As Finovate goes increasingly global, so does our coverage of financial technology. Finovate Global: Fintech News from Around the World is our weekly look at fintech innovation in developing economies in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe.

Latin America and the Caribbean

• Officials from the incoming Mexican administration see fintechs and corporate banks as key to increasing financial inclusion in the country.
• LATAM Tech looks at “Peru’s promising startup future.”
• Bolivia’s Pagina Siete previews Digital Bank’s efforts to bring Latin American fintech and Latin American banks closer together. In Spanish.

Asia-Pacific

• Singapore-based Funding Societies tops S$200 million in crowdfunded SME loans.
• Alipay introduces the world’s first paperless mobile tax refund in South Korea.
• Cambodia Fintech Association officially launches in Phnom Penh.

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Nigerian early-stage investment fund Microtraction invests in a pair of fintech startups Wallet.ng and Allpro.
• Equity Group announces its mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Finserve will operate autonomously to help spur fintech innovation in Kenya and other parts of Africa.
• IT News Africa highlights “African fintech startups to look out for in 2018.”

Central and Eastern Europe

• Lithuania’s Debitum Network leverages blockchain technology to help connect small business with alternative financing options.
• Business Review features Romanian’s first technology accelerator, Techcelerator.
• Ukraine considers legislation to recognize cryptocurrencies as financial assets.

Middle East and Northern Africa

• ZDNet explains why Egypt’s unbanked and underbanked population is “ripe for a FinTech revolution.”
• Dubai’s Jabbar Internet unveils new company, Kambio Ventures, that will develop a blockchain-based funding platform for startups.
• Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Bahrain discuss “coordinated approach” to supporting fintech innovation in the area.

Central and South Asia

• Talks between Alibaba and Reliance Retail could signal the Chinese e-commerce titan’s plans for greater presence in India’s retail market.
• Flipkart acquires India-based speech recognition start-up, Liv.ai, in a bid to boost voice-based ecommerce.
• Paytm launches Paytm AI Cloud for India, offering a set of solutions for developers to automate workflows and integrate payments and other features.