Our Reporter.
Financial technology companies (fintechs) have called for a conducive environment to enhance the adoption of digital financial solutions.
The appeal was made by Oscar Ofumbi, the Head of Business at Lend in a Box, a financial technology company during the two-day fintech landscape exhibition at Sheraton Kampala Hotel last week.
According to Ofumbi, the lack of a conducive policy makes adoption of digital financial solutions difficult.
“If you have a good policy, adoption will be a lot easier because when you talk about an ecosystem, you are talking about the people that are involved in the entire value chain. You need a good policy to ensure that each and everyone’s interest are well taken care of,” Ofumbi said.
It should be noted that while Parliament passed the National Payment Systems (NPS) Bill, 2019 about a month and a half ago, that will among others seek to regulate and provide for the safety and efficiency of payment systems and issuance of electronic money, the president is yet to assent to it.
Citing the Data Protection and Privacy Act (2019), the National Broadband policy and the NPS Bill, the Information and Communication Technology Minister Judith Nabakooba said that the government has set up a conducive legal regime that supports the growth of the sector.
However, Ronald Azairwe, the Pegasus Technologies managing director said that while there is more regulation which is expected to level the playing ground, the NPS is a double edged sword, which he said could make it a little harder for fintech startups to start. This, he said, is because of the whole licensing regime they are supposed to undergo.
“Regulation stands in the way of innovation; we have erratic regulations that sometimes come up and stifle innovation,” he said.
The landscape festival was organised by HiPipo, to mark the end of the 40-days-40-fintechs project, which was held in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation.
The engaged fintechs were equipped with interoperability skills, using Mojaloop, a switching platform with a centralised service that brings together digital financial service providers to help boost financial inclusion in Africa.
The HiPipo CEO, Innocent Kawooya said HiPipo will continue advocating for a leveled playing field for all fintech players but noted that collaboration is needed to achieve this.
He said the project will not only change the way financial inclusion is done in the world but also transform millions of lives in years to come and change the way financial inclusion is going to be done in Uganda going forward.
Kawooya alluded to the need to secure payment platforms, saying that without that, people will lose trust and confidence in the digital payments systems.
“HiPipo recognises that this 40 Days 40 FinTechs season is just the beginning, and so much more needs to be done especially around raising the levels of confidence of customers in the digital payment systems. We shall continue with the same fearlessness: we are proud to continue forging Africa’s digital and financial landscape. And with the potential we have seen, with the talent we have helped nurture, we know that to ‘Include Everyone’ is more than just a dream, it is something we are making real…,” Kawooya said.