November 2020
The Foreign Minister of the Dominican Republic Roberto Alvarez announced that the Dominican Republic will join the US Clean Network initiative which provides access to a network of telecommunications infrastructure and reliable standards of technology supply chains.
This announcement followed a meeting between President Luis Abinader and US Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy and Environment Keith Krach along with US Ambassador Robin Bernstein.
The Dominican Republic joins over 50 countries, 170 clean telecommunications companies, and many global high-tech companies in this project. Participation clears the way for increased US private sector investments and strengthens mutual guarantees for like-minded partners in the region and in other parts of the world.
Mastercard and Juvo have teamed up to help underbanked Latin America and the Caribbean build credit histories and have access to a range of financial services.
Juvo has built a ‘financial identity as a service’ (FiDaaS) which enables customers to build a credit history through the analysis of alternative financial transactions. The customer profile can then be used to evaluate their eligibility for access to various services like insurance and loans. Mastercard hopes to roll out this service across the region and the companies expect millions to have greater access to financial services as consumers as they will now be better able to demonstrate creditworthiness. Juvo has used its platform to aid developing nation customers access microloans through mobile phones. Financial institutions are expected to increase the addressable market for their services at lower risks just as the pandemic’s impact on brick-and-mortar banks continues to drive demand for open banking regionally.