Standard Chartered Bank was yesterday announced the 2021 Digital Brand of the year. To win this Award, Standard Chartered Bank beat competition from Stanbic Bank and Centenary Bank that came second and third respectively. As such, Standard Chartered Bank retained the same prize it won in 2020.
Digital Impact Awards Africa is a platform that promotes Digital Inclusion, Financial Inclusion and Cyber security. Precisely, the Awards seek to recognize, celebrate and appreciate different individuals and organizations that are spearheading the use of digital mediums to better serve their communities.
The 8th Digital Impact Awards Africa were held on Friday, 10th December at Mestil Hotel, Kampala as part of this year’s Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit organized by HiPipo and supported by Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox and Crosslake Technologies.
The Digital and Financial Inclusion summit explored the strategic trends and technologies that are shaping the future of Digital, Information Technology and Business with special attention to the safety of customers’ funds and security of platforms in the financial technology industry. The summit discussed at length the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on the general business ecosystem and what players must do to recover.
This year’s summit brought together C-Level executives that are spearheading the introduction, adoption and usage of digital and financial services across Africa. Speakers came from multinationals, large enterprises, small and mid-sized enterprises, start-ups, informal businesses (such as market vendors and smallholder farmers) and sole proprietorships (public transport drivers/riders and e-commerce delivery agents), among others.
Below is the full list of winners of the 2021 Digital Impact Awards Africa.
Digital Banking Excellence
Standard Chartered Bank (Gold)
Stanbic Bank (Silver)
Banking Innovation Excellence
CenteOnTheGo | Centenary Bank
Community/MFI Banking Innovation Excellence
Centenary Bank (Gold)
Pride Microfinance (Silver)
FinTech Innovation Excellence
Digital Ticketing for Transport Services by KaCyber Technologies. (Gold)
SafeBoda Business Loans in partnership with Numida. (Silver)
Financial Services Digital Excellence
Stanbic Bank (Gold)
Standard Chartered Bank (Silver)
Consumer Goods Digital Excellence
Movit Products (Gold)
Café Javas (Silver)
Utilities and Government Services Digital Excellence
Wheels to the 2021 Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit that will also feature the 8th edition of Digital Impact Awards Africa have been set in motion with the opening of all channels for submissions of entries.
The Digital and Financial Inclusion summit will explore the strategic trends and technologies that are shaping the future of Digital, Information Technology and Business with special attention to the safety of customers’ funds and security of platforms in the financial technology industry. The summit will discuss at length the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on the general business ecosystem and what players must do to recover.
This year’s summit will bring together C-Level executives that are spearheading the introduction, adoption and usage of digital and financial services across Africa. Speakers will come from multinationals, large enterprises, small and mid-sized enterprises, start-ups, informal businesses (such as market vendors and smallholder farmers) and sole proprietorships (public transport drivers/riders and e-commerce delivery agents), among others.
As such, all people interested in being part of the 2021 Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit speakers and presenters in all the aforementioned categories should email their expression of interest to socialweb@HiPipo.com before November 20th. Such a submission should include a brief about the potential panelist and why they must be shortlisted.
#DIAA2021 Nominations underway.
This call for entries thus marks the start of a comprehensive Digital Impact Awards Africa entry submission and validation process that will run until November 13th, 2021. This will then be followed by the release of a list of nominees, Jury assessment and a rollout of public voting from November 17th to December 9th.
Under the theme #IncludeEveryone, Digital Impact Awards Africa is a platform that promotes Digital Inclusion, Financial Inclusion and Cyber security. Precisely, the Awards seek to recognize, celebrate and appreciate different individuals and organizations that are spearheading the use of digital mediums to better serve their communities.
Altogether, there are 10 Africa-focused and 17 Uganda-dedicated categories as shown in the #DIAA2021 entries’ submission form.
This year’s Digital and Financial Inclusion summit will run from 9th to 10th December at Hive Colab and Mestil Hotel respectively, with the Awards gala set to be the climax of this two-day interactive, informative and intriguing activity.
The summit and awards will use 3 official tags
#IncludeEveryone #DIAA2021 #LevelOneProject
Categories
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Africa
Africa Best FinTech Innovation
Africa Best Smart Device Initiative
Africa Best Internet Access Initiative
Africa Best Mobile Innovation for Health
Africa Best Mobile Innovation for Agriculture
Africa Best Mobile Innovation for Education
Africa Best Mobile Innovation for Banking
Africa WomenInFinTech – Leadership Award (Personality)
Africa Financial Inclusion – Medal of Honor (Personality)
Africa Best Digital Response to Covid Impact.
Uganda
Financial Inclusion Excellence
Women Financial Inclusion Outstanding Contribution
Digital Banking Excellence (Online/Web, Mobile, Social Banking)
E-Commerce Excellence
Agriculture Digitization Excellence
Green Energy Excellence Powered by Financial Inclusion.
Best Digital Customer Experience
Best Brand on Social Media (Financial Services, Telecom, IT)
Best Brand on Social Media (Consumer Goods)
Best Brand on Social Media (Utilities, Government Services)
Best Digital Powered Campaign
Best Mobile Payments (Innovation)
Best Cards Payments (Innovation)
Best Community Banking
Best Digital Awareness Initiative (Financial Literacy, Cybersecurity)
The week-long Women in Fintech Hackathon came to an end last Friday with Kuzimba Services, providers of online construction and engineering solutions being declared winners after shrugging off tough competition for the top prize.
Organised by HiPipo in partnership with Crosslake Technologies, ModusBox, Mojaloop and Level One Project, the hackathon that culminated into the Women in Fintech summit, also saw all the teams that made it into the top six rewarded with cash prizes in addition to further three months training –incubation program.
Kuzimba services, whose team leader is Eng. Ephrance Eunice Namugenyi, won the top cash prize of Shs4million in addition to further three month training in different aspects, including business side of technology, product management and marketing. Hack Girls – developers of an interoperable payment platform for NGOs were second while PesaJet – with their digital agriculture platform named Farmore came third.
“What was just an idea has turned out to be real and usable. The hackathon has been hectic but we were up to the task. We knew we had a good product that addresses real community needs but winning the overall product has been a huge surprise,” Eng. Namugenyi told Daily Monitor in an interview after her team scoping the overall prize.
She added: “With Kuzimba web/mobile app, you can quickly get help on estate/site/home building/construction. We provide online and fast engineering solutions, making purchase of building materials and transportation easy as well as providing access to building experts, carpenters, transportation means, architects, interior designers, cleaners and engineers.”
The Women in Fintech hackathon had 16 teams that were women led and women dominated with each team having between two to four members, majority of whom under the age of 30 years. The hackathon introduced the participants to new and emerging tools and technologies that are available to help them create inclusive and instant payment solutions that can ably serve people at the bottom of the pyramid.
Trials and Tribulations.
Although HiPipo and partners, including Crosslake Technologies, ModusBox, Mojaloop and Level One Project, are looking at empowering more women in the technology space, particular in areas of developing innovative and interoperable technologic solutions, there are still numerous barriers hindering women participation in Fintech and technology as a whole.
Discussing challenges and way forward at the Women in Fintech Summit, Founder and Author of Ideation Corner, Ms Damali Ssali noted that cost of both internet and digital transaction remains way beyond what many women, including those in Micro, Small and Medium enterprises can afford. And this explains why only just about 10 per cent of money is being exchanged digitally in Uganda.
As for Ms Doreen Lukandwa, the Vice President Global Enterprises at MFS Africa/Beyonic, women need to be allowed to be revolutionaries as it is through this freedom to invert and innovate that they can eventually develop products that empower them to be better across the economic sectors.
Offer support.
Nonetheless, Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO noted that even amidst several challenges, stakeholders both government and private must continue to empower and encourage more women participation in technology at all stages as this is one of the surest ways of closing the gender diversity gap in the technology space.
“Our intention and that of our partners is to ensure that the technological gender gap is closed. Platforms like the Women in FinTech hackathon and summit are just one example of what we are doing to empower women,” Innocent Kawooya said.
He continued: “We want to see more women in the digital innovation space, support them to not just understand but also innovate digitally. We will also continue working towards inclusive digital solutions as well as creating technologies that support and help populations at the bottom of the pyramid get financially included.”
Additionally, Hon David Karubanga, the HiPipo Patron and MP for Kigorobya County noted that the government of Uganda is committed to enhancing financial inclusion and women empowerment.
He promised to work with HiPipo to present all the sixteen teams’ ideas to the Ministry of ICT and deliberate on how they can be further helped.
Top Six Teams.
1. Kuzimba Online Services – Online Supermarket for Construction and Engineering.
2. Hack Girls – An interoperable finance management solution to enable NGOs and other organisations disburse bulk transactions to final beneficiaries.
3. PesaJet (Farmore) – A digital platform for smallholder farmers offering garden inputs, markets, savings and loans.
4. Green Shares – Digital Payments for fmallholder Farmers
5. Mpa Mpe – A fundraising platform for young entrepreneurs and their businesses.
6. Farmers Financial Development Avenue (FFDA) – A solution that connects farmers to banks, helping them have easy access to credit services.
Several people across the country have fallen victim to land evictions or have their pieces of land lying idle for lack of funds to develop them.
In a bid to solve this challenge especially in the Buganda region where such cases are rampant, Buladde Financial Services, a Cooperative Society, was started by the Buganda Land Board to help people improve their security of tenure on land.
According to John Mark Ernest Golooba, the Buladde Financial Services Manager, this was done through voluntary savings and access to affordable credit facilities to enable people secure the land and use it to develop themselves.
“If you have land with the right documentation, you can access money from financial institutions. You can also get partners to develop the land,” Golooba says.
The Cooperative is currently serving 3,650 customers in Kampala and Wakiso, with 58% of them being women.
Golooba notes that women are more interested in savings and accessing soft loans, given that most of them are involved in a number of trading activities.
Using savings and soft loans from Buladde, Golooba says that the women have also been able to expand their businesses.
While the Cooperative is able to serve its existing clients immediately, it still takes about a week for new clients as it still has to do manual background checks, which consumes time.
In a bid to serve its clients in a convenient and efficient manner, however, Buladde Financial Services set out to streamline service provision by embarking on a digitisation journey last year.
All client information has since been transferred onto the new system, according to Golooba.
“All client information is in the system but we are now working on having them transact digitally so that they don’t have to come to office to transact,” Golooba notes.
Buladde Financial Services is among the firms participating in the ongoing second edition of the 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative, organized by HiPipo in partnership with Crosslake Technologies, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation, and sponsored by the Gates Foundation.
Golooba commended the organizers for the initiative, which he says has widened their understanding of the financial services sector in relation to technology.
“It has helped us see why we need to digitize our services because it is for our own good. It will help us improve on efficiency in service provision and effect real-time settlement which can only be done when you are digital,” he notes.
He adds: “You find that we also have a challenge of people who come to borrow from us yet they have multiple loans from other institutions while others present forged documents for security. But I believe when we digitize, and solutions like Mojaloop are adopted to enable us access information in a pool, doing background search will be made easier to curb such issues.”
The HiPipo Chief Executive Officer Innocent Kawooya says the 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative seeks to boost the African FinTech ecosystem to enable innovators enjoy sustainable profitability to help them design and deploy affordable and inclusive financial services for the poor.
He explains that FinTechs have played a great role in financial inclusion across Africa, as the various products and services innovated by FinTech players are impacting thousands of people at the last mile.
Electronic commerce is increasingly gaining momentum in Uganda and across Africa, having been ‘oiled’ by the 2020 outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that forced most businesses, irrespective of size to shift online.
One company that has been at the forefront of Africa’s growing e-commerce business is Jumia, one of the continent’s biggest platforms that have integrated logistics and digital payment services.
According to Timothy Mugume, the Jumia Food Uganda Country Lead, the firm, which connects customers across Africa to the different vendors, has enabled its customers have access to whatever goods they want, especially during the lockdown.
Jumia offers a range of services right from food deliveries to groceries, electronics and appliances and pharmaceutical products, among others to customers at affordable rates.
“From the onset of the first lockdown last year, we put our partners – vendors and customers – at the forefront because their business continuity was paramount to us,” Mugume says.
Jumia, according to Mugume, is especially passionate about supporting women-led businesses. In partnership with organizations like the Kampala Capital City Authority and UNDP, the firm has trained women entrepreneurs in various skills including digital and business management, as well as undertaking initiatives that level the playing ground for them to compete effectively.
40-Days 40 FinTechs
Jumia Food is among the firms participating in the ongoing second edition of the 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative, organized by HiPipo in partnership with Crosslake Technologies, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation, and sponsored by the Gates Foundation.
Mugume commended HiPipo for the initiative, saying that it has helped highlight tech innovations in the country and also created a platform to showcase leading innovations in Uganda and across the continent.
“FinTech and innovation is what we need to pull Uganda out of the challenges of slow economic growth. A platform like this provided by HiPipo highlighting the different ideas does not only stand as a beacon to bring hope to the economy but also highlights this information and shares it with interested parties, which is good for the ecosystem,” Mugume says.
The HiPipo Chief Executive Officer Innocent Kawooya notes that FinTech in Africa offers attractive opportunities, adding that investors are rightfully picking interest in various startups offering a plethora of services, ranging from payments and lending, remittances and cross-border transfers, among others.
“Each of these services solves unique sets of challenges. For example; with cross-border payments comes the opportunity to erase the outrageous rates and bureaucratic bottlenecks that stymie transactions and thus trade among African countries,” Kawooya says.
He adds that the 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative seeks to boost the African FinTech ecosystem to enable innovators enjoy sustainable profitability to help them design and deploy affordable and inclusive financial services for the poor.
Having participated in the 2020 initiative, Mugume says Jumia picked key financial inclusion lessons which it has since implemented, including continuous adherence to its transparency policy, especially on the privacy and business practices.
Additionally, it ensures that vendors are settled in time as per the agreed timelines, in addition to ensuring that the right documentation in form of Know-Your-Customer (KYC) are obtained from the vendor to ensure smooth business transactions between them.
“It is important that we follow best practices like Level One Project Principles because most of these businesses do not have a lot of capital and we are cognizant of this; that is why we have flexible payment terms depending on the agreements signed,” Mugume explains.
He urges all market players to respect the same-day settlement principle, given that the ecosystem is heavily reliant on cash flows.
“This is a cash flow business and we must play our role as well; we make it easy for the customers to pay through our various payment channels; we should also settle with our vendors in a timely manner.”
HiPipo today successfully kicked off the 2nd edition of its 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative, a grand showcase of exhibition, discussion and dialogue that is centered around offering exposure to those innovators that are enabling many, specifically those yet to enjoy financial inclusivity, the opportunity to become part of the digital economy by way of digital financial services.
‘This year we are aiming for a better understanding of the FinTech ecosystem,’ HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya revealed, adding, ’40 Days 40 FinTechs shall feature creators and innovators catering to multiple sectors. We shall also touch on interoperability at all levels, and generate appreciation and leverage for frameworks, like the Level One Project and Mojaloop, that are already in place to enable this’.
First to showcase was the Mallan Company led by its CEO Malcolm Kastiro. They gave exciting updates about their latest product named ‘Yassako’; an instant micro-credit facility for utilities, specifically electricity.
Malcolm revealed that the exposure brought by the inaugural 40 Days 40 FinTechs had boosted ‘Yassako’ uptake, and allowed Mallan to engage in more proactive planning on where they want to take the service. ’40 Days 40 FinTechs helps you go further,’ Malcolm revealed in appreciation.
He added that HiPipo and #40Days40FinTechs can ably further serve as a validation platform for fintechs, and quickly remove barriers to investment and funding, plus also be an asset in attracting the talent the industry needs.
Innocent lauded Yassako as a product that is well aligned with the Level One Project Principles, enabling low income earners to become part of the digital economy.
He further promised that HiPipo is intensifying its support, specifically in relation to documentation and sourcing for grants/funding.
Yassako Explained.
While still in the pilot phase, the Yassako project, an innovation of Mallan Company Limited, has in a space of just a year grown its customer base to over 100 users every day.
The growing interest in the product is a testimony of how Financial Technology Companies (FinTechs) are helping solving day-to-day challenges facing millions of Ugandans.
Offered in partnership with Airtel Money, Yassako is an instant micro-credit emergency solution that enables users to recharge their pre-paid Yaka electricity on credit any time.
The product was introduced after Mallan Company, which specializes in Value Added Services and advanced credit services in the mobile payments space, noticed a gap in the market, when some Ugandans were running out of Yaka ( Electricity) units in weird hours after Umeme shifted its metering system from post-paid to pre-paid, something most Ugandans were not prepared for.
The solution has turned out to be a life saver for many Ugandans, who can now get electricity units on credit and pay within a maximum 30 days.
The company for now offers a minimum of sh2, 000 worth of Yaka units and a maximum of sh10, 000. Each credit attracts 15% service fee, according to Malcolm Kastiro, the co-founder and chief executive officer of Mallan Company Limited.
Kastiro explains that the low figures are intentional, given that it is an emergency solution. Additionally, they want to ensure that the amounts are not so big for customers to pay back.
“We just take you through that small fix you are in for that moment; probably it is lights, ironing or cooking. We allow you to get enough electricity units to do what you want to do so that the next day you go and purchase electricity,” Kastiro says.
Given that the service is offered in partnership with Airtel, it is for now available to Airtel customers only. Kastiro, however, says that the company is in talks with MTN to have the service offered to its customers too.
Additionally, he notes that the company has plans to roll out the credit solution to pay television service providers such as Dstv and GoTv among others.
However, National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) customers will have to wait a little longer as Kastiro says that the post-paid nature of bill payment makes it tricky. Additionally, the bills involved are also too big.
He, however, expresses optimism that since NWSC has plans to introduce the pre-paid metering system, they will engage it once the system in rolled out in future.
Additionally, there are also plans to engage other electricity distributors, especially those serving the upcountry areas, offer the service to their pre-paid users.
Eligibility
For one to qualify for the Yassako credit solution, s/he must have been an Airtel subscriber for at least three months. To qualify for a certain amount of credit, one must have spent at least twice the credit value they are requesting for.
40 Days 40 FinTechs
Mallan Company Limited featured on Day One of the second edition of the 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative, organised by HiPipo in partnership with Crosslake Technologies, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation, Level One Project and sponsored by the Gates Foundation.
The initiative which provides a platform for FinTechs and stakeholders in the digital and financial technology space to exhibit their products and share ideas, seeks to boost the African FinTech ecosystem to enable innovators enjoy sustainable profitability to help them design and deploy affordable and inclusive financial services for the poor.
Kastiro says that the 40-Days 40 FinTechs has given it a platform to reach more customers, interact and engage with other key stakeholders.
Kastiro notes that Mallan Company implements LevelOneProject principles such as real time payment and same day settlement. Additionally, he says that the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) principle is also key as they cannot extend credit to someone that we don’t know.
“We must have information about you so that we do the credit scoring, so that we know whether you qualify and if you do, how much do you qualify for. These are fundamental features that we need for us to offer a good service,” he notes.
At the end of the day One session, the HiPipo chief executive officer Innocent Kawooya noted: “We are proud to kick off the 40-Days 40 FinTechs season Two by showcasing Mallan Group. Initially mooted in our first edition, we are glad that it is now ready for market, in no small part due to the support 40-Days 40 FinTechs offered and continues to do so.”
He added that Yassako is a fine example of the transformative technology that can positively change societies and communities.
“This is the first of its kind in East Africa and on the entire African continent that enables customers get electricity on credit. It offers great opportunity for home businesses and SMEs that might need critical assistance at vital points of the production value chain,” Kawooya says.
He adds: “ As we talk of digital lending, borrowing and all other service points on the digital ecosystem, it should not be forgotten how vital it is that products like Yassako exist to help and attract many to on-board onto digital rails, taking the first crucial step to financial inclusivity.”
Despite the enacting of the National Payments Systems Act mid this year, Kastiro, however, says that it poses a risk of creating monopolistic tendencies in the industry, given the stringent requirements required to get an operation license.
17th, August, 2020: As part of its on-going Financial Inclusion efforts in Uganda and across Africa, HiPipo has today unveiled the Women in FinTech hackathon and summit.
Slated for 12th to 17th, September, the Women in FinTech hackathon will have developers convening to develop financial inclusion solutions that address their communities’ needs, aided by Level OneProject principles and the latest payment technologies such as Mojaloop open source software. During the hackathon, the participants will interact with facilitators, mentors and judges drawn from across the world.
Registration for this first of its kind hackathon has kicked off today – 17th August 2020 and will go on until Friday 4th September 2020, after which shortlisted teams will be announced and guided on next steps. Eligible participants will be those that will have registered a team of 2 to 4 participants; the team leader must be a woman and at-least 2 of the team members must be women too.
Organized by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne program in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation, this women focused hackathon will culminate in to the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 18th September.
While announcing these two activities, Innocent Kawooya, the CEO of HiPipo noted that it is important to have more women involved in financial technology as this will ensure that products and services on the market are well-tailored to serve women, who while are the majority are less included.
“In line with both Bank of Uganda and Level One Project’s Financial Inclusion principles, the Women in FinTech hackathon and summit will promote the adoption of ICT-based financial services because they deliver affordable and innovative financial solutions to the poor, vulnerable and least included groups such as women., ”Kawooya said, adding;
“The project holistically supports both the United Nations and the government of Uganda’s efforts of using ICTs for socio-economic transformation. We need to bring more women on board so that there can be more products that properly address the needs of the majority women.”
The Women in FinTech Hackathon and Summit come at the back of the great success of the recently concluded 40 Days 40 Fintechs initiative and the FinTech Landscape Exhibition that attracted over 100 financial sector organisations from across Africa, between May 13 and July 30th 2020.
Important Dates:
17th August to 4th September: Online Registration.
4th to 8th September: Eligible participants announced.
12 September: Women in FinTech hackathon briefing for shortlisted teams.
14th to 17th September: Women in FinTech hackathon.
18th September: Women in Fintech summit.
Eligibility:
A team of 2 to 4 developers.
The team leader must be a woman.
At-least 2 of team members must be women.
Benefits:
Networking with fellow Developers and Facilitators from across the World.
Mentorship from Industry Players and Business Leaders.
Electronic commerce platforms have been urged to settle financial obligations they have with partner businesses on the same day to enable them have sufficient cash flows to keep them afloat.
Speaking during the fintech Landscape exhibition at Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Damali Ssali, a trade development expert said that small businesses rely on daily sales to keep their business afloat and thus should be paid the same day.
It should be noted that while there are a number of financial technology companies that sell different goods to online buyers, they do not own the items they sell; they instead source them from third parties such as small businesses and deliver them to their clients, who either pay the fintech via mobile money or cash on delivery.
Ssali said that most times the small business owners operate on a small capital base and that when it takes several days to get paid, it constrains their ability to keep in business.
“Make timely payments to that woman in a market who has supplied the tomatoes which you have delivered to your client because that person is the most vulnerable in the entire value chain. They should not be exploited by the big players because they have to restock, feed their families and also have to serve other customers,” Ssali said.
Ssali also noted that international best practices dictate that a good e-commerce environment should be able to settle the liability of the person at the end of transaction on that same day.
The Jumia Food country manager, Timothy Mugume said the company understands well the value of same day settlement and does it religiously to enable its partners continue running businesses and continue supplying them and other customers.
Mugume noted that there are immense opportunities in e-commerce. He noted that online payments have grown tremendously during the ovid-19 pandemic crisis as people shifted to online purchases due to social distancing and lockdown measures.
The Head of payments at Safe Boda, Nicholas Kamanzi, also said that the ride-hailing firm does same day settlements because these small businesses need money to restock and continue operating.
He noted that previously, they could pay after a few days but they realised that the businesses needed money the same day and thus adjusted.
The Lusuku (garden online) founder and CEO Medhi Matovu alluded to the huge opportunity presented by Covid-19, saying that players need to focus on changing people’s attitudes towards e-commerce platforms to enable it play a meaningful transformative role in society.
The Information and Communication Technology minister, Hon Judith Nabakooba alluded to how the pandemic has fastened the adoption of e-commerce, saying that a multitude of transactions are increasingly being conducted electronically due to social distancing and lockdown measures.
She urged providers of digital financial services to seize the available opportunities to produce more products and services so as to eliminate any existing gaps.
Nabakooba said that the current situation presents numerous opportunities for prepared fintechs and other related technology service providers.
She noted that as people get used to the new normal, the uptake of e-services is bound to increase.
Exhibition
The fintech landscape exhibition sought to mark the end of the 40-days-40-fintechs project, which was organised by HiPipo, 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 the successful execution of the 40-days-40-fintechs project, is expected to change the way financial inclusion is done in the world, transform millions of lives in years to come and change the way financial inclusion will be done in Uganda going forward.
He pledged that HiPipo will continue advocating for a level playing field for all fintechs across Africa to thrive.
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.
Financial technology companies (fintechs) have been urged to ensure customer centricity in the development of digital financial products, as it will be key in enhancing financial inclusion.
Speaking during the two-day fintech landscape exhibition to mark the end of the 40-days-40-fintechs project at Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Wendy Nanfo, the customer delivery supervisor at Jumo Uganda said customer centricity will enable fintech players focus on customer needs and thus provide innovate products that best suit their needs.
“We need to focus on customer needs; investigate the actions and the artifacts of all the touch points on a customer journey. Knowing who you are serving helps you understand the data and be able to provide a product that best suits your customer,” Nanfo said.
Customer centricity is having a product or service that responds to customer needs at all times.
Nanfo commended HiPipo for advocating for Mojaloop software, saying that it will provide an interoperable solution which is expected to be a game changer in the fintech space as it will provide players with an alternative source of data.
“You need data to be able to serve the person at the bottom of the pyramid. So being able to plug into an API that has data from other sources will help us produce products that best suit our customers,” she said.
The Buladde Financial Services financial services manager John Mark Golooba also alluded to the need to offer simple to use digital financial products to enable people who are still financially excluded to adopt.
The FinTech landscape exhibition 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.
Across Africa, it is estimated that only about 43% of people in sub-Saharan Africa are financially included while in Uganda about 78% of the population is financially included both formally and informally.
This is mainly because of high transactional costs, especially across different service providers, which experts say is an obstacle to achieving meaningful financial inclusion.
Currently, providers of digital solutions have to build everything on their own, which is expensive as there is no single loop. This means that they have to charge high transaction fees that are hard for poor customers to afford. Additionally, more services end up being a closed loop where customers can only transact with other customers using the same service.
Lowering cost would therefore require shared platforms like Mojaloop, unto which all players can plug at a low cost, which will help lower both on-network and off-network transaction costs.
Simple products
Daisy Kavinya Mwanzia, senior manager banking, MTN Group said there is need for simplification of financial products, saying it will be key in facilitating adoption of digital financial solutions that include everyone in society.
She said Mojaloop has laid a good foundation, which will provide for the simplification of digital financial solutions and thus enhance financial inclusion across the globe.
The Flutterwave country lead Nielsimms Sangho said his fintech, which specializes in building infrastructure that can be used by others to build products, will use its expertise to help innovators develop relevant products that can be used by everyone, including those who cannot speak English.
The Lend in a Box Head of Business Oscar Ofumbi on the other hand urged fintechs to embrace cyber insurance so as to externalize risks by allowing the insurance company take on any related costs suffered in case of an attack.
Additionally, Ofumbi urged them to use a two-factor authentication, a multi-factor method that requires users to input different pieces of evidence before they are granted access to the account or system. This, according to him, will ensure an enhanced level of security for players in the fintech sector.
He noted that cyber risks are becoming a challenge for the sector, given that it could either be perpetuated by either an employee or a third-party service provider and that using insurance or a two-factor authentication would be very helpful.
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.
“Without secure digital financial services, the world cannot achieve full financial inclusion because if there is a lot of fraud and businesses losing money in an ecosystem, people will not use it; they will keep money in their bags or assets and in the end, we shall not have money to grow the economy,” Kawooya said.
