The contours of African consumer purchasing power and the opportunities for the tech industry. — Sufficient Balance Two, Chapter 2 This post was co-authored by the DFS Lab team. We recently discussed the concept of the “Frontier Blindspot”: a set of biases we think everyone needs to watch out for, including ourselves. In summary: “This disconnect between the conditions that drove the growth of the…

I am very happy to be writing this post, brimming even! Today we’re adding two new members to our DFS Lab team and nearly doubling in size. Beyond having found and hired two exceptional individuals who will add immeasurably to our team’s capabilities (more on them below), we are also…

Apply to prototype products built on the Mojaloop stack and work with the team behind the open-source software for interoperable payments — What is the opportunity? The DFS Lab is offering a group of leading technology and financial service companies an opportunity to work with the team behind the Mojaloop platform in a closed-door session to explore how Mojaloop can be used. …

We think they play by a different set of rules when it comes to finding “product market fit”. — Most investors in the US or Europe would think it was crazy if their pre-seed or even seed stage company was planning an international launch. The advice would likely be: stay focused, prove product market fit first then think about international expansion at your Series B round. For financial companies…

Long live the feature phone: what it means for digital financial services By Jake Kendall and Arunjay Katakam In the last decade, mobile phone penetration has created a digital finance revolution in Africa and South Asia. Mobile money gives users a basic wallet and a growing list of services — including money transfer, payments, credit and even limited forms insurance — all…