Women are the most active informal cross border traders across Africa. Available reports put their numbers at between 70 to 80 per cent. Thanks to informal cross border trade, thousands of these women are able to support their families, and transform their communities.
But not without trials and harsh encounters. Some of the challenges they face are exploitation by trade agents, travel security risks, discrimination and harassment, lack of market information, forex issues, and domestic violence among others.
It is these challenges that a team of three young and vibrant female software engineers and computer scientists are fixing through a digital market place named Cross Border Connect.
“We are supporting financial inclusion among the underserved communities. Our platform onboards women led businesses and engages them on how they can trade and transact seamlessly over their mobile phones. We address issues affecting women led businesses such as sexual harassment, theft and forex problems,” Kondwani Nyirongo, a software engineer and member of the Cross Border Connect Team said.
She added: “Cross Border Connect addresses these issues by being a one stop digital application. Sellers upload their products on the platform and buyers log on to this platform to access these products and make preferences. After viewing and choosing the product, a buyer negotiates with the seller, makes a digital payment after which the product is delivered. The platform works as the ‘middleman’ that connects the buyers with the sellers.”
She noted that one of the challenges they face is trust deficit as digital platforms and payments are not yet fully accepted by women traders and customers generally.
“People are not very familiar with these applications and cashless payments. Because they are new, most people don’t trust them. We are addressing this through digital and financial literacy trainings among our target communities.”
Nyirongo appealed for mentorship, financial support and networking opportunities from the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative to further develop and scale their solution across the COMESA Region.
Cross Border Connect featured on Day 7 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative; Zambia and Malawi edition. The roll-out of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative in Zambia and Malawi followed its success in East Africa. Over the past 5 years, the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has featured over 200 FinTech stories from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda. This initiative has also engaged hundreds of end-users and shared their stories with millions worldwide.
The primary objective of this initiative is to support and showcase innovative FinTech giants and start-ups from across Africa, with a focus on promoting financial inclusion and economic growth, in addition to giving start-ups access to the resources they need to develop new and innovative financial solutions that can benefit underserved populations. Such resources include but are not limited to Level One Project guidelines, Mojaloop Open Source Software and Inclusive Finance systems, etc.