Category: Interoperability

All sectors have their unique challenges. For schools, collecting school fees is a huge problem as many parents can’t pay the school fees promptly. For those in Agriculture, mainly smallholder farmers, access to quality input is a huge pain point while for small-scale traders, access to merchant stock is almost impossible without cash.

Nonetheless, the increasing roll-out and fast adoption of financial technology solutions is addressing most of these issues with many unserved and underserved people now able to access these much-needed services and products on credit.

One of the financial technology start-ups that have come to address issues faced by farmers, parents, and small-scale traders is PesaJet.

“We are a financial technology solution targeting the underserved communities. These are communities that are unable to access loans from mainstream banking solutions. We focus on three main themes. Education where we are giving school fees to school-going children. Merchant stock for small and medium-scale businesses looking for stock. We also serve smallholder farmers who we give small Agriculture loans,” Angella Kansemiire, the PesaJet Product Manager said.

She added: “For Education, we onboard schools and [help willing parents to] pay the school fees directly to the schools. The parents then pay us back in installments. So far, we have onboarded over 50 schools and serving about 500 happy parents and pupils. Our proposition for Agriculture involves providing farmers with goods and services on credit. When we are offering the funds, we offer them through the suppliers we work with and the suppliers deliver these to the farmers. The farmers then pay back [in installments]. We have so far onboarded around 2,000 farmers and some 500 have accessed the service. Lastly, for small-scale traders, we help them get stock for their businesses. We already have five wholesalers who we have business agreements with; so, when a trader makes an order, we pay the wholesaler and the goods are delivered. The trader then pays us.”

Kansemiire noted that PesaJet services are accessible through a mobile APP downloadable on Android devices for now. She highlighted that after registration, a customer submits basic KYC (Know Your Customer) and two references after which one is able s/he is eligible to apply for between UGX 50,000 and Shs 200,000, which goes on growing depending on someone’s repayment behavior and credit history that is built automatically depending on one’s usage of the APP.

PesaJet has featured on Day 8 of 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.

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

“We are happy to kick off Season Five of 40 Days 40 FinTechs. Last year, we focused on end-user experiences, and this year, we will focus on the innovativeness of the FinTechs. We are going to have candid discussions with FinTechs about their innovations and latest upgrades and what impact they envision these products and services and upgrades will have on their customers,” Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo Chief Executive Officer noted.

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

One of the main pain points faced by small businesses in Uganda is the high cost of rent for stalls and business space. The cheap stalls are not marketable while the marketable stalls are out of reach for small businesses. Nonetheless, technology is solving some of these issues through democratizing advertising and general access to market information.

Among the platforms that are spearheading this is Merchandise Uganda; a free online marketplace where sellers and buyers meet and transact. When you have a business or products to sell, you just visit the Merchandise Uganda platform and open a shop. A seller/trader is required to provide some KYC (Know Your Customer) in form of trader name or business name, location, contact details, good photos of products, and videos of how the products work (if need be).

When someone wants a product, they go to the website or download the Merchandise Uganda app and search for the product they want. Then people with such a product will be listed and the client can contact them directly.

They also have partnerships with courier companies. All suppliers are assigned to these logistics companies. So, when the client makes an order, the delivery company is notified to pick the product and deliver it

Suzan Awori, the General Manager of Merchandise Uganda notes that since they launched in 2019, they have on-boarded tens of clients, created hundreds of jobs, and served thousands of customers.

“We have been in business for more than five years and over the years have on boarded more than 10,000 businesses and created as many jobs along the way. These businesses serve more than one million customers. We are a general business platform and some of our top sectors include automotive, devices, agriculture and furniture,” Awori said, adding:

“We have since upgraded our platform and added a payment system that enables customers to shop and pay digitally. This makes it easy for customers to make payments and also for the sellers to easily and safely receive their money.” 

Merchandise Uganda appeared on Day 7 of the HiPipo 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative season five.

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

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

Uganda is an agro based economy and thus efforts to modernize and transform agriculture are always well received. With more than 60 per cent of Uganda’s work force involved in agriculture, it is always refreshing to engage with stakeholders that using technology to the change the fortunes of this industry.

In Eastern Uganda, large and smallholder farmers now have access to quality inputs and market information thanks to Essymart Africa.

Essymart Africa is an agricultural technology enterprise that is focused on providing smallholder farmers with access to quality farm inputs at competitive prices such as stress tolerant seeds, organic fertilizers and pesticides, input financing to ease farmers cash flow, training in regenerative farming techniques, technology-based services and communication, post-harvest services to reduce spoilage, and access to premium markets for better crop income.

Essymart leverages USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology to deliver information to farmers via their cell phones. Farmers can dial a USSD code on their cell phone to access farm inputs, information on the weather, local market prices, farming practices, water management techniques and agricultural subsidy programs. In addition, it also provides personalized advice to farmers based on their location and type of farm. Farmers can also ask questions and receive answers from agricultural experts via the service.

“Currently, we are serving hundreds of farmers in Eastern Uganda districts of Mayuge, Iganga, Luuka and Kaliro but intend to expand our services to all over the country. Majority of these farmers are smallholder women farmers. By using Web Application, common SMS technologies and telephone calls, we are achieving positive results, improving access to information, increasing productivity and farm incomes, and helping to reduce poverty among small-scale farmers in Eastern Uganda,” Mr Elvis Kadhama, the co-founder and CEO of Essymart said, adding;

“We are disrupting Africa’s agricultural sector using the Fourth generation revolution technologies such as AI to end hunger and poverty among marginalized smallholder farming communities in the African rural areas. We endeavor to help farmers become more productive and efficient by analyzing large amounts of data about weather patterns, soil conditions, pest and disease detection, fertilizer application, crop yields, fertilizer use, and other factors.”

Mr Kadhama noted that they have integrated financial technology in the platform to enable farmers, input dealers and other platform users to be able to seamlessly make and receive payments through mobile money and bank transactions. The platform also facilitates access to farm input on credit thus saving farmers from endless stress.

“We are working with 20 agents. We have so far impacted over 4000 farmers, majority of them being women smallholder farmers dealing in maize, beans and vegetables,” he said.  

Essymart Africa was hosted on Day 6 of the HiPipo 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative season five.

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

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

In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, a lot of bad things happened. Among these were the prolonged lockdowns that made it impossible for people to freely move, meet-up and live life like they best know it.

For party goers, there were no parties anymore, when your drinks or eats got finished, you would struggle to get new deliveries as most shops were closed while those that were open, could close early.

“One day, we were at a friends party and we ran short of eats and drinks. One of our friends asked what we would do to address this issue, considering that even for the shops that were open, we couldn’t access them as it was past movement hours. Actually, even one of our friends had a birthday but we couldn’t get him a cake. So, one of us suggested that we could come up with a platform that can ease the purchase and delivery of drinks and cakes. Initially we developed the Cawine APP to deliver Cakes and Wine thus the name Cawine,” Christine Nimusiima, the co-founder and chief product officer at Cawine Technologies traced the story behind the development of this platform.

Launched in 2021, Cawine is a digital platform that eases the purchase and delivery of Eats and Drinks in Uganda.

“Cawine has three APPs in one. We have the client APP, vendor APP and Courier APP. The vendor APP is for the service providers like Bakeries, Wineries, Restaurant owners and Liquor Stall owners while the client APP is what the customers use to make orders for the Eats and Drinks. The Courier APP is for our transport partners. When an order is received by the clients, they prepare it and when it is ready, they give it to the Courier who will then deliver it to the customer’s preferred location.”

Nimusiima noted that the Cawine APP is available on both Google Play and Apple store and allows for digital payments.

“After making your order, you can pay with mobile money or bank cards or cash. Even though we also have cash, we encourage cashless transactions as these are safe for all stakeholders involved in these transactions. So far, we have more than 2000 APP downloads; with 80 per cent of our vendors and customers being women.

Cawine Technologies has featured on Day 5 of the HiPipo 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative season five.

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

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

Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies (SACCOs) are some of the most popular financial institutions serving both the unbanked and underbanked. Unfortunately, because many of these serve the informal sector, they are mainly operated through a cash based, manual approach. But thanks to continuous innovation and growing adoption of technology, many SACCOs are now digitized and able to serve customers from wherever they are located, any time.

One of the platforms that is leading the digitization of SACCOs is MSACCO by FutureLink Technologies, a Bank of Uganda licensed Payment System Operator that works to enhance the financial resilience of Africa’s low- and middle-income earners through a community-driven digital marketplace for affordable financial services.

According to Matia Ssebiranda, the Marketing Manager at FutureLink Technologies, MSACCO is the preferred community driven digital market place for Savings and Credit Societies in Uganda, and Zambia and now expanding to the whole of Africa.

“MSACCO serves the unbanked and underbanked in Africa. This is a channel where customers are able to serve themselves. A customer can be in Kampala and join a Sacco in Mbarara. Through MSACCO, every customer is able to manage their SACCO account anytime. Each customer can easily repay their loan, deposit, withdraw and monitor their account. MSACCO solves the pain of both the unbanked and underbanked by allowing everyone to choose financial services that are relevant to them,” Mr Ssebiranda said.

He added: “The MSACCO APP is available on Google Play and APP Store. After a new customer downloads it, they register and choose which SACCO they want to join after which they start transacting. The second customer we are serving is one that is already a member of a particular SACCO but wants to be digitized. For such a customer, they only download the APP or access through USSD, get an MSACCO number and start transacting.”

Mr Ssebiranda noted that while savings start automatically for new MSACCO customers, accessing credit depends on how long you have been a member of a particular SACCO and how much you have transacted during that period. He highlighted that most SACCOs give credit after someone has been an active member for an average of 6 months as this gives the SACCO sufficient customer behavior history.

MSACCO by FutureLink Technologies was featured on Day Four of 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative, Season Five.

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

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

Technology continues to change how different businesses are done. Before the twenty-first century, it was unheard of for one to order for a motorbike or car, get picked from their location and be taken to a place of his/her choice.

But with technology, several innovations have been brought onto the market. In the last decade, ride-hailing platforms have become popular among travelers as they offer convenience, are pocket friendly and flexible.

The latest player to come onto Uganda’s ride-hailing market is Faras Technologies; a “pioneer of the continent’s ride-hailing economy and on-demand transport services.”

Faras operates both a customers and drivers/captains’ APPs. Captains are enrolled using the drivers’ APP, and trained before they start providing travel services, while customers only need to download the customers’ APP on Google Play or Apple Store and start ordering for trips.

“We have been here for two years and now looking forward to the third year and more years in Uganda and across Africa. On average, we get about 150 new customers every day in Uganda. More than 40,000 customers have downloaded our APP and are actively using it for their travel needs. As of June, 2024, we had about 25,000 captains offering car and boda boda hailing services,” Karim Katende, the Head of Marketing for Faras Technologies said.

He added; “Minus Uganda, we also operate in Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, and Ethiopia while looking to expand to other countries. Transactions with our Captains are all cashless. We are upgrading our platform to roll out cashless payments for customers, cashbacks, and other gifts before the end of this year.

Faras Technologies has featured on Day Two of 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative, Season Five.

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

“We are happy to kick off Season Five of 40 Days 40 FinTechs. Last year, we focused on end-user experiences and this year, we will focus on the innovativeness of the FinTechs. We are going to have candid discussions with FinTechs about their innovations and latest upgrades and what impact they envision these products and services and upgrades will have on their customers,” Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo Chief Executive Officer noted.

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

Season Five of the annual HiPipo 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has kicked off with AgriShare; an Agric-tech platform that is using financial technology to transform the fortunes of more than 100,000 farmers and core agriculture stakeholders.

AgriShare’s latest intervention is a Buy-Now, Pay-Later model for irrigation equipment. Aimed at curing the ills caused by drought, this model enables farmers to buy or use solar-powered irrigation equipment on credit and pay in instalments.  

“Last year, we launched the solar project which allows farmers to utilize solar energy-powered equipment to irrigate their crops. This is a cost-friendly model for farmers as they don’t need to buy fuel; plus solar energy is environment friendly,” Caroline Nalubwama, the AgriShare Hub Manager for Luweero noted, adding;

“We also have the pay-as-you-go model focused on the irrigation pumps. Farmers that want to own the irrigation pumps and other equipment can pay in installments. This helps them to own the equipment at affordable prices. Most of the farmers pay digitally while some still use cash.”

Nalubwama appeals to the youth to actively take part in Agriculture noting that the industry is profitable, fashionable, and marketable.

“Uganda is an agro-based economy, with the industry employing over 70 per cent of Ugandans. The young people need to seize the opportunities presented by agriculture and use them to grow the economy. At AgriShare, we are here to support farmers and everyone interested in investing in farming. We have offices in Luweero (Central Region), Buwenge (Eastern Uganda) and Nwoya(Northern Uganda). We intend to open more offices in Western Uganda and other parts of the country,” Nalubwama noted. 

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

“We are happy to kick off Season Five of 40 Days 40 FinTechs. Last year, we focused on end-user experiences and this year, we will focus on the innovativeness of the FinTechs. We are going to have candid discussions with FinTechs about their innovations and latest upgrades and what impact they envision these products and services and upgrades will have on their customers,” Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo Chief Executive Officer noted. With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

We are happy to announce that registration for the fifth season of the annual HiPipo 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has opened. The HiPipo 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has undoubtedly set the Innovation and Financial Inclusion bar very high; particularly showcasing both the time and lifesaving abilities of Financial Technology.

Although the 2020 and 2021 seasons ran in the middle of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, they laid the groundwork for this project with more than 200 submissions and about 85 participants altogether. The third edition, which ran in 2022, was bigger and better as it focused on the East African region. Some 47 participants, drawn from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania were featured, out of more than 150 submissions. The fourth season outshone all the previous editions as it focused on end-user experiences of FinTech customers. From Kampala to Lwengo, to Nakasongola, to Gulu, to Arua, to Lira, to Mbale, to Sheema, to Kabale, end-users shared how financial technology had transformed their lives, businesses and communities alike.

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

“We are happy to kick off Season Five of 40 Days 40 FinTechs. Last year, we focused on end-user experiences and this year, we will focus on the innovativeness of the FinTechs. We are going to have candid discussions with FinTechs about their innovations and latest upgrades and what impact they envision these products and services and upgrades will have on their customers,” Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo Chief Executive Officer noted.

He added: “We shall seek to find out how affordable, available, accessible and equitable these innovations are. Importantly, we look forward to finding out how safe and secure these FinTech solutions are.”

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

Now is the time for Digital Innovators and FinTechs from all over Uganda to submit their registration details before 30^th July, 2024 to stand a chance to participate in 40 Days 40 FinTechs Season Five. Participation is on a first-come, first-serve basis as long as your submission meets all the participation requirements.

Important Dates.

40 Days 40 FinTechs Registration: 15^th to 30^th July, 2024. Register here.

Profiling and Featuring 40 Days 40 FinTechs Participants:  5^th August to 20^th September, 2024.

FinTech Landscape Exhibition: 27^th September, 2024.

In an exhilarating development for the financial technology sector, HiPipo has been crowned the Most Innovative Financial Inclusion Organization for the Middle East and Africa at the prestigious FinTech Awards 2024, hosted by Wealth & Finance International. This accolade recognizes our past achievements and our future endeavours in global financial innovation.

Through our social media announcement, we shared the joy of this achievement: “We are honoured to receive this global recognition, which is proof to our dedicated team, our generous sponsors like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and robust partnerships with key stakeholders including the Ministry of ICT, Infitx, Mojaloop, and Comesa Business Council. This award reflects our commitment to digital and financial innovation and excellence.”

Our triumph follows a series of accolades, having been named Best Financial Inclusion Organization consecutively in 2022 and 2023. Notably, in 2022, HiPipo stood out as the only African company on Global Business Leaders Magazine’s list of the world’s top 20 innovators in digital financial services.

Adding to our celebration, our very own CEO, Innocent Kawooya, has been distinguished as the FinTech CEO of the Year 2024 for the Middle East and Africa. His visionary leadership continues to drive HiPipo’s mission of ‘Including Everyone’ in the digital financial narrative, ensuring that no one is left behind in the fast-evolving financial landscape.

Our journey from a promising regional innovator to a celebrated global leader in financial inclusion exemplifies our mission to harness technology for community empowerment. We are more than just a company; we are a movement that champions the inclusion of all, mainly focusing on the underserved and marginalised communities across Africa and beyond.

As we look to the future, HiPipo remains committed to pushing the boundaries of financial technology to create accessible, efficient, and inclusive financial ecosystems. We are excited to continue this journey, ensuring that our innovations lead to awards and, more importantly, to impactful, sustainable change.

#IncludeEveryone #MadeofGOD