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Here are the nominees for the 2022 Digital Impact Awards Africa

Following the conclusion of the entries’ submission and verification process, HiPipo is pleased to unveil the nominees of the 2022 Digital Impact Awards Africa.

Digital Impact Awards Africa is a platform that promotes Digital Inclusion, Financial Inclusion, and Cyber Security. The Awards recognize and celebrate stakeholders that are spearheading the use of digital mediums to serve communities.

The Digital Impact Awards Africa celebrate digital excellence across the continent; big or small, local or international.

The 2022 Digital Brand of the Year category will see five finance and technology giants go head to head as Centenary Bank is nominated alongside Standard Chartered Bank, Stanbic Bank, MTN Uganda, and Airtel Uganda while the Digital Campaign Excellence category has the Stanbic National Schools Championship drawn against Mpola Enjoyments by Bell Lager, Bolingo Extra by YOTV Channels in partnership with MTN Uganda and NSSF Hi-Innovator. Altogether there are 11 categories this year.

Voting in the 2022 Digital Impact Awards Africa will run until 18th November 9am. While all nominees are winners, the overall winner per category will be determined by a combined public-jury vote.

The Awards now in their 9th consecutive edition will be held on Friday 18th November 2022 at Kampala Serena Hotel as part of the annual Digital and Financial Inclusion summit.

The summit explores strategic trends and technologies that are shaping the future of Digital, ICTs, and Business. Special attention is paid to the safety of customers’ funds and security of platforms in the Digital Financial Services ecosystem.

This year’s summit will bring together C-Level executives that are spearheading the scaling, adoption, and usage of digital and financial services across Africa. The summit will discuss the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on the business ecosystem and what players are doing to recover.

Speakers will come from multinationals, large enterprises, small and mid-sized enterprises, and start-ups. Additionally, the summit will offer a platform for informal businesses (like market vendors, smallholder farmers, sole proprietors, public transporters, and e-commerce delivery agents, etc.)  

The summit and awards are using these 3 official tags; #IncludeEveryone, #DIAA2022, and #LevelOneProject.

Here is the full list of the 2022 Digital Impact Awards Africa nominees.  

  • Financial Inclusion Excellence.
    1. Letshego Digital Mall
    2. MTN MoMo Advance
    3. Group Loans for VSLAs by True African Limited
    4. Airtel Quick Loan in partnership with Housing Finance Bank and YABX
    5. MSacco by Future Link Technologies
  • Digital Banking Excellence.
    1. Stanbic Bank
    2. Centenary Bank
    3. Standard Chartered Bank
    4. ABSA Bank
    5. United Bank for Africa Uganda Limited (UBA)
  • Banking Innovation Excellence.
    1. Trust Mobile Loan | Finance Trust Bank
    2. 3600 Rewards Program | Standard Chartered Bank
    3. FlexiPay | Stanbic Bank Uganda
    4. CenteMobile Loans| Centenary Bank
    5. Eazzy Banking | Equity Bank
    6. Craft Silicon | Mobile Banking Solution – ELMA
  • Community/MFI Banking Innovation Excellence.
    1. Future Link Technologies  
    2. Pride Microfinance Limited
    3. Centenary Bank
    4. Post Bank Limited
    5. Letshego
    6. Finance Trust Bank
  • FinTech Innovation Excellence.
    1. Working Capital and Emergency Loans by Card Pesa
    2. Digital Ticketing for Transport services by KaCyber Technologies
    3. Sup Money by Jpesa
    4. Kawu Smart Card by Kawu Uganda
    5. Safecar by SafeBoda
    6. Jumia Food Mart by Jumia Uganda
    7. Bolingo Extra by YOTV Channels in partnership with MTN Uganda
  • Financial Services Digital Excellence.
    1. Standard Chartered Bank
    2. Comviva and Airtel Mobile Commerce Uganda Limited (AMCUL)
    3. Centenary Bank
    4. Stanbic Bank
    5. United Bank for Africa Uganda Limited (UBA)
    6. MTN Mobile Money Uganda
  • Consumer Goods Digital Excellence.
    1. Riham Group
    2. Jude Color Solutions
    3. Movit
    4. Club Pilsener
    5. Café Javas
    6. Bell Lager
    7. Jumia Uganda
  • Utilities and Government Services Digital Excellence.
    1. Ministry of Health
    2. NSSF
    3. NWSC
    4. UMEME
    5. URA
  • Technology Services Digital Excellence.
    1. Airtel Uganda
    2. Huawei Technologies
    3. MTN Uganda
    4. TECNO Mobile
    5. Cente Tech
  • Digital Campaign Excellence.  
    1. Stanbic National Schools Championship
    2. Mpola Enjoyments by Bell Lager
    3. Bolingo Extra by YOTV Channels in partnership with MTN Uganda.
    4. NSSF Hi-Innovator
  • Digital Brand of the Year.
    1. Centenary Bank
    2. Standard Chartered Bank
    3. Stanbic Bank
    4. MTN Uganda
    5. Airtel Uganda
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Women in FinTech Hackathon Winners and Participants celebrated

Our Reporter.

After an intense and knowledge-packed week, the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon, culminated in to the Women in FinTech Summit on the 16th of September.

The Women in FinTech Summit was characterized by colour and pomp as the top six teams were announced and rewarded. Even so, all the 20 Teams got their fair share of the collective USD 10,000 reward prizes.   

While presiding over the Summit, Owek. Hon. Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, the Minister of State for ICT noted that the Women in FinTech Hackathon is a noble idea that uplifts women and also fosters overall country development.

“We are happy that HiPipo and partners are exploring women’s formal and informal income-generating opportunities that add value to women’s lives and livelihoods using digital solutions. I thank HiPipo for applying a gender lens across all its projects and driving stakeholder influence to advance women’s financial inclusion and economic empowerment. To my daughters that have completed this program, I applaud you and thank you for your commitment. Please use this knowledge to uplift even more women,” Nabbosa said.

The Hackathon had a total of 20 women-led and women-dominated teams. Team Elevation was declared the overall winner and took home a cash prize of UGX 4,000,000 thanks to its product named Kutayarisha; which is a web-based platform that provides maternity services and products to pregnant women in Urban-rural communities with need to have timely and reliable access to maternity care.

 Academic Personal Assistant (APA), Oliwa Events, and Go Green came second, third, and four respectively while both Lands Resource and Insure Wallet tied at the fifth spot.

Prof. Maggie Kigozi, who was the Hackathon Chief Mentor advised the young developers to use the opportunity presented to them to transform and improve the lives of their communities.

“At an individual level, I am always ready and willing to help people attain success. If there is one advise I would give all of you today, it is pull up your sister. Please pull up your sister. Do not go alone because there is no much point. You will not go very far if you go alone,” Kigozi said. 

The Women in FinTech Hackathon and Summit were organized by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation. The Summit had several thematic panel discussions and speeches.

“Leadership is the ability to see the grey areas and hear the unspoken words. When I talk about this I am asking you to check yourself and ask yourself that as a woman who wants to serve my nation, where do I want to play? Do I want a leadership role, a regulators’ role, innovator’s role, an investor’s role, or a consumer’s role?”, Princess Shamirah Kimbugwe, Pivot Payments Limited the founder and managing director said in her keynote address, adding;

“There is no question as to if a woman is a worthy player in the FinTech industry. There is just a question of where the woman should play in the value chain. There are a lot of opportunities for Women in FinTech. As a woman player, you have a whole list of opportunities that you can tap in to.”

On her part, Damali Ssali, the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) chief of programmes and project officer noted that as a way of curbing high transactional costs in the financial technology industry, PSFU is working with partners, particularly HiPipo and Gates Foundation to implement the Pearl of Africa Instant and Inclusive Payment Switch.

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2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon participants make final presentations

Our Reporter.

After over a week of ideation, designing, developing, and coding, the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon reached its climax on Thursday 15th September with the 20 teams presenting their final minimum viable products (MVPs) to the judges.

Day five was very tense and action-packed as participants prepared for the final pitches. The 20 teams that made the final submissions were Her Duuka, Funa House Property, Tawaza Digital Varieties, Lands Resource, Oliwaa Events, Lima Pesa, Jibu, Academic Personal Assistant (APA), The Platter, Rental Pro, Sayl Kare, E-Truck Service, Insure Wallet, The Fintech Devotee, Tegeka Investment Club, Go Green, Autopay, Elevation, Sueno and Izere Education.

According to Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO, all teams met the minimum expectations of the Hackathon as they were able to have working MVPs and also integrated payment solutions from third parties.

“We have been amazed by what we have seen today. The twenty teams have really put in a lot of effort and extra hours to reach this far. From their presentations and product tests, you can clearly see great solutions,” Kawooya said, adding:

“It will be interesting to see how they move to the next steps in their products’ development. As prototypes, they are good, but then they have and in fact, must put in extra effort to complete the job at hand. We promise to continue supporting them in every way possible.”

On her part, Cleopatra Kanyunyuzi, the Hackathon Lead Facilitator and CEO of Club Tangaza noted that as a trainer, she was excited to see how the teams improved each passing day. She thanked the participants for their commitment to the hackathon and the broader women inclusion drive.

“It has been a busy week but yes, the teams have been very committed. You can see that each team has had tremendous growth compared to when they came here. On behalf of the facilitators, we wish all the teams the best for the future. Let them continue with their products even after the Hackathon,” Kanyunyuzi noted.

Now in its third edition, the Women in FinTech Hackathon is part of HiPipo’s commitment towards empowering women with the required digital and financial inclusion skills so that they can go out there; innovate, prosper, earn and develop their families and communities. 

The winners of the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon will be unveiled on Friday 16th September at Mestil Hotel and rewarded.

“We are all set for the Women in FinTech summit, which is a culmination of the Women in FinTech Hackathon. All participants are looking forward and optimistic about winning. The top 5 teams will be announced and rewarded at the summit. Even so, all participants will take home something because they are all winners. I take this early opportunity to congratulate all of them,” Charlotte Neeza, the HiPipo FinTechs Events Manager noted.  

The Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit, and Incubator project is presented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation.

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Women in FinTech Hackathon participants introduced to Mojaloop Open Source Software

Our Reporter.

Day three of the ongoing Women in FinTech Hackathon was action-packed, with participants working on their products’ MVP phase one.

In products’ development, MVP stands for a minimum viable product. According to ProductPlan, a minimum viable product (MVP) is a product with enough features to attract early-adopter customers and validate a product idea early in the product development cycle. The MVP is a critical milestone in the product development eco-system.

Minus the MVP, the participants were also introduced to Mojaloop Open Source Software.

According to Sam Kummary, one of the developers of Mojaloop, this software was designed to provide a reference model for payment interoperability. It can be used to overcome barriers that have slowed the spread of digital financial services.

In his presentation, Kummary took the teams through how developers and innovators can freely use the Mojaloop core code, join the community, and build inclusive, real-time payment systems to help support economies. He shared in-depth insights on the Mojaloop scheme, hub and platform and the roles that each play.

“Mojaloop can be used to create interoperable payment solutions in areas such as person-to-person transfers, payroll, and other bulk payments, account management and fraud monitoring,” Kummary said.

On his part, Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO noted that innovators can use Mojaloop to develop secure and interoperable payment systems that are acceptable globally.

“Payments Schemes around the world are in the process of implementing or considering implementation, of Mojaloop-based interoperable payments systems. Women in FinTech Innovators can use Mojaloop open-source software to support financial services companies, government regulators, and others taking on the challenges of interoperability and financial inclusion,” Kawooya said.

Still on Day 3, the teams were mentored on Product Management. This session was delivered by Mercy Angela Nantongo, the EzyAgric Product Manager.

Nantongo noted that Product Management is a continuous process that ensures that both the product owners and customers get the best results possible.

“Product Management is important as it is the first interaction with customers before any issues arise. It plays a key role in product marketing at initiation, before you build, while building the product, and after you complete the product. Product Management ensures that you are on top of the market trends. It ensures that your customers get the best quality of your product,” Nantongo said.

Organized by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation, the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon has brought together 20 women-led teams this year. The week-long Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate into the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 16th September at Mestil Hotel, Kampala; where the best performing teams and individuals from across East Africa will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. The best teams will also automatically qualify for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run until January 2023.

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We are equipping Women with skills and right tools to transform Society

Our Reporter.

Day Two of the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon concluded with Teams completing their Solution and Prototype designs.

According to Boston Technology, a Solution Design is the first step towards the eventual physical deployment of any solution. It is a visual blueprint for what needs to be built out. On the other hand, a prototype design is an early sample or a visual model of a product created to test a concept or process.

With these two tasks completed, the teams are all optimistic that they will be able to each deliver a minimum viable product – MVP at the end of the hackathon.

According to the HiPipo CEO, Innocent Kawooya, the Women in Fintech Hackathon doesn’t only address the gender diversity challenge in the technology industry but also empowers women with the right skills and tools to think, design, innovate and transform societies.

“Seeing the teams getting down to serious work is a great deal for us because it shows how far we have come; from having a dream, putting it on paper as an idea and now executing it. The same process is what all innovators must go through to actualize their products,” Kawooya said, adding;

“The facilitators and mentors in this hackathon are equipping participants with the required technology skills and also introducing them to real life realities that they must overcome if they are to succeed.”

Now in its third edition, the Women in FinTech Hackathon is part of HiPipo’s commitment towards empowering women with the required digital and financial inclusion skills so that they can go out there; innovate, prosper, earn and develop their families and communities.  This year’s edition has gathered 20 Women-led teams of between two to four members each.

It is presented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation.

Minus the ‘FinTech’ technical work that the hackathon is about, the participants were on day two mentored by Cynthia Mpanga, a renowned public relations practitioner and corporate affairs manager at Standard Chartered Bank, Uganda. Her mentorship was focused on personal branding, public relations, and communication.

The week-long #WomeninFinTech Hackathon will culminate into the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 16th September at Mestil Hotel, Kampala; where the best performing teams and individuals from across East Africa will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. The best teams will also automatically qualify for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run until January 2023.

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We are learning, innovating, and hope to win – 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon participants

Our Reporter.

With the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon underway, participants are thrilled and full of hope that they will at the end of it be better people; ready to transform the world through financial technology innovations.

They attribute this to the detailed daily program designed by the organizers that mixes learning technology, developing solutions, and improving personal skills.

Winfred Nandawula, the Team Leader of Tawaza Initiative notes that the Hackathon is helping them breakdown huge concepts into realistic and achievable products.

“One of the biggest issues that has been out there is that innovators have so many things that are going on and have a wide scope of things they are dealing in. But today we are here to learn that you can scale down a problem into something narrower and more achievable. Most of the teams are here to win, learn, innovate and solve community problems,” Nandawula noted.

Now in its third edition, the Women in FinTech Hackathon is part of HiPipo’s commitment towards empowering women with the required digital and financial inclusion skills so that they can go out there; innovate, prosper, earn and develop their families and communities.  This year’s edition has gathered 20 Women-led teams of between two to four members each.

Sophie Nabaale, a participant from Team Sueno- Wetase noted that even though she has been at a hackathon before, the Women in FinTech Hackathon is different from the first one she attended as it teaches both innovation and life skills.

“For example, today, we learnt about financial management, which is a key topic for individuals and businesses. We are here to learn all that is there to learn and I expect to win regardless of the tight competition. But even without winning, I am sure that what I will get from here will impact so much on me and my team at large,” Nabaale said.

Day One of the Hackathon saw teams complete their Problem Statements and Business Cases in addition to being introduced to Level One Project principles. They were also mentored on Finance Management by Damali Ssali, the chief programs and projects officer at Private Sector Foundation Uganda, and Personal Growth by Wendy Nanfo, the COO Kuda Bank (Uganda).

Novita Nyirarukundo, a participant from Kisoro District and Team Leader of Land Resources observed that even though this was her first hackathon, the first day surpassed her expectations.

“We have been introduced to the latest financial technology and new ways of innovation. I have been inspired by the different speakers such as Madam Wendy who mentored us on personal growth. I have realized that success and rest do not sleep together. In all, we are learning and competing for the top prize,” she said.

The 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon seeks to close the Gender Gap in Access to Technology, Skills, and Usage of Digital Financial Services. It will provide women innovators and students an opportunity to use digital financial technology to explore business concepts. The hackathon will introduce participants to useful tools and offer an introduction to technologies such as Mojaloop Open-Source Software, and guidance from Level One Project foundational material. The skills gained from this initiative will cover Level One Project Principles, Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), Inclusive Finance, and FinTech in general.

According to Cleopatra Kanyunyuzi, the Project’s Lead Facilitator and also co-founder of Club Tangaza, the Hackathon is key in closing the gender diversity gap that is currently experienced in the technology industry.

“Technology has been around but it is a male-dominated space. So when HiPipo comes up with such a project, it is trying to onboard more women in this space. The women that are being trained here will in the future contribute to not only closing the gender gap but also changing their communities. This is a learning vehicle that is enriching the ladies and giving them a push to venture and actively participate in the Financial Technology industry,” Kanyunyuzi explained. 

The week-long Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate in the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 16th September at Mestil Hotel, Kampala; where the best performing teams and individuals from across East Africa will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. The best teams will also automatically qualify for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run until January 2023.

The Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit, and Incubator project is presented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation.

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#LevelOneProject: 20 Teams make final shortlist for 2022 #WomenInFinTech Hackathon

Kampala, Uganda. Following the completion of both entry submission and review process, we are excited to unveil the 20 teams that are going to take part in the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon, scheduled for 10th to 15th September 2022. The 20 teams have been shortlisted from over 50 submissions received.  

The successful teams will work on FinTech products and solutions in areas such as Agri-Tech, E-Commerce, Payments, Savings and Loans, Edu-Tech, and Fundraising.

“We are happy to introduce this year’s participants. The teams shortlisted come from allover the region including a team from Rwanda and Tanzania. Other teams are traveling from as far as Kisoro. This clearly indicates that the project has continued to grow and is attracting more quality. We have had pre-hackathon discussions with all the team leaders and can confirm that they are all ready to innovate, and transform their communities,” Charlotte Neeza, the HiPipo FinTechs Events Manager explained, she added;

“This announcement sets the stage and puts the Hackathon wheels into motion. On our side, we are set to receive all participants, starting Saturday at 7 am. Those traveling from far are set to arrive on Friday.”  

Now in its third edition, the Women in FinTech Hackathon is part of HiPipo’s commitment towards empowering women with the required digital and financial inclusion skills so that they can go out there; innovate, prosper, earn and develop their families and communities. 

The 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon seeks to close the Gender Gap in Access to Technology, Skills, and Usage of Digital Financial Services. It will provide women innovators and students an opportunity to use digital financial technology to explore business concepts. The hackathon will introduce participants to useful tools and offer an introduction to technologies such as Mojaloop Open-Source Software, and guidance from Level One Project foundational material. The skills gained from this initiative will cover Level One Project Principles, Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), Inclusive Finance, and FinTech in general.

“Our ultimate objective is to help achieve a leveled playing field by guiding the African continent into fully maximizing its digital dividend and potential, with the entire populace equitably participating in the use, leverage, dissemination, innovation, adoption, and adaptation of secure digital financial services to improve their lives and livelihoods,” Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO noted.

The Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate into the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 16th of September, where the best performing teams and individuals from across East Africa will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. The best teams will also automatically qualify for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run until January 2023.

The Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit, and Incubator project is presented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox, CyberPLC Academy, and Crosslake Technologies and generously supported by Gates Foundation.

In case of any queries, reach out via socialweb@HiPipo.com

NOTEAM NAMETEAM LEADER
1HERDUUKATABITHA ATWIINE
2FUNA HOUSE PROPERTY MATERSKIYIGA MARION OLIVEA
3TAWAZA DIGITAL VARIETIESWINFRED NANDAWULA
4LANDS RESOURCENOVITA NYIRARUKUNDO
5OLIWAA EVENTSZAHARA NAMWANJE
6LIMA PESAMARIA VIVIAN AWORI
7JIBUNAKISOZI MASTULAH SARAH
8ACADEMIC PERSONAL ASSISTANT (APA)DIANA NAJJUMA
9THE PLATTERNAMULWA PATRA HIGENYI
10RENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM(RMS)AMASE STISHA MARGRET
11SAYL KAREVICTORIA NAKITTO
12E-SERVICEJOSEPHINE NANKUNDA
13INSURE WALLETEVELYNE NAKANWAGI
14THE FINTECH DEVOTEETUSIIME EMILY QUEEN
15TEGEKA INVESTMENT CLUBSHAMIM NAKAYIZA
16GO GREENMARIAM HAVILLAH MIREMBE
17AUTOPAYBETTY HAPPY
18ELEVATIONRACHEAL IPERU
19HER ICT SKILLSMUKAYIRANGA JANE
20IZERE EDUCATIONSHAMIM NIRERE

Ends.

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2022 Digital Impact Awards Africa Open for Nominations

Following the consecutive eight seasons of Digital Impact Awards Africa, we are glad to announce that entry submissions for the 2022 edition are open.

Digital Impact Awards Africa is a platform that promotes Digital Inclusion, Financial Inclusion, and Cyber Security. The Awards recognize and celebrate stakeholders that are spearheading the use of digital mediums to serve communities.

The Digital Impact Awards Africa celebrates digital excellence across the continent, big or small, local or international.

The 9th edition is slated for 18th November 2022 at Kampala Serena Hotel as part of the annual Digital and Financial Inclusion summit.

The summit explores strategic trends and technologies that are shaping the future of Digital, ICTs, and Business. Special attention is paid to the safety of customers’ funds and the security of platforms in the Digital Financial Services ecosystem. 

This year’s summit will bring together C-Level executives that are spearheading the scaling, adoption, and usage of digital and financial services across Africa. The summit will discuss the disruptive impact of COVID-19 on the business ecosystem and what players are doing to recover.

Speakers will come from multinationals, large enterprises, small and mid-sized enterprises, and start-ups. Additionally, the summit will offer a platform for informal businesses (like market vendors, smallholder farmers, sole proprietors, public transporters, e-commerce delivery agents, etc.)   

The summit and awards are using these 3 official tags; #IncludeEveryone #DIAA2022 #LevelOneProject. 

Now is the time for you to nominate your best service provider, products, and brands: Just visit https://bit.ly/3KvUEZn  

Here is the full list of categories open for nomination. 

  1. Financial Inclusion Excellence
  2. Digital Banking Excellence
  3. Banking Innovation Excellence
  4. Community/MFI Banking Innovation Excellence
  5. FinTech Innovation Excellence
  6. Financial Services Digital Excellence
  7. Consumer Goods Digital Excellence
  8. Utilities and Government Services Digital Excellence
  9. Technology Services Digital Excellence 
  10. Digital Campaign Excellence 
  11. Digital Brand of the Year
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HiPipo unveils the 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit, and Incubator; on-boards participants from across East Africa.

Kampala, Uganda: When you empower one woman, you have in fact supported an entire family. This is no longer an optimistic opinion but a statement of fact.

This is why HiPipo is keen to empower women with the required digital and financial inclusion skills so that they can go out there; innovate, prosper, earn and develop their families and communities. 

In both 2020 and 2021, HiPipo deliberately and in full adherence to COVID-19 safety protocols implemented the Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit, and Incubator. The cardinal purpose of these inter-twined initiatives was, and still is, to champion women’s financial inclusion through active participation in the initiation, development, and rolling out of financial technology products that are well tailored to serve women and everyone. And indeed, the HiPipo Women In FinTech initiative is exceptionally supporting efforts toward closing the Gender Gap in Access to Technology, Skills, and Usage of Digital Financial Services.

The impact of these initiatives is out for all to see. More than 100 women have been trained and equipped with the latest FinTech skills, and at least 10 products have been initiated and taken to the market by Women in FinTech participants, in addition to individual participants and teams getting seed capital from both the project and external contributors to further pursue their ideas.

This success is thanks to HiPipo’s thoughtful Women Inclusion efforts and the commitment of its partners: Level One Project, Mojaloop, ModusBox, and Crosslake Technologies. Even so, all this may have remained a good paper concept or a somewhat deferred dream had it not been for the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

This story is set to continue this year with the Women in Fintech Hackathon and Summit finale slated to run from 10th to 16th September 2022 while the Incubator program will run from late October to the end of January 2023. This year’s edition will be bigger and better with the entry of CyberPLC Academy as a strategic implementation partner.

The 2022 Women in FinTech Hackathon seeks to close the Gender Gap in Access to Technology, Skills, and Usage of Digital Financial Services. It will provide women innovators and students an opportunity to use digital financial technology to explore business concepts. The hackathon will introduce participants to useful tools and offer an introduction to technologies such as Mojaloop Open-Source Software, and guidance from Level One Project foundational material. The skills gained from this initiative will cover Level One Project Principles, Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), Inclusive Finance, and FinTech in general.

“Our ultimate objective is to help achieve a leveled playing field by guiding the African continent into fully maximizing its digital dividend and potential, with the entire populace equitably participating in the use, leverage, dissemination, innovation, adoption, and adaptation of secure digital financial services to improve their lives and livelihoods,” Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO noted.

On-boarding East Africa participants.

The 2022 edition will kick off with a virtual East African round that will have participants from across the region taken through daily training and assessment for 5 days (29th August to 2nd September), with the top team from each country automatically qualifying for the grand finale to be held in Kampala.

Interested participants from Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan will register for the virtual round between 17th and 26th August while Ugandan participants will submit their entries from 20th to 29th August.

The hackathon is open to women-led teams of 2 to 4 members, with each team having at least 67 percent female composition.

“We are excited about this year’s edition. The past two editions have been highly impactful with different participants being able to take their innovations to the market while others are in the process. The third edition is going to be bigger and better as we welcome East African participants. We are indebted to our partners, and supporters and commit that we shall not stop because financial inclusion is a right for everyone,” Kawooya noted.

The Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate in the Women in FinTech summit where the best performing teams and individuals from across East Africa will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. This will be in addition to automatically qualifying for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run until January 2023.

So ladies; there you have it. Get ready to register, prepare to develop, learn and shine. More details will be shared in due course.

In case of any queries, reach out via socialweb@HiPipo.com

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Speech by Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, the state minister for ICT at the 2022 FinTech Landscape Exhibition

Hon. Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo, the state minister for ICT has challenged the youth to use technology to find solutions to pressing issues such as employment and poverty.

The minister made these remarks while giving her speech at the 2022 FinTech Landscape Exhibition held at Mestil Hotel. She was the guest of honour.

Below is her full speech.

I am so thankful and grateful for choosing me as your chief guest at this 3rd Fintech Landscape Exhibition 2022.

We are very happy to see that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has transformed the financial infrastructure not only in Uganda but worldwide. For example, Africa and other Emerging Markets have utilised ICT-based financial services to enable the delivery of innovative, inclusive, affordable and instant financial products to the poor and vulnerable groups.

Digital financial services have helped to complement physical banking infrastructure which has traditionally been used. This has enabled the establishment of closer relationships with customers and the creation of convenience tailored offerings. Customers have benefited from more personalised, secure and affordable financial services. In addition, the government of Uganda is developing universal financial systems that are vital to sustainable and inclusive growth.

Digital Financial Services (DFS) support sustainable and inclusive growth by facilitating the delivery of affordable and innovative financial products to poor and vulnerable groups. Additionally, Digital Financial Services facilitate the creation of efficient and effective payment infrastructures. The government is working to ensure that regulatory frameworks balance support for digital financial service innovation whilst managing systemic risk and compliance with Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT) standards.

The digitization journey is a beautiful and longstanding one that has seen all of us transform as a nation from the times of wired telephones, the voice only enabled mobile devices to now micro hand banks that enable citizens to pay for bills, utilities, and other services in the comfort of their bedrooms, workstations or offices.

The Ministry of ICT and National guidance in partnership with other government agencies, donors, private investors and innovators have been pivotal at ensuring internet connectivity becomes for seamless, democratic, and more affordable every year. For instance, a gigabyte of data that costed an average of 60,000 Uganda shillings in 2011 now costs an average 5,000 Shillings and this is only going to get more affordable.

We applaud HiPipo for championing digital, Financial Technology (FinTech) innovation and instant and inclusive payments systems (IIPS) across Africa under the #IncludeEveryone Program in partnership with the Gates Foundation among other partners.

We clearly appreciate that HiPipo advocates for and supports the adoption of digital financial services (DFS) through advising and mobilising key financial inclusion stakeholders. For example, this year, HiPipo delivered the third season of #40Days40FinTechs event, which was organised in face-to-face locations in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania covering areas, such as Mojaloop, and offering guidance on Level One Project principles.

I am glad to officiate the culmination of season three of 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative here at the third FinTech Landscape Exhibition.

Thanks to the HiPipo Include Everyone initiative, guidance on Level One Project and its principles and Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems has been shared over the years and  there’s growing opportunities such as the rising understanding of stakeholders and users alike of the;

  1. Need for making use of Digital Financial Services to support the establishment of sustainable and inclusive growth by facilitating the delivery of affordable and innovative financial products to poor and vulnerable groups.
  2. FinTechs and their collaborators are making it easier and cheaper for customers to engage with the formal financial inclusion ecosystem.
  3. FinTechs are encouraging transactional account usage through intuitive mobile apps (with a few growing super apps) and USSD-based innovations thanks to the momentum this initiative is causing to the market.
  4. Digital Financial Service Providers and FinTechs are partnering to provide cheaper, timely credit by rethinking creditworthiness, and remodelling the traditional bureaucratic lending models.
  5. Thanks to the HiPipo Include Everyone Program, and the viral conversation on interoperability and collaboration, Digital Financial Service stakeholders are reducing credit and insurance costs for smallholders and other excluded groups. Things such as micro-insurance policies have been introduced.
  6. This exceptionally useful Include Everyone trend is helping push FinTechs and Banks to wave unexpected costs on loans and other financial services that low-income users used to incur to onboard onto formal financial rails.

On my behalf and on behalf of the Ministry of ICT and National Guidance, and the government of the Republic of Uganda, I wish to congratulate participants of season three of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative and also take this opportunity to Thank HiPipo; the organisers of this program and their partners the Gates Foundation, Mojaloop Foundation, CyberPLC, Modusbox, Crosslake Technologies and #LevelOneProject for putting up such an exceptional event.

For GOD and My Country.

Hon. Joyce Nabbosa Ssebugwawo

Minister OF STATE FOR ICT