iSOKO is supporting over 80,000 Informal Cross Border Traders. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 33

Informal cross border trade is one of the oldest forms of trade across Africa. It employs millions of people majority of them being women and youth.

Research carried out by the African Development Bank (AfDB) shows that cross-border trade is a source of income to millions of people across the African continent. Uganda alone has thousands of informal cross border traders plying their trade in border towns such as Malaba, Busia, Mutukula, Elegu, Katuna, Mirima, and Goli.

However, majority of these traders are faced with several challenges such as lack of market information, absence of interoperable payment platforms, counterfeits and fake money, and cases of mistreatment at the borders.

Nonetheless, innovators, government and development partners are working to mitigate, somewhat put an end to these issues. One way they are doing this is through developing digital platforms to support this kind of trade. Among such platforms being used by cross border traders in Uganda is iSOKO.

“In 2016, Trademark Africa conducted a research on why informal women cross border traders where losing a lot of money while conducting their business. This research revealed that the women traders were losing money due to lack of market information. That is how iSOKO came about with letter I standing for digital or internet and Soko meaning shop. So, Isoko simply means a digital/online shop,” Rogers Mwesigwa the ICT Technical Assistant for iSOKO, Uganda Chapter explained the genesis of this platform.

He added: “But on top of providing the traders with information, iSOKO also added more modules including the market module that enables traders to display and sell their products from wherever they are. As of today, iSOKO is being used in five countries – Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Burundi. There is a plan to expand Isoko allover Africa with focus on the countries that Trademark Africa has presence in so that Africans can have an online shop that allows them to trade with in two or more states.”

Mwesigwa noted that iSOKO APP is downloadable on Google Play after which a trader can register and start trading in addition to accessing relevant trade facilitation information.

“After downloading and registering, the trader can then post their products. When a potential buyer sees the products, they place an order and the trader receives a notification. There is an in-chat APP within iSOKO that enables the trader and buyer to chat and negotiate. The APP also provides market information, daily exchange rate and information about taxes as well as a tax calculator.”

He revealed that iSOKO currently has over 80,000 users from allover the five countries with these numbers expected to grow to about 120,000 by the end of the year.

“When we started this platform, we focused on women. So, majority of the traders on the platform are women. However, we know that trade is not a one sex affair so we also onboard male traders.”

iSOKO has featured on Day 33 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

SchoolPal is using Tech to support Education, improve School Payments. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 32

SchoolPal, an education management system, is committed to using technology to transform education and enhance school life. This is according to its founder and CEO, Shane Senyonga.

“At SchoolPal, we deliver Education management solutions from a dashboard we give to schools and an APP that parents use to access school details for their children. We also have an APP specifically for teachers. Our core solutions are communication, performance analytics and payments,” Senyonga said.

He explained that for payments, SchoolPal supports school fees payments, pocket money and payment of other school related activities as such trips, plus items like books and new uniforms among others.

“The schools only have to set the school fees on the system. When the parents open the APP, they can pay the school fees and money deducted of their mobile money and bank payment cards such as Visa or Mastercard. Those off the APP can also pay through the USSD and get their receipts. At any point, the platform shows you your child’s school fees balance and sends reminders about the same. Parents can also pay for things like sweaters, after which the school gets the notification and gives the sweater to the pupil,” Senyonga noted.

He added: “We are also digitizing pocket money. We have a card we give to boarding school pupils. Through our APP, the parents can load pocket money on the card and the pupil will receive and use it. The parents are able to monitor how much their children are spending and can continuously top up for them.”

Senyonga noted that SchoolPal services are accessible after ‘schools registering on the platform and onboarding their students and their parents’.

“We have been building since platform 2022 but we entered the market this year. Our numbers are not too high but they are promising. We have several schools that have been on trial this term and will start using the platform for managing their payments in third term, so it is very promising,” he concluded.

SchoolPal has featured on Day 32 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Champion’s Road Wins Best Movie at MegaFlix Film Awards

Champion’s Road, the incredible cinematic odyssey, has reached an extraordinary milestone, clinching the coveted Best Movie (Short) title at the prestigious MegaFlix Film Awards. This achievement celebrates the film’s creators and honours the vibrant and inspiring story it portrays.

Champion’s Road is a fantastic movie made with creativity and the exceptional art of storytelling. Its recognition by the MegaFlix Film Awards, a highly admired platform in the global film industry, emphasises the film’s influence and the universal themes it embodies.

The award is a tribute to the team behind Champion’s Road—from the visionary directors (Innocent Kawooya, Richard Nolton Ssekiwunga, George William Ssevubya, and George Kasakya, and talented actors to the heroes whose contributions have brought this remarkable story this far.

From its inception, Champion’s Road was designed to push the boundaries of filming and storytelling. The film captures the essence of determination and the complexities of human experience, weaving a narrative that resonates with global audiences who struggle to become champions of different battles and pathways. The production process was a journey filled with challenges and triumphs, mirroring the very spirit of the story it tells.

The film’s success goes beyond its award-winning status; it lies in the emotional connection it has forged with viewers. Champion’s Road has become an inspiration, demonstrating that no obstacle is insurmountable when met with passion, resilience and unity.

The MegaFlix Film Awards is renowned for celebrating films that push the envelope of creativity and innovation worldwide. The festival draws entries from across the globe, making it an immensely competitive platform. To be named an Award Winner at this prestigious event is such a weighty feat, setting Champion’s Road apart as a standout film in the international arena.

“This accolade is a win for the film and all who have supported it. It reminds us that stories like that in Champion’s Road have the power to move, inspire, and challenge the status quo. We are committed to creating some of the world’s most impactful films for generations to come, and through our work, we aim to generate millions of decent employment opportunities, particularly for youth in the least privileged economies. In doing so, we aspire to build a thriving film industry that significantly contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa’s Agenda 2063.” Noted Innocent Kawooya, the Producer and Co-Director for Champion’s Road.

With this recognition, Champion’s Road is set to soar to even greater heights. The award unlocks new opportunities for the film to be showcased at other major festivals, bringing its powerful message to a broader audience. The team is dedicated to continuing the journey and exploring new avenues to share the film with the world. Champion’s Road has already been selected in six global festivals in 2024.

“On behalf of the creators of Champion’s Road, we express our deepest gratitude to the MegaFlix Film Awards, the judging panel, and everyone who has supported the film from its early days of production to its recent triumph. This achievement would not have been possible without the dedication of the cast, crew, and the global community of fans who have embraced the film’s message.”, Innocent Kawooya added.

As Champion’s Road continues its journey, this award recognizes past efforts and motivates filmmakers worldwide to keep pushing the boundaries.

aXiom Zorn is using Data to enable Farmers, Rural People access Finances. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 31

Farmers and generally people living in rural areas have over the years been the most unserved when it comes to access to financial services. This is particularly because they usually don’t have financial records, credit history and business data to back their requests for finances.  

However, technology is changing this as it is allowing thousands to be able to create reliable financial and business records that can be depended on when assessing credit worthiness. Among the platforms making this possible is aXiom Zorn.

“We are a data forensic enterprise. We started this out of the love to help unserved and underserved people be able to access finance and other services. Many banks used to turn away farmers and people from rural areas because they didn’t have data about them; their work, productivity and incomes. So, aXiom came to close this data gap. We use data to produce services that can help the farmers and generally rural people,” Carol Kyazze Kakooza, the Executive Director of aXiom Zorn said.

She noted that for eight years now, aXiom Zorn has been ensuring that farmers and rural people have visible and authentic data that enables them to get different services such as access to finance, insurance, micro-health, and markets.

“We support a wide range of institutional clients, including banks, insurance companies, and agricultural stakeholders. Our company’s database, which includes detailed profiles of over 600,000 households with 326 data points each, forms the backbone of their innovative solutions. Among the banks we have partnered with is one of the biggest banks that works for the people – Centenary Bank. We merged our credit score matrix with Centenary Bank and with this, hundreds of customers have been served,” she explained, adding: 

“After we have rated the customers, we submit the credit scores and Centenary Bank usually extends credit to anybody with a credit score of 50 per cent and above. Those below 50 per cent can also access financial services from other lenders. We also provide a credit limit to the bank so that people are not given money that they have never received and unable to manage.” 

She noted that through the data they collect, they are able to derive several other services including the progress out of poverty credit score, access to finance, access to markets, digital soil map, fertilizer optimization, and insurance.

aXiom Zorn has featured on Day 31 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Fido is offering digital loans to individuals and businesses. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 30

Access to affordable credit is a big pain point for individuals and businesses alike. Majority that need loans don’t qualify to access them through formal institutions due to institutional red tape and absence of requirements such as collateral and guarantors.  These end up relaying on traditional money lenders who in their nature are exploitative.

Nonetheless, advancement in technology is allowing innovators to develop solutions to address such challenges. One of the most popular financial technology innovations is digital saving and lending platforms. Among those playing in this field is Fido Credit.

Regulated by the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority (UMRA), Fido Credit offers digital personal loans of up to UGX 1.4 million and digital Business loans of up to UGX 2.5 million.

“Fido is inspired by its customers who are striving to make a difference in their daily lives. Fido is on a mission to empower individuals and entrepreneurs to take charge of their future by providing financial services that are inclusive, instant, and easily accessible through Fido’s innovative digital products. We offer both individual and business loans,” Robert Muhumuza, the deputy CEO of Fido Credit, Uganda said.

He noted that for personal loans, one has to submit his/her know your customer (KYC) details after which they are accessed and a credit score is done, showing how much they can access instantly.

“For personal loans we start from UGX 60,000 to UGX 1.4 million shillings. Once your loan has been approved as per your credit score, it is disbursed and received on your mobile money number with in 5 minutes. A customer can choose to select the 10 days or 30 days repayment period. Interest is charged on a daily basis so the earlier you pay the less interest you pay,” he noted.  

On the other hand, for a business to access a business loan, the business owner must submit the know your business (KYB) details after which a credit score is done and a loan limit assigned.

“For businesses, the proprietor uploads documents that prove ownership of a business. This may include certificate of incorporation and trading license. Business loans are disbursed instantly, so if you have all the documents you are able to get a loan with in 5 minutes. The minimum amount is UGX 400,000 and the maximum for business loans is UGX 2.5 million. The repayment period is still 10 days or 30 days,” he explained.

Robert Muhumuza noted that for the time they have been in Uganda, they have already served over 700,000 customers and disbursed money in billions.

Fido APP has featured on Day 30 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

PayTota is collecting Payments for over 400 businesses. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 29

For start-ups, micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs), proceeds from sales are in many cases immediately injected back in to the operations of the business. Many never have a luxury of having huge capital to keep them running for weeks, in to months like big players are able to.

As such, such businesses always need seamless payment collections platforms that ensure that for whatever sale made, the money is remitted immediately so that to keep the business in good health. While several payment aggregators and enablers promise this, it is a just a few that actually do this. One of the players that is enabling MSMEs effectively collect and make payments is PayTota.

Launched in 2020, Paytota is an all-in-one online payment gateway solution that allows individuals and businesses to make and accept payments from local and international buyers and sellers. To enable this, it has integrated with local and international payment facilitators such as Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) like MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money, Banks, and Payment Cards Operators like Visa and Mastercard.

According to Erasmus Okurut, the founder and CEO of PayTota, his company is a ground-breaking financial technology company that empowers businesses by providing an inclusive platform that eases their payments in terms of acceptance and also disbursements.

“We are a total payment solution that empowers businesses not only in Uganda but in the entire continent and the global. We have developed and customized a platform that allows any business to be able to accept payments. To enroll with PayTota, you just go to our website and sign up an account. You will then be asked to submit some documents as per the know your customer/business guidelines. Once your documents are received and verified, your account will be activated, integration will be done and you will start accepting payments,” Okurut explained.

He added: “We have also developed hosted pages, commonly know as check outs. A business that wants to accept payments, reaches out to us, we design these pages for you, embed them on your website and you start accepting payments. We accept mobile money and card payments. We regard ourselves as payments aggregators and operators.”

Okurut revealed that they derive the mandate to manage payments from Bank of Uganda as PayTota is fully licensed.

“We are a regulated payment gateway by Bank of Uganda. We have a license as a payment operator for small funds and third-party systems. That license gives us permission to be able to process payments for our partners. That is why over 400 businesses in Uganda and across the World trust us to manage their payments. We have had over 5000 transactions and processed over USD 400,000.”

PayTota has featured on Day 29 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

PesaSave is enabling the unbanked and underserved save towards achieving Life Goals. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 28

For Uganda to achieve last mile financial inclusion, there must be special focus on the unserved and underserved. This means that there must be equitable distribution and access to financial services.

Several innovators have developed and rolled out solutions aimed at democratizing savings and borrowing. But more efforts are needed if financial inclusion is to be achieved.

Among the platforms that are enabling people at the bottom of the pyramid to be able to save and access digital credit services is PesaSave.

According to Steven Emalu, the Co-Founder and Team Lead at PesaSave, they started PesaSave to address the challenges faced by those unable to be served by formal financial systems. He noted that around 2022, together with his colleagues, they tried to access credit from a bank, only to be locked out by the much paperwork, business data and lack of collateral accepted by the bank. This inspired them to start a platform that would offer an alternative to the unbanked, unserved and underserved.

“At PesaSave, we build financial technology solutions for the underserved and unbanked populations with a large focus on the Youth. We do this through the PesaSave Application that allows individuals mainly the Youth to create specific targets towards their financial needs and they periodically save towards achieving these goals. The Application is easy to access and use thus its users don’t need to travel to deposit their savings and the platform is transparent thus allowing them to track their savings,” Steven Emalu said.

He added: “We also work with groups of individuals mainly in informal sectors. These join as a group and start saving. Through these savings, they are able to meet their goals and also access credit. We are trying to create an alternative to credit as these unbanked and underserved groups are not able to access credit from formal financial institutions.”

Emalu highlighted that individual saving is open to any adult interested in saving money towards meeting a specific financial goal while group savings are for individuals that come together and agree to save as a group, agree on the saving period and the purpose of the savings.

“Both individuals and groups are able to access affordable credit against their savings. We ensure that when a group saves, individual members are able to access part of these savings as credit at an interest and terms determined by each group. Well as the credit has no collateral, those borrowing must have guarantors. So far, we are serving about 28 groups and over 600 individuals.”

He noted that to execute this work, PesaSave has partnered with licensed operators such as PayTota to support their payments and collections. He revealed that before the end of the year, they will also have a commercial bank partner and thus serve their customers better.

PesaSave has featured on Day 28 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Ticket Yo is using FinTech to digitize Events Tickets. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 27

Not a day passes without an event in Uganda. It is either a music, dance and drama show or a themed party, or a sports activity or a professional gathering or cultural gathering, name it.

For all these events, there is one unique problem; the pain involved in accessing tickets. Save for a few events, in most cases, buying tickets and accessing the venues for these events is always a huge mess. This is usually because the tickets are manually sold and physically checked before one can actually attend their event of choice. This old way of doing things comes with so many problems top among them being fraud, theft, commotion and confusion.

That said, all this can be cured by one solution – digitized ticketing systems that allow revelers to book their seats, pay for tickets from wherever they are and turn up on the event day with digital tickets that only need a scan to confirm authenticity before they are let in.

Among the companies that are offering the digitized tickets alternative is Ticket Yo; a start-up that is focused on managing ticketing for events.

“We are an events’ ticketing platform. We are simplifying and streamlining the ticket acquisition process with in the Uganda Entertainment Industry. We help event organizers get their tickets in the easiest and fastest way possible to their target audiences. As an event organizer, you register with us, list your tickets and make them available. We then create for you a dashboard that indicates the numbers of visitors on your link, actually sales and money collected,” John Allan Ojera, the Founder of Ticket Yo said.

He added: “For the customers/revelers, they simply go to our website, choose the event they want to attend and then enter their emails and mobile numbers so that we are able to deliver to them the tickets digitally once they pay. A customer can then pay with either mobile money or bank cards after which they get a confirmation of payment. We then generate a ticket encrypted with security features and a unique QR code which we then share with the customer. This is what the customer presents on the event day.”

Ticket Yo has featured on Day 27 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Uncle Bob is linking Artisans to ready markets. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 26

Uganda is blessed with hundreds of talented and competent Artisans. However, many of these are unable to showcase their skills due to absence of a ready and stable market for their services.

While their services are needed by different customers on a daily, linking up with these customers is usually a problem. It is this gap that Uncle Bob was established to close with the help of technology.

Uncle Bob is a digital platform that reimagines connections in a lively marketplace, uniting professionals from various fields with those seeking their expertise, turning connections into collaborations and dreams into reality.

Its key features include Home Solutions, Business to Business solutions, Artisans and Stores.

“Uncle Bob is a mobile APP that links customers to Artisans. What we do is that we onboard young men and women on Uncle Bob and make them available to customers who need their services. A customer only needs to download our APP, create an account, make a request for a service provider and we shall automatically link them to a professional service provider. Before we onboard any service provider, we take them through a series of competence assessment to ensure that each Artisan is qualified for the service s/he says they offer,” Denis Tusubira Kamira, the Project Coordinator, Uncle Bob said.

He added: “For example if a customer is looking for electrical services, when they log on to the APP, they will find different services. The customer will then select “Electrical Services,” and a dropdown of the various services under Electrical will appear. The customer will then select the exact service they need, when they need it and then submit the request. We usually encourage the customers to first submit an inspect and quote request so that the Artisan first shows up, gets to know the details of the job and then issues a proper quotation for this job.”

Mr Tusubira emphasized that Uncle Bob not only connects the Artisans to customers but also follows up to ensure that each job was completed before the service providers get paid.

“The platform has integrated with two Aggregators – Yo Uganda and Pegasus. When a customer makes a payment via mobile money, it is deducted and received on our account and the job will be accepted on the system. Once the job is done, we get a confirmation from the customer that job has been completed after which we transfer the payment to the Artisan. In future, we intend to integrate directly with mobile money operators so that to make our services faster and seamless for Artisans and customers.”

He highlighted that Uncle Bob has so far identified about 5000 Artisans with in Kampala, Mukono and Wakiso, and onboarded over 3,500 Artisans. He noted that Uncle Bob is supported by Mastercard Foundation and Private Sector Foundation Uganda through the Lead Firm Structure program.

Uncle Bob has featured on Day 26 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

MobiPay is connecting farmers to inputs and ready market. #40Days40FinTechs Initiative Season 5, Day 25

Uganda is an agro based economy. As a result of this, efforts to modernize agriculture and make it much more profitable are always welcome. 

In the last one decade, several initiatives aimed at transforming agriculture have been rolled out. While many have yielded positive results, some failed badly. However, those focused on digitizing the agricultural value chain continue to flourish.

Among the entities that are offering digital services to hundreds of farmers is MobiPay; a platform that seeks to revolutionize the agricultural sector, making it more efficient, transparent, and inclusive.

“We are an Agri-FinTech that provides technological services to farming communities. Part of our main work is to ensure that farmers can have access to digital services, able to receive payments for their products, able to pay for inputs digitally and also access a wider market. We were established in 2016 and went to the market in 2017. We have both the MobiPay and Agrosys platforms which are both integrated to offer seamless services to farmers,” Eric Nana Kwabena Agyei, the Founder of MobiPay AgroSys Limited said.

He added: “Together with my co-founder we did some study in 2015. We wanted to find out if financial institutions were willing to lend to smallholder farmers. What we found out was that small holder farmers had a major risk because they didn’t have data of what they had been doing. We noticed that this high risk made it hard for financial institutions to lend to the farmers. Even input providers couldn’t extend credit due to lack of data. So, we decided to create a platform that would use technology to make farmers credit worthy and able to access all these services.”

Mr Nana Kwabena noted that currently they are operating with about 400,000 farmers across Uganda with about 25 per cent of these being active currently and happy with the MobiPay service.

“We are working across 86 districts in Uganda. We have offices in the East, North and Kampala. We are also working with about 240 agents. Most of the farmers we are working with belong to cooperatives. But a farmer who doesn’t belong to any farmer group or cooperative can directly reach out to us and we shall gladly serve them. But currently, over 90 per cent of our customers come from farmer groups.”

The key services that MobiPay offers are access to inputs, market match & access to market information, access to Agricultural training, Agriculture diagnosis and access to Agronomy services.

MobiPay has featured on Day 25 of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.

With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.