove that digitalization is a force for sustainable economic growth among developing nations.

Fact of the Week: Long-Term Digitalization Policy in Kenya Has Accelerated Economic Growth, and It Brought Digital Payment Services to Over 40 Million People In 2020

If the Sub-Saharan African mobile penetration rate could be brought up to 75 phones per 100 people, it would be possible for living standards to increase an average of 30 percent, writes John Wu in Innovation Files.

Fact of the Week: Living Standards In Sub-Saharan Africa Could Rise 30 Percent If Mobile Phone Penetration Rates Increased From 25 Phones Per 100 People To 75

A national survey of households making $50,000 or less, all with at least some form of online connectivity, classified 36 percent of respondents as having low digital skills. 39 percent were in the high digital skills category.

Fact of the Week: 36 Percent of Online Households Making $50,000 or Less Are Classified As Having Low Digital Skills

A report by the tech research company Digital Science found that, in 2019, 500,000 publications or 10 percent of the world’s total, related to the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) outlined by the United Nations.

Fact of the Week: The Share of Global Research Dedicated to U.N. Development Goals Tripled Over the Past 20 Years

The rise of the Internet has allowed billions of people to access services that would not exist otherwise, while driving the growth of technologies that power them. A new study has attempted to quantify this effect, examining the rate of Internet usage across 76 countries between 1995 and 2016.

Fact of the Week: The Internet Increased the Global Economic Growth Rate by 0.7 Percentage Points Between 1995 and 2016

After state regulators approved the operations of fintech company LendingClub, commercial banks in those states increased their investments in information and communication technologies by 7 percent, and large banks increased their spending by 11 percent.

Fact of the Week: Fintech Competition Induces Commercial Banks to Invest More in ICT

With technologies like cloud computing and big data now more widespread and better understood, firms can discover new ways to leverage them, leading to increased productivity growth.

Fact of the Week: Forty Percent of Adults in Low- and Middle-Income Economies Formally Saved in 2024

Related

Fact of the Week: Adoption of Mobile Money in Kenya Lifted 194,000 Households Out of Extreme Poverty

Fact of the Week: In Developing Countries, Increasing the Availability of Bank Credit Raises the Probability a Firm Will Invest in R&D by 7.6 Percent

Fact of the Week: Long-Term Digitalization Policy in Kenya Has Accelerated Economic Growth, and It Brought Digital Payment Services to Over 40 Million People In 2020