The Barefoot Economist
Hugo PachecoGround-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 | 121 | Founded | 3 years ago | Last Issue | 13 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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barefooteconomist.substack.comLatest Issues
🏗️ Africa built financial infrastructure but booked it as an expense.
A founder called me a few weeks ago. He built one of the larger agent networks in East Africa’s mature mobile money markets; years of work, tens of thousands of service points, real volume. He wants to sell.
No bankers. No teaser deck. No...
🧱 The Balance Sheet Is the New Moat
A note for subscribers: last week we crossed the bridge. This week we’re asking what sits on the other side and it isn’t another payment. It’s a balance sheet, and a question most of the coverage is missing.
Across African fintech, payment...
🫥Africa Doesn’t Have a Payments Problem Anymore. It Has a Trust Problem.
A note for subscribers: this one names the thing most second-wave strategy decks dance around and why the formal system keeps choosing not to act on data it already holds. If your business runs an agent network, the closing question is the...
💧 Why your agents keep failing customers (and it's not their fault)
A mobile money network can recruit the agents, train them, activate them, and still fail at the exact moment the customer arrives.
Because the float was not there.
When float is not there, the non-consumer does not complain. They le...
📍 The Ghost POS Agent With Perfect GPS
Nigeria's POS network is being squeezed from three control points at once. The regulator can now see the terminal. The customer still experiences the service and those are not the same thing.
On May 29, 2026, the CBN gave Nigeria’s POS ind...
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| Subscribers | Engagement | 68 | Monthly Web Visits | ||
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The writers behind this newsletter.
I help fintechs to reach last-mile customers using alternative channels
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