Author: FIHCOQld2V

Our Reporter.

Alpteq ICT Solutions is a Financial Technology Company (FinTech) with a mission to become a leader in providing homemade solutions that mostly target the underserved population.

Founded in 2018, the FinTech offers a wide range of ICT solutions to women, schools and people in the informal sector, using innovative products.

It has over the last one year innovated three major products that can be easily used by the public. These are Easelend, POS UG and School Novas.

Easelend is a Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (Sacco) software that is meant to help Saccos automate their day-to-day operations and finance management. Given that most Saccos operate informally, they find it difficult to manage daily operations and the software thus helps them to track members’ deposits, gives all Sacco members a credit score and helps them manage saccos expenses, thus ensuring transparency.

“Most saccos are women dominated. They need support to grow because when you empower a woman, you have empowered a full nation. Easelend is the software that all these Saccos need,” The Alpteq ICT solutions Team Leader Fred Musisi says.

The POS UG product on the other hand helps small businesses easily do book keeping. It targets the sector that most people do not wish go to.

“We found out that informal traders in downtown have booking keeping and expenses management challenges and that is why developed this solution,” Musisi notes.

POS UG, tracks expenses, sales and incomes of the business and helps the business to know its financial health position at every moment.

About 100 shops in downtown Kampala are already using this product since its launch at the end of 2019. Those using it are already giving positive feedback.

Musisi nonetheless notes that while the Covid-19 pandemic has had an impact on their rollout, they are on course.

POS UG is in the process of getting a financial management module that will enable its users to save and borrow from the POS community members.

Good for Teachers, Parents and Students.  

Alpteq ICT solutions’ third product is School Novas, a product that helps schools manage their operations easily yet also allowing pupils to revise at their convenience.

“Just like other businesses, schools also have challenges of managing finances. Remember many teachers are ladies so they are badly hit by this mismanagement,” Musisi says.

He notes that due to high demand, they are introducing an e-learning module in the School Novas product to enable students easily revise on their own at home at a subsidized cost to be done via mobile money or payments cards.

Musisi applauded HiPipo for organising the 40-days-40 FinTechs initiative, saying that the project has given them a chance to learn, share ideas and also come to speed with latest technologies.

“We are excited about the future of FinTechs and tech lovers in Uganda,” he says.

Alpteq is one of the firms taking part in the 40-days-40-FinTech initiative, organised by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne programme, in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop. The firm featured on day 3 of the project.

The initiative seeks to enable FinTechs to innovate solutions that facilitate cross-network financial transactions at minimal risks to enhance access to financial services.

The initiative will see the participating 40 FinTechs acquire interoperable development skills to improve access to financial services, using the Mojaloop open source software.

The HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya says: “I am happy to see developers such as Alpteq thinking widely and boldly.”

“The 40-days-40-FinTechs initiative was designed to tell the prime financial inclusion stories of Uganda and Africa. One of those stories is that of Alpteq team. Their three main products target a huge base – schools, informal traders, retail, wholesale shops and Saccos. Many of these are dominated by women. It is nice to see more companies targeting women,” Kawooya notes.

He notes that as an open source software, Mojaloop will help Alpteq create an interoperable payment solution that would see all its three products communicating to each other.

“Mojaloop will help you break all the barriers and create one ecosystem that will benefit everyone. As HiPipo, we are ready to help Alpteq improve its products and massively roll them out. Like we always say, an economy that includes everyone, benefits everyone.”

Our Reporter.

Ugandans may soon be able to access electricity on credit if Mallan Company Limited, a local Financial Technology company (FinTech) successfully launches its Yassako product soon.

The micro credit product that will enable people to top up their utility bills is being developed in partnership with Airtel, which will give them access to data for credit scoring of customers and also access to a mechanism for collections.

This was revealed by Malcolm Kastiro, the founder and chief executive officer, Mallan Company Limited during the second day of the 40-days-40-FinTechs initiative that is organized by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne programme, in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop.

The initiative seeks to enable FinTechs to innovate solutions that facilitate cross-network financial transactions at minimal risks to enhance access to financial services.

Running for 40 days, the project will see the participating 40 FinTechs acquire interoperable development skills to improve access to financial services, using the Mojaloop open source software.

Kastiro also noted that the Information and Communications Technology solutions company that specializes in value added services and advanced credit services in the mobile payments space, is also working on a payment gateway using the Mojaloop software that will innovate as many services as possible, with various options and features that users enjoy.

Additionally, he said that the FinTech is considering creating an ecosystem that enables its clients to invest their money using the platform , make payments or send money outside the country, on top of the current sending money from one mobile money account to another or from a mobile money account to a bank and vice versa.

About Mallan

Mallan Company Limited was co-founded by Kastiro together with his young brother Allan. Both were pursuing their childhood dream of taking over the world.

It specialises in added value and advanced credit services with emphasis in the mobile payment space.

It offers a range of products including bulk payments, mainly for Small and Mid-sized Enterprises (SMEs)  that desire to pay their employees, staff or casual labourers but who do not have the ‘Know Your Customer’ requirements to open bank Accounts. They help them do bulky payments through mobile money.

Kastiro applauded HiPipo for the initiative, saying it has given them publicity by showcasing their products.

Additionally, he said that HiPipo’s collaboration and partnership with Mojaloop is helping them further understand and appreciate the role of payments in financial inclusion.

“HiPipo is giving us that platform that we need to get the products out there; they are giving us the platform that we need to acquire customers, and to get the necessary stakeholders on board  in terms of regulation and partnerships,” Kastiro said.

Innovative brains

The HiPipo CEO, Innocent Kawooya applauded Mallan for the innovative brains, saying that it has an amazing story and many forward thinking people.

“One of the things that I would credit Mallan team for is that they have got an amazing and very organised team that is ready to go to the market and make a difference,” Kawooya said.

He added: “As we speak about transforming millions of lives using financial technology, one of the most important aspects of transformation is understanding and appreciating the benefits technology can do for our people and our lives.”

He also commended Mallan for building amazing interoperable solutions that will serve people at the bottom of the pyramid.

“Mallan has products that work with Saccos, which are amazing; it is trying to break the traditional ways of saving money in boxes and locking it with a padlock. That is very important for us to have as a service and as a thought for an organisation like them that is in financial technology,” he noted.

He added that Mallan is already embracing the use of Mojaloop, an amazing standard that is globally accepted and which works with the Global System for Mobile Communications Association Application Program Interface specifications.

“We are sure when they are developing a solution off Mojaloop, it will be interoperable, convenient, reliable and very secure because they have all those standards in the solution they are developing,” Kawooya explained.

As an ecosystem advocate, Kawooya pledged that HiPipo will support all the FinTechs that they are engaging by ensuring that they advocate for simpler regulation with the regulators and partners such as Mobile Money Operators and banks to enable them integrate much easier. He also pledged to help them on publicity so as to enable the public know the kind of products they offer.

Going forward, Mallan intends to play a great role in driving financial inclusion in Uganda, right from access to the right financial products to financial literacy and how people can interact with the different technologies available to appreciate systems and the processes.

Financial inclusion in Uganda is estimated at 78%, with formal financial inclusion estimated at 58%, according to the 2018 FinScope survey.