Category: Include Everyone

Steve Wanderi, a dedicated taxi driver from Kenya, recently adopted Little Cab, a digital ride-hailing service, in his quest to enhance the quality of his services. This decision has brought about remarkable transformations in his professional life.

Wanderi notes that the biggest challenge for any cab driver is the lack of consistent clientele – but Little has solved this problem for him.

“The Little APP is impressive. You can’t stay in an area without getting a client. Most of the time, you get a client and are fully compensated for your time,” he says of Little, a Kenyan transport and logistics solution jointly founded in 2016 by tech giants Craft Silicon and Safaricom. Little Cab has nascent operations in other East African countries and hopes to expand beyond the region.

Wanderi is happy that with Little’s mobile application, a cab driver can get paid instantly without waiting for days or weeks to cash out.

“They calculate every minute you spend on the ride. Even if you are stuck in traffic, your hours are compensated. We appreciate them for that,” he says.

One-stop App.

Nyawira Maina, the country corporate manager for Little Limited, says that besides providing excellent mobility services, Little has morphed into a one-stop app where clients can access extra services such as deliveries, entertainment, payments, and healthcare.

“We have a variety of products ranging from both retail and corporate. From a retail perspective, clients can enjoy aspects such as ordering groceries, paying utility bills and ordering a ride and delivery. On the Corporate front, we have multiple items and services. Companies can be able to order taxis, staff shuttles, courier services, and logistics which is a bigger vehicle category,” she says.

Maina says that the unique part about Little is the fact that every service is digitized.

“The other innovation that we added is for companies that have their own fleet of vehicles, we can sell to them something that is known as SAS (software as service) for them to manage their fleet using Little technology,” she explains

Within seven years of operation, Little currently serves up to 1,900 companies and more than one million people in Kenya alone.

“Out of 42 banks in Kenya, we serve at least 39 and are privileged of having the largest employer in the country which is KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority),” she says.

Operational bottlenecks.

Maina says that for any ride-hailing service provider to thrive, they need a strong infrastructure. Unfortunately, both mobile and internet penetration in the East African region is still undesirable.

“In Kenya, we are privileged to have a 92 percent penetration unlike in other East African countries where penetration is still low. Accessibility to technology does not come cheap in reference to the purchase of data. This makes it a little bit hard for people,” she says.

Meanwhile, Kamal Budhabhatti, the Founder and Group CEO at Craft Silicon and Little, ranks scaling as the biggest challenge faced by young FinTechs.

“Beginning modestly with just a handful of clients, the demand for scaling arises as these clients start to embrace the new technology. Prior to the advent of COVID-19, there was a certain hesitance towards the uptake of new FinTech technologies. However, the pandemic has significantly expedited the pace at which people are embracing technology,” he says.

He further notes that much as scaling up was primarily a challenge, it has since become an opportunity.

“As the retail sector experiences significant growth parallel to FinTech, we observe an increasing number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) entering the retail consumer space. Everything is aligning, and we anticipate a substantial surge in the symbiotic relationship between SMEs and FinTech in the near future,” he says.

40 Days 40 FinTechs

Kamal and Maina are grateful to the organisers of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for allowing innovators to converge and share ideas that can improve the FinTech landscape in the region and Africa at large.

“The #40Days40FinTechs initiative provides an invaluable opportunity for us to comprehend the dynamics within the FinTech landscape. While global engagement is crucial, the significance of local engagement cannot be overstated. Regardless of geographic location, the presence of a local expert who can offer guidance and strategies for business growth enhances the value of this initiative substantially,” notes Kamal.

Little are participants number 41 in this year’s edition of 40 Days 40 FinTechs, run by HiPipo in partnership with the Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner and Crosslake Technologies with generous support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO notes that Little APP is an example of last mile inclusion enabler. “In our ongoing pursuit of fostering last-mile financial inclusion, it is paramount to acknowledge those at the forefront of this cause. The Little App is commendably providing services and opportunities to riders, retailers, and others, thereby addressing the needs of the underserved populace. This effort deserves our utmost admiration and recognition.”

With an impressive 23-year legacy, Craft Silicon stands as one of the most enduring and influential FinTech companies, boasting a clientele spanning over 30 nations across Africa and Asia. Their broad spectrum of services has demonstrated profound versatility, encompassing domains from microfinance to commercial banking, Islamic banking, digital banking platforms, anti-money laundering solutions, micro-lending, and most recently, ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ platforms. Over the past two decades, Craft Silicon has manifested an exhaustive range of capabilities, asserting its prominence in the financial technology landscape.

Dhimant Shah, Chief Executive Officer at Craft Silicon, asserts that their comprehensive and extensive experience positions them within the upper echelon of organizations instrumental in propelling financial inclusion worldwide.

“We started with our core banking solutions for microfinance which is something we excel at and are probably the number one microfinance core banking provider in the world,” he asserts.

In addition to its foundational services, Craft Silicon offers an extensive digital suite encompassing mobile banking platforms, retail and corporate Internet banking solutions, along with an array of payment platforms. This breadth of service offerings has rightfully earned them a spot amongst the top 50 fastest-expanding FinTechs in Africa.

Shah notes that it is this experience that has seen them work with more than 250 financial institutions across the world, serving about 89 million end users.

“At Craft Silicon, our reach extends beyond banks and financial institutions. We’ve recently established a division specifically to collaborate with governments, delivering essential revenue collection services. With this strategic move, we aim to broaden our impact and touch the lives of millions more through these interactions,” he says.

To put it into perspective, Craft Silicon processed about USD 7.5 billion worth of transactions in 2022.

“Our estimation at the end of this year we will be about USD13 billion worth of transactions processed by our systems,” he noted.

Thriving amid tough times

Craft Silicon is the 40th participant in this year’s 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative. Now in its impressive fourth season, this initiative, orchestrated by HiPipo, is designed to spotlight groundbreaking innovations that are instrumental in facilitating the integration of underserved populations into the digital economy. The initiative is proudly conducted in collaboration with renowned partners such as the Level One Project, the Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, and Crosslake Technologies, with generous backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Shah says that FinTech in Africa is laced with opportunities, especially at a time when there is emerging artificial intelligence and machine learning.

“So, how do we harness this technology for the end consumers?  How can they take advantage of the platforms that we provide? We are certainly excelling in that area of artificial intelligence; some of the products benefit immensely from artificial intelligence. It is not just about providing the rules,” he says.

In the pursuit of providing fair credit to consumers, Shah notes that artificial intelligence would be very helpful because it can check many money data checkpoints simultaneously and contribute towards a fair score for the consumer.

Furthermore, with its significant presence throughout Africa, Craft Silicon operates as a leading figure within the FinTech industry. Nonetheless, despite their esteemed position, they still encounter operational challenges on occasion.

First, Shah identifies cyber security threats as a primary challenge that they have learned to mitigate by employing certified ethical hackers as well as security professionals.

“There are also regulatory challenges across the countries that we work with.  The regulatory framework keeps changing and we have to keep up with it,” he says.

He however encourages African innovators to identify unique African problems and come up with specific solutions.

“We don’t have to always copy everything that the West does. How do we move with our own solutions to address the unique problems of Africans? We don’t always need to copy because there are areas where we excel in these technologies like our mobile money systems of M-Pesa,” he says.

In a similar vein, Shah applauds the organisers of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for creating awareness among African FinTechs and end-users.

“People get to know what technologies are available, who are the people behind them, and their philosophies. This is not just a flash of knowledge that perhaps Craft Silicon is doing this but who are the people at Craft Silicon? What are their motives or philosophies? Why are they doing the things that they do?” he said.

Innocent Kawooya, CEO of HiPipo, posits that the involvement of well-established FinTechs like Craft Silicon in the industry serves as a potent catalyst for inspiring nascent startups. “Craft Silicon has exhibited remarkable resilience and adaptability. By offering a rich insight into the sector’s evolution and sharing how they’ve continually adapted to remain pertinent, we trust that emerging FinTechs can derive inspiration. We commend Craft Silicon for their unwavering commitment to hastening financial inclusion across Africa,” Kawooya noted.

Brenda Sekabembe cannot forget the day when a staff member at her company – Bake for Me, ran off with the company phone along with all the money on its mobile money account. The staffer was never found. The phone was not found. The money was never recovered.

But it was amid this adversity that Ssekabembe was introduced to another life-changing solution – Airtel Money Pay.

“We were trying to find solutions and we were told to try Airtel Money Pay, because with this service, as soon as the money hits our phones, it is sent directly to our account,” she says.

“The fact that the money goes straight to the bank, we don’t have to worry about it being stolen. Sometimes, your staff could even be part of the racket to steal the money. Airtel Money Pay brings a safer and more convenient process where you receive a message on your phone that money has been banked onto your account.”

Ssekabembe adds that the biggest advantage is the fact that, unlike ordinary mobile money accounts, Airtel Money Pay has no transaction limits.

“We now can receive as much money as we want and we also don’t get to worry about exceeding any transaction limits,” she says.

The charge is also not big compared to the risk involved in dealing with cash transactions.

“You pay EFT charges for the bank and this is okay with us. This is about Shs 3,500 for a day but it is small when you compare it with the risk that you would have undertaken if you decided to carry the money physically to the bank,” she says.

Further, Linda Akatuhurira, the Head Cashier at Fraine Supermarket, Ntinda notes that Airtel Money Pay has transformed their payments collection experience and significantly reduced accounting challenges.

“Airtel Money Pay has been really good because it has been aiding customers on paying promptly and cashless. We haven’t had any reconciliation issues because Airtel Money Pay reports come in instantly which is a win-win on our side,” Akatuhirira says, adding;

“We have nonetheless faced network challenges mainly over the weekends. Maybe because of high traffic during the weekends.”

Payments Revolution.

According to Japhet Aritho, the managing director of Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited (Airtel Money), Airtel Money Pay was introduced to transform the traditional mobile money business which was purely a money transfer business where a customer would just walk to an agent to deposit or send money to another person.

“Over time, we have discovered that the market is shifting. If you look at the payment landscape – foundationally, it was domiciled by cash in the country, and very few people who were privileged to have bank accounts used to have cards like Visa or Mastercard. Most of our traders are not in that formalized structure and the Airtel Money Pay is simply a means of enabling all our customers to conveniently pay for goods and services to a trader or enabling businesses to receive payment digitally from their customers,” he adds.

Aritho notes that everybody is a beneficiary starting from customers because they no longer need to cash out or risk their money in their pockets. Aritho notes that transactions worth more than Shs 700bn were completed via Airtel Money Pay in one year.

“For me, this value is expected to continue growing. In terms of unique users like people paying to businesses, if I look at their [individual] totals, it is close to Shs 2.4 million. This gives us hope,” he explains.

Aritho further adds that close to 40,000 businesses in Uganda are accepting payments via Airtel Money, which is a great sign for the shift to a cashless economy.

“If I look at the micro merchants – a product launched less than one year ago – we are already talking about 600,000 traders that have adopted the Airtel Money Pay,” he says.

Aritho acknowledges the fact that most consumers still believe in physical cash – both at the customer and business levels. Changing this behaviour from cash to cashless is always a very big challenge.

“In a market where we have more than 600,000 merchants where payments are accepted, why would a customer cash out and then pay a merchant when they can conveniently have money in their wallet and pay this merchant digitally? The behavioural change on adoption still requires massive sensitization,” he says.

HiPipo revolution.

Aritho extends credit to HiPipo, the organisers of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative, for bringing industry players together to discuss and understand where the industry is going. This is in addition to understanding the problems that they face and the possible partnerships.

“I can assure you and comment openly that Open APIs in Airtel Money would not be a reality today if not for the 40 Days 40 FinTechs platform. In last year’s event, we picked that as a challenge because everybody was talking about making the platform open. We have been able to do that and a month ago, we were able to bring to the public and launch – we actually have exposed like 10 Open APIs but people think it is one – which enables businesses to be digitized. I give HiPipo credit. What you are doing in this country is priceless,” he said.

Airtel Money is the 39th participant in this year’s 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative presented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies with generous support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Innocent Kawooya, CEO of HiPipo, expressed his gratitude towards Airtel Money for their consistent engagement and their efforts in fostering an inclusive environment within the FinTech industry. “We deeply appreciate the involvement of prominent FinTechs like Airtel Money in this initiative. This year, our focus is on enhancing user experiences, and it’s encouraging to see that Airtel Money is making its APIs accessible to the public. This is certainly a significant stride towards the right direction,” Kawooya said.

The year 2023 is a special one for Uganda’s largest indigenous bank. Centenary Bank is celebrating 40 years of transforming the country’s banking sector. Because of their rural development agenda, Centenary Bank transformed Uganda’s banking from an elitist perspective to targeting the ordinary person.

And when the world experienced the digital revolution over the past decade, Centenary Bank has been at the forefront of championing a shift from over-the-counter transactions to digital services such as Cente Mobile and, most recently, the partnership with Cente Tech.

The bank is working with Cente Tech, a Technology company started about two years ago by Centenary Group to drive the institution’s wider digital agenda.

According to Joseph Kiwanuka Balikuddembe, the executive director of Centenary Bank, since partnering with Cente Tech, there has been a tremendous change in the bank’s smart or digital journey.

“We have an estimate of about 1.3 million customers that are using our alternative channels. We have also seen a vast drop over the last two years in terms of over-the-counter transactions because we are seeing a larger volume of clients going to the digital channels using ATMs, Agent Banking, our Mobile APP and USSD,” he says, adding;

“We are now driving the digital smart bank agenda which we intend to achieve by 2026. We believe in making our customers’ lives easier and simpler.”

Centenary Technology Services.

According to Steven Kirenga, the head of product, business development and customer experience at Centenary Technology Services (Cente Tech), they are helping the bank to radically change customer experiences through digital interventions.

“Centenary Bank, being the largest in Uganda and second most profitable, we at Cente Tech are helping them with their technology for customers who are using Cente APP, USSD or Cente Mobile. If you have been a customer for more than one year, you must have noticed that between February 2022 and now, there has been a big change – all because of what we are able to do,” he says.

Kirenga notes that while Centenary Bank was already running a Mobile Application for clients before this partnership, they have had to make several changes to ensure customer satisfaction.

“We undertook an audit and brought our expertise from a digital perspective and changed some of the processes that the APP does. The improved version of the APP allows you to pay for a multitude of things and has a better experience,” he says.

Balikuddembe, the Centenary Bank executive director is grateful to this partnership because it has reduced the burden at their respective physical branches as more customers continue to prefer alternative banking channels.

In the same vein, Kirenga welcomes the ongoing partnership with Centenary Bank because partnerships between Banks and Technology companies eventually work to the benefit of the final consumers.

“At Cente Tech, we believe that we can’t build everything. If there is somebody providing a service that we can use, we will approach them and build a partnership to serve the people,” he says.

40 Days 40 FinTechs.

CenteTech is the 38th participant in this year’s 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative which is organised to shine a light on life-changing innovations and solutions targeting under-served communities.

Kirenga says that the truth about building transformation is consistency and effort.

“That is what HiPipo is doing through the 40 days 40 FinTechs initiative. This is season four, which means consistency. I applaud HiPipo for shining a light on the industry. This is called sustainable inclusion. We should join them in this noble cause.” he said.

Now in its fourth season, HiPipo’s 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has become a household name in the financial technology space of the East African region. In the last three editions, more than 100 FinTechs have been showcased, highlighting stories changing people’s lives, especially in the under-served sectors. The 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative is run by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner and Crosslake Technologies with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Sometime in 2022, Rosemary Nankabirwa got the shock of her life when her underage daughter was impregnated by another juvenile. Despite the disappointment, Nankabirwa, a teacher by profession, chose to support her daughter through this trying experience.

She started by enrolling the expectant mother at a nearby health centre for antenatal care, and it is here that her story shifted from sadness to one of hope.

“When I came with my child, we were introduced to a product called clinicPesa Mamas by a company called clinicPesa where vulnerable expectant mothers were helped to save money, prepare for safe delivery and receive some medical supplies,” she recalls.

“We enrolled and my child started saving through me and she was given a card,” she says, noting that clinicPesa’s saving platform helped her cover child delivery fees as well as postnatal care.

Harriet Igalu is another subscriber to the clinicPesa Mama’s product. She notes that after she was introduced to clinicPesa in mid-2022, she started to save little amounts in preparation for safe delivery.

“I got to know about clinicPesa last year in June. I was enrolled and started saving small. clinicPesa improved my saving culture. At the time of delivery, I had saved enough money that catered for my hospital bills and also transport to and from the hospital.”

clinicPesa explained.

clinicPesa is a FinTech-driven digital healthcare initiative that provides access to healthcare financing that is more convenient and affordable than the traditional insurance through digital micro-loans and a savings platform. Subscribers are encouraged to set aside dedicated healthcare funds used to offset medical bills and purchase drugs in time of need.

According to Eng. Chrispinus Onyancha, the Founder and CEO at clinicPesa, this solution is aimed at solving the challenge of access to health financing because most Ugandans either don’t have or can’t afford conventional health insurance.

“What we have come out to do is create a mobile wallet that enables the public to save from as low as Shs 1,000 on a daily, weekly and monthly basis and they are able to use this money to clear medical bills at any of our partner health centres. In case they do not have enough money, we are able to give them a loan top-up to clear bills and pay later,” he says.

Onyancha notes that they have a partnership with MTN MoMo where one just needs to dial *165*5# and select clinicPesa under the loans and savings option. In there they are able to put in their mobile money pin to accept the terms and conditions and an account is created.

“You can also download our mobile application from Google PlayStore and put in your mobile money number and a prompt will be sent to your phone to confirm your subscription” he explains.

“Conversely, clinicPesa Mamas’ product plays a significant role in mitigating maternal mortality by assisting pregnant women in preparing for the expenses associated with secure childbirth,” he says.

Onyancha further adds that clinicPesa has received tremendous uptake because of the growing appreciation of medical insurance by Ugandans.

“Our customer base has expanded to beyond 780,000, nearing the one million milestone. Presently, we are in collaboration with over 2,490 healthcare facilities throughout Uganda,” he says.

Resource challenge.

Nonetheless, Onyancha notes that besides the regulatory challenges, startups are curtailed by limited resources for investment due to the global economic recession in the past few years.

“The other challenge is about awareness. People still don’t appreciate saving, especially saving for healthcare. Coming from an angle where most people are biased about insurance where they see it as a loss rather than a gain, it is difficult to transform these mindsets but we are doing our best,” he says.

He however acknowledged that the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative is helping in showcasing the work of startup FinTechs to potential investors, partners, and clients.

“Another crucial component addressed by the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative is fostering awareness of these FinTechs within the community. This visibility promotes understanding of our operations and objectives, assisting our transition from a cash-based society towards a cashless economy,” he says.

As the 37th participant in the fourth season of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative, clinicPesa is proud to join this collaboration. This initiative is expertly organised by HiPipo and made possible through partnerships with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies, with significant backing from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The initiative highlights innovative stories that are changing the lives of under-served communities.

According to HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya, this year’s initiative looks at the user experience of East African FinTechs.

“We are delighted to see an increasing number of individuals embracing Digital Financial Services like clinicPesa, which positively impact the lives of everyday people. “Health is Wealth” perfectly encapsulates clinicPesa’s mission as they are making dignified healthcare accessible to all through their micro-savings and credit solutions,” he noted.

Since MTN Uganda launched mobile money some 14 years ago, the money transfer and financial technology landscape in Uganda was forever revolutionized.  

The convenience, timeliness, and robustness that come with mobile money have seen millions of Uganda’s unbanked population use this service at least once every year. Imagine the idea of sending money from Kampala to someone in Lira and they receive it within five seconds!

However, it is MTN’s most recent innovation called MoMoPay that has received more reviews because of its transformative effect of Mobile Money from a channel of sending and receiving money to a mode of payment between sellers and buyers.

For instance, Joshua Ainomugisha, who works as a Dispenser at WellCity Pharmacy and Medical Center in Kyanja, Kampala, notes that with MoMoPay, businesses have been saved the hustle that comes with cash transactions such as looking for change. With MoMoPay, clients promptly pay the exact amounts from their mobile wallets onto the business’ wallet.

“MoMoPay has also helped us to get rid of fake notes and makes bookkeeping very easy because we are no longer talking about shortages as all payments are on our MoMo line,” he says.

Further, Julian Atugonza, a Chef at Food Shack, also in Kyanja, Kampala notes that customers are very happy with MoMoPay as it saves time for all parties involved in the transaction.

“It quickens our work because as they are paying through MoMo, we are also finalizing the dish they have ordered,” she says. 

MoMoPay explained.

Stephen Mutana, the Chief Strategy and Stakeholder Officer of MTN MoMo notes that most people initially understood mobile money as a cash-in and cash-out platform. They, therefore, decided to add more value to it by making it more transactional and inclusive through MoMoPay.

“We noticed that people were sending money to pay each other. So, we did some research and found that there was room for businesses to accept digital money. We then launched MTN MoMoPay,” he says.

“There are various ways of paying via MoMoPay. You can input a merchant code into your mobile phone and pay or the shopkeeper puts your number in their device and you receive a prompt to enter your pin and the money is removed. You can also pay using the MTN MoMo APP where you press MoMoPay and scan a QR code before inputting the money billed by the shopkeeper,” he explains.

He however warns customers about rampant online fraud.

“We have seen an increase in online fraud – usually where people use all sorts of social engineering. I want to emphasize that; never share your pin with anyone. Not any bank or MTN MoMo or any other FinTech will ever ask you for that,” he says.

Meanwhile, Adams Kibet, the acting Chief Commercial Officer for MTN MoMo Uganda notes that the convenience that comes with MoMoPay has seen the uptake numbers rise within a few years.

“There are approximately 540,000 customers using MoMoPay on a monthly basis. We have about 275,000 active merchants monthly. We do an average of UGX 140 billion in a month – in terms of the value of transactions through MoMoPay,” he says.

Kibet says that now the focus is on trying to bring more informal merchants such as market vendors, and Boda Boda riders, among others, into the fold.

“Our main focus is to ensure that the money remains within the eco-system. We are driving informal merchants – in that when they collect money from a consumer, they should not cash out the money. We want to drive that cashless ecosystem where we ensure that every informal merchant is mapped to a formal merchant,” he says.

Kibet however acknowledges that the majority of Ugandans are still stuck in the cash economy.

“The biggest elephant in the room is the cash. But with MoMoPay, we have other value proposition advantages that we give to our merchants. We try to train them to understand how risky it is to handle cash and how faster it is for a business person to accept the cashless economy,” he says.

40 Days 40 FinTechs.

MTN is the 36th participant in Season Four of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative organised by HiPipo to highlight innovative solutions changing lives for people at the bottom of the pyramid.

“I got to know 40 Days 40 FinTechs around 2020 and you gave us much hope. What I loved about it is that you are a platform for young FinTechs to come and showcase what it is that they are innovating,” Mutana said.

“This is also a platform of reassurance. You bring various stakeholders together to share ideas and experiences. We all need encouragement to know that what we are thinking about is not just an idea in isolation but something that is useful to customers and the economy,” he says.

Mutana also appreciates the initiative for selling the Ugandan brand across the region and beyond.

“We are in one of the best regions in FinTech innovation. Our neighbour Kenya is a world leader and we are very close to Kenya. So, East Africa is seen as a basket or home of FinTech innovation. The 40 days 40 FinTechs initiative helps us to elevate the great work that is going on, the skills that are available in Uganda, and most importantly, the life-changing and impactful contributions by youth, women, and men in our society,” he says.

In the meantime, HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya observes that the emergence of groundbreaking innovations from prominent brands like MTN MoMo serves as a promising indication for FinTech startups to explore existing opportunities and devise specialized solutions.

“MoMoPay represents a product nested within another product, highlighting the numerous challenges that can be addressed by FinTech companies when they critically examine society,” Kawooya noted.

Mutana thus called for more frequent engagements that should even involve institutions of learning.

“I know students come to the 40 Days 40 FinTechs event but nothing makes me happier than seeing young minds engage with technology with all the benefits that we can get from it,” he said.

40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative is run by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies with generous support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

When Doreen Nanfuka started an events management, company called Fuuka Star a few years ago, her most immediate challenge was about the cost of ticketing. This is on top of the hustle of printing tickets and incorporating security features to avoid fraudsters.

Then she soon learned about Ticteq, an online events solution that among other things sells online tickets for events. Since then, she decided to incorporate digital tickets into her events.

“Trust me Ticteq has helped us in saving money because we don’t have to use paper to print. It is also automated. We use their dashboards to withdraw our money through mobile money or send directly to our bank accounts,” she says.

With Ticteq, they just need a scanner that validates a QR code of tickets at event entrances.

“I encourage all event managers to sign up for Ticteq as signing up is free. There are no contracts needed yet they provide us with all information we need, and access to their tools to help us manage our businesses,” she says.

What is Ticteq?

Ticteq is a system that helps fans purchase tickets online starting from Sports, Theatre shows, Music concerts, Cinemas, Comedy shows, Festivals, and Award ceremonies, among others.

According to George Katuramu, a Ticteq director, Ticteq is a subsidiary of Xopa Limited that allows Events Organizers worldwide to register an account and start transacting with a personalized dashboard to enable them to monitor their event performance.

“They then start creating the events and attach them to the tickets they want. When they create these tickets, the links are generated automatically and they start sharing them with their users,” he says.

Katuramu says that for the time they have been operating, Ticteq has managed to sell more than 200,000 tickets with a transaction value worth more than Shs 400m.

Besides ticketing, Katuramu notes that they also offer crowd-funding services for noble causes such as education services, healthcare services, etc.

“Crowd-funding uses the power of social media and the internet to enable people to raise money, assist others in overcoming adversity, and achieve aspirational goals. You can do anything from funding your own surgery to helping a student realize his or her dream of attending college – and so much more,” he says.

Ignorance.

Katuramu however notes that the first challenge that the FinTech industry is facing is ignorance.

“Many people don’t know the digital world. People think that things that are done digitally are associated with fraud,” he says.

Even Nanfuka agrees.

“The challenge with Ticteq is that people don’t know that these platforms exist. Even when you buy tickets online some people, prefer to use the old way of printed tickets which is costly,” she says.

Another challenge is the high percentage cut by payment gateways.

“The percentage is a little bit high because we get a percentage for each ticket we sell to the customers. So, the gateways can charge you like 3 percent per ticket sale yet you also need to take a percentage like 2 or 3 percent. This becomes a little bit high and people end up finding it costly to buy tickets online. If the gateways could reduce the percentage of the charges, I believe more people will start buying online tickets,” he says.

Ticteq is the 35th participant in 40 Days 40 FinTechs season 4 organized by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies with generous support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Katuramu says the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has solved the issue of exposure and ignorance.

“This is something that has been missing in the FinTech industry, especially in marketing. For example, if someone has a good product, the initiative gets known to the public. This has been a hustle for us but when we come for the 40 days 40 FinTech, the public knows how our products work,” he says.

Now in its fourth season, HiPipo’s 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has become a household name in the financial technology space of the East African region. In the last three editions, more than 100 FinTechs have been showcased, highlighting stories changing people’s lives, especially in the under-served sectors.

It is no secret that the Ugandan business environment is saturated by counterfeit and substandard products in all sectors. In agriculture, for instance, grassroots farmers are perennially challenged by identifying authentic agricultural inputs such as seeds, pesticides, and equipment.

Take the example of Ssenabulya Patrick, a farmer, and trader, who notes that besides volatile weather, a farmer’s biggest worry is about being cheated with fake agro inputs.

“It is usually difficult for a rural farmer to know a genuine product. So, they just buy and later discover that they were cheated after it fails to work,” he says.

These worries are however beginning to fade since Ssenabulya was introduced to a Mobile Application by ETG, which provides authentic market information about genuine agricultural inputs, market access, financial literacy, and other extension services.

Established in 1967, ETG (Export Trading Group) is one of the largest and fastest-growing integrated agricultural conglomerates in sub-Saharan Africa, importing and exporting soft commodities to and from 49 countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, and South Africa. It also has supply chain operations in China, India, America, the Middle East, and South East Asia.

“I got to know ETG through a friend who advised me where to sell my coffee. He introduced me to ETG and I found out that they are also buyers of coffee… The information on their Agricultural App is readily available on your phone. This eases the search for local agronomists in villages and when I go to buy pesticides or herbicides, I am not cheated,” he says.

According to Ponsiano Byansi, an agronomist at ETG, this organisation headquartered in Dubai has the motivation to empower Ugandan rural farmers.

“[In Uganda] we have ETG logistics which deals in transport, ETG commodities which are based in Tororo, and ETG coffee which deals in the export of processed coffee and is based in Namanve. We also have ETG inputs which deal in Agricultural inputs like fertilizers, crop protection products, and farm tools,” he says.

Byansi says that they came up with a mobile application that is a one-stop centre for all Agricultural inputs. A user just needs to download the ETG application to their phone and start accessing these services.

The ETG one-stop solution APP also has a live weather forecast which helps farmers to plan for their gardens depending on the weather forecast. For instance, if you want to apply fertilizers, you must do so immediately when it is going to rain so that you don’t incur losses.

The agronomy feature on this App provides information to farmers with a program for all crops. For instance, if a farmer is growing maize, they go to the App and open the maize program to know what they are supposed to do from the planting stage, and what fertilizers to use, until the harvesting period.

“We also have the agro-doctor feature on the App whereby if a farmer has a disease in their garden, you use the smartphone to take a photo of the crop and send it via WhatsApp to us. Instantly, the farmer gets a message about the name of the disease, pesticides to use, and more pictures of the signs and symptoms of that disease,” he says.

Byansi further adds that to ensure financial literacy and discipline, they integrated a personal finance feature named Falcon Wallet that helps farmers to plan budget management and also keep records of their finances.

“For example, most farmers invest money into their farms at the start of the season and at the end, when they sell their produce, they can’t tell if they have made profits or losses. Under the Falcon Wallet, if a farmer is planning to invest Shs 1m into their garden, they input that money into the App and every time they incur an expense, it is registered into the wallet.  At the end of the season, when selling his produce, he can also input the income. The APP will then give him a balance sheet of what he spent on and what he earned,” he explains.

Technology gap.

Byansi notes that while their mobile application has more than 40,000 users on the African continent, there are about 700 users in Uganda.

“We are working with more than 100,000 farmers in Uganda but very few use the application because many lack smartphones and several that have them have phone storage capacity limitations. So, there is competition on the apps they are supposed to retain but also an information gap,” he says.

Byansi nonetheless expresses gratitude for the opportunity offered by the organisers of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative to highlight their services and also get to know what other players in the ecosystem are doing.

“The 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative is a great initiative because it gives us a platform. It is an addition to the efforts we are trying to push because there is an information gap, financial illiteracy, and poor record keeping, among others. So, this platform will help us add a voice to the efforts to reduce these problems,” he says.

ETG is the 32nd participant in this year’s 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative.

Now in its fourth season, the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative is run by HiPipo in partnership with the Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies with generous support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.