In late June, Facebook unveiled its plans for a new blockchain-based currency, Libra. Expected to launch in 2020, Facebook claims that its new digital currency has the unique potential to advance financial inclusion and create economic opportunity for billions of people around the world. So what sets Libra apart from existing cryptocurrencies and
With financial turmoil in Turkey rolling the country’s assets, elsewhere in the world the risks of the reemergence of a global sovereign debt crisis is looming. A new report by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicates that government debt in some of the world’s poorest countries is rising to risky levels. Another study by the
In 2015, the United Nations (UN) set the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which are comprised of 17 global goals to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity. Calling for a strong cooperation among countries to effectively deal with looming global challenges, goals are applied to not only developing
In the face of inadequate resources to finance infrastructure and long-term sustainable development in a significant number of the developing countries, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has assumed a prominent place as an integral part of an open and effective international economic system and a major catalyst for development. The World Bank defines FDI as a
In the last week, headlines have been full of devastating news on extreme weather events linked to climate change and sea level rise. A heat wave skyrocketed energy demand on the Los Angeles grid, leaving tens of thousands without power; in addition to wild forest fires due to drier conditions that have once again forced
Every year, the world generates a total of 1.3 billion tons of waste – a number that is expected to rise to 4 billion tons by 2100 as global consumption increases and waste is mismanaged. A tenth of our waste is disposed of through incinerated and another four-fifths is dumped in landfills, while the remaining
Photo Source: Al Jazeera Despite progress around humanitarian intervention and the improved living conditions of refugee camps around the world, many refugees continue to face limited access to social and economic opportunities to integrate into a new country and live prosperous lives. Evidence from Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s (CGAP) working paper on
Superplatforms, the “Platforms of Platforms” Experts have claimed that banks are decaying, but they have persisted over time. However, the entrance of new internet “superplatforms” into financial services may be the end for some traditional financial institutions. Superplatforms are successful and regularly recognized on lists of the world’s most innovative and client-centered companies.
The mobile money industry has had a fantastic decade. We have seen how one connected handset can transform the life of not just its owner, but also the lives of his or her family and broader community. A mere ten years after M-Pesa launched in Kenya, the mobile money industry now celebrates an impressive
Recognizing the importance of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises（SMEs）in achieving the global development goals, the United Nations General Assembly recently designated 27 June as International Day for those actors. “These enterprises can in fact become the engines that sustain growth for long-term development in developing countries,” said the representative of the delegation of Argentina, which
University of Witwatersrand, one of South Africa’s top universities, reopened this Wednesday after a weeklong nationwide protest. All classes and activities resumed and a new postponed exam schedule will be decided soon. The reopen follows with President Jacob Zuma’s concession to the recent protest and agree that there will not be a tuition
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on September 25th that “More than 2.8 million people will face hunger in the coming months in the worst food crisis in a decade in Malawi, where a staggering four out of every 10 children suffer from stunting.” Malawi located in southern Africa with an estimated population
It is widely understood that the culture of corruption facing developing countries worldwide has a seismic affect concerning numerous aspects of the economy; most notably – hindering foreign investment and hampering economic growth. Corruption has also the tendency to distort markets and obstruct sustainable development, with estimates according to the African Development Bank (AfDB) suggesting that the
In the early nineteenth century, the age of industrialization brought about profound demographic and economic transformations across Europe and North America, most notably, in the increasing concentration of people in highly urbanized area. It became the phenomenon that defined the modern era and moved society to the next level of human development. It took less
