Ground-level intelligence on financial inclusion technology and emerging market fintech written by someone who's built agent networks across 9 African countries, not watched from a distance. Home of the Agent Network OS.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Freemium | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 136 | Founded | 3 years ago | Last Issue | 19 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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barefooteconomist.substack.comLatest Issues
📑 What are investors actually buying in the OPay and Airtel Money IPO’s?
Two African fintech listings in the same month. One sells a lender with a payments front end. The other sells a toll road whose owners are taking money off the table.
OPay’s registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commis...
🧱 The Merchant-Agent Is the Asset Nobody Capitalises
A founder in North Africa walked me through his business. He had turned corner shops into agents that now sell everything through one counter: bill payment, airtime, transfers, insurance, and travel. Two of his three business lines are prof...
🔒 The Credit File That Can’t Leave
Last month, the founder of a small asset lender walked me through what happens when a borrower goes quiet. First you call him. Then you call his spouse, then the village chairman, then the reference he gave when he signed. When all of that...
🌯 September 2026 in one idea
Before you dive into this month’s wrap, let's improve it together:
60 seconds to shape what I write next and who I build for.
Who’s reading & what are you building?
Liquidity is the symptom on the dashboard: the one number everyone watc...
📮 Why capillarity beats interoperability and postal networks matter more than ever
A year ago, almost a week, Dominique Collin from La Banque Postale invited me to contribute a chapter to Exploring New Frontiers, a book on where postal networks could go next. On Wednesday, it launched at Parcel+Post Expo in London, and I...
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
I help fintechs to reach last-mile customers using alternative channels
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