Category: Women In FinTech

Teams from Uganda and Kenya, each comprising enthusiastic individuals with diverse backgrounds and skill sets, are currently in Kampala, diligently working to refine their pitched ideas into Financial Technology solutions. 

As these teams gathered on Day three, a palpable sense of anticipation filled the air with the participants waiting to listen to words of wisdom and encouragement prepared by Damali Ssali, the founder of the Ideation Corner and also, the chief programs and projects officer at Private Sector Foundation Uganda.

In her morning presentation, Ssali emphasized the power of collaboration and the potential of innovation to reshape communities. She spoke about how HiPipo itself had been built on the spirit of innovation, with its history steeped in groundbreaking ideas that had transcended barriers and transformed challenges into opportunities.

“You always have to test your idea and then you roll it out. Find friends who believe in your ideas. Sometimes you may first need to develop your idea before you start talking about it. Don’t talk to people who will tell you it will never work,” she advised the youthful entrepreneurs.

“You also need to be passionate about your idea and push it. You must believe in it first before others do. Those are the most critical steps because many ideas have died in people’s heads.”

“You have to be patient with your idea because they usually don’t materialize immediately. HiPipo has for example been in business for more than 15 years. It takes time. You must have the tenacity to continue every year chasing that dream that you have. You also have to have the flexibility of mind to adapt to the idea. The more you learn, the more you will have the flexibility to tweak your ideas,” Damali Ssali explained.

Throughout the third day of this Hackathon, the diversity of ideas among the teams was astounding – from solutions aiming to connect housemaids to customers to savings and credit solutions targeting farmers and small businesses. There are also solutions focused on providing car owners with reliable mechanics during emergencies, and others reimagining Uganda’s modes of payments.

Throughout Day three, the facilitators listened attentively, their faces reflecting a range of emotions – intrigue, curiosity, and admiration. After listening to the team’s presentations, they provided insightful feedback, pushing the teams to delve deeper into their concepts, challenging assumptions, and encouraging them to consider the broader implications of their innovations.

“You don’t just wake up one day and put an idea on the market. You should consider the time span and the costs involved. If you plan adequately, you will make sure you work within the stated timelines. Look at the function requirements of the idea and find out what you really need,” Simon Peter Kamya, a Ugandan developer and one of the facilitators noted.

Collaborations also continued to blossom among the teams as they realized that their solutions often intersected, reinforcing the belief that collective efforts could lead to even more impactful results.

Paul Baker, the Principle Product Manager at INFITX highlighted that trust is of paramount importance while developing payment solutions.

“Trust builds user confidence. We need to build up a trusted relationship,” he said.

The afternoon mentor, Marion Kirabo – a legal associate at Matrix Advocates took the participants through Business Registration, Intellectual Property and Regulations.

She emphasized the need for Innovators and Tech Start-Ups, in general, to pay close attention to the latest legal developments in the industry such as the National Payment Systems Act, 2020.

Running for the 4th consecutive year, the Women in FinTech Hackathon is not just a competition; it is a platform for sharing and learning, a crucible of ideas that have unlimited potential to transform lives.

This Hackathon is part of the broader Women in Fintech initiative that also includes a Summit and Incubator program; all implemented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Crosslake Technologies and Ideation Corner and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The 2023 Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate in the Women in FinTech summit on 18th August 2023 where the best-performing teams and individuals will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. This will be in addition to the winners automatically qualifying for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run from September until December 2023.

Day Two of the 2023 Women in FinTech Hackathon was a huge success highlighted by participants presenting their refined Problem Statements and Business Cases.

The day started with a deep dive into both the Mobile Money ecosystem and the Mojaloop Open Source Software presented by HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya and Paul Baker, the Principle Product Manager at INFITX respectively.

This was followed by teams presenting their improved Problem Statements and Business Cases.

According to Dorothy Kabarozi, a Full Stack Software Engineer and Facilitator of the Women in FinTech Hackathon, this year’s edition has a variety of fresh innovations compared to the previous edition.

“On day two, we got to know an in-depth description of the solutions that the participants are trying to build for their different communities. There are several interesting solutions this year that we did not have in the previous hackathons. There are several innovations in areas such as Taxation, Forex Trade, Village Loans and Savings, Rural Women and Refugees’ Empowerment,” Kabarozi said, adding;

“The participants are really getting down to serious work now with a special focus on the pain points affecting their target audience. They are more engaged and willing to improve the solutions, which is a positive for them and the project.”

Furthermore, Franklin Ssozi, a senior Software Architect took the participants through the product development journey highlighting the need for all innovators to pay close attention to the KYC (know your customer) principle as it usually determines the success of any solution.

The late afternoon session took a different direction with the participants being trained on Fundraising and prudent Financial Management; two topics that are at the heart of potential success and possible failure of any business. This training was delivered by Vivienne Iga Kikoni, a Digital Finance Professional.

In her mentorship session, Vivienne Iga Kikoni noted that good fundraising starts with good financial management. In very simple terms, she noted that financial management means planning, organizing, directing and controlling financial activities.

“To succeed in business, you need to be specific. Your goal must be well-detailed with clear targets for a month, 3 months, 6 months, one year and five years, etc. Put all this on paper and diligently follow it. Whatever you intend to bring to the marketplace needs to generate income because fixed and operational costs will be incurred, leaving you with a margin of which taxes are paid to leave you with what actually goes into your pocket,” Kikoni said. 

She further noted that there are several pillars of fundraising such as strengthening relationships and support, raising awareness about your cause, providing donors and sponsors recognition, and building your donor base; which, if well executed, will pave the way for fundraising and other engagements.

Running for the 4th consecutive year, this Hackathon is part of HiPipo’s broader Women in Fintech initiative that also includes a Summit and Incubator program.

The 2023 Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate in the Women in FinTech summit on 18th August 2023 where the best-performing teams and individuals will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. This will be in addition to the winners automatically qualifying for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run from September until December 2023.

The Women in FinTech Hackathon is implemented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Crosslake Technologies and Ideation Corner and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The 2023 Women in FinTech Hackathon has kicked off in Kampala with a formidable group of thirty (30) teams, hailing from Uganda and Kenya. This esteemed selection of participants was carefully curated from a competitive pool of over 100 innovative submissions received over the past two months.

From 10^th to 17^th August, the 30 teams will ideate, and develop Financial Inclusion innovations spanning a wide range of sectors such as Payments, Savings & Loans, E-commerce, E-Health, Fundraising, AgriTech, E-Insurance and Remittances.

On day one, the over 100 innovators were able to work on their Problem Statements and Business Cases.

Charlotte Neeza, the HiPipo FinTech Events Manager, explained that the Women in FinTech Hackathon is a timely intervention aimed at closing the gender diversity gap in the Technology Industry.

“Gender diversity in the tech industry is low with Men holding over 74 per cent of the Technology jobs. They also account for at least 79 per cent of the executive roles in the Tech Industry. This can only be closed by equipping more women with the required skills and resources to compete favourably. The Women in FinTech Hackathon is exactly doing this. We don’t only train the participants but also connect them to mentors and potential Investors,” Neeza noted.

Cleopatra Kanyunyuzi, the Hackathon Lead Facilitator and CEO of Club Tangaza guided the teams through crucial steps to be followed when defining a problem statement and working on a business case. She noted that innovations are bound to fail if they are not solving a specific and clear societal problem.

“Clearly define the problem you want your Fintech solution to solve. This should be a specific pain point or challenge faced by your target users. Validate the problem through interviews, surveys, and data analysis to ensure that it is a real and significant issue that your potential customers are facing,” Kanyunyuzi explained.    

Olga Naiga, a Strategic Business Planning Expert was Day-One’s Mentor and focused her presentation on Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

“Design thinking is pivotal in a women-led FinTech; combining innovation and user-centricity. Design thinking fosters collaboration, ensuring that multifaceted perspectives contribute to cohesive, inclusive Fintech products. This approach also streamlines problem-solving, iteratively refining prototypes based on user feedback,” Naiga noted; adding: 

“In the dynamic realm of FinTech, where women remain underrepresented, design thinking empowers female developers to challenge conventions and develop solutions that resonate, effectively bridging the gender gap and delivering financial tools that cater for the diverse spectrum of women’s needs and aspirations.”

The participants were also introduced to Level One Project Principles, Mojaloop Open Source Software and Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools.

The Level One Project introductions were done by Innocent Kawooya, the HiPipo CEO and George Kasakya, the HiPipo Tech lead while the Mojaloop Introduction was delivered by Paul Baker, the Principle Product Manager INFITX and member of the Mojaloop Community Council.

In his presentation, Baker noted that Mojaloop is a level one aligned payments hub, that is designed to support financial inclusion.

Mojaloop was designed to provide a reference model for payment interoperability, that can be used to overcome barriers that have slowed the spread of digital financial services. Whole, adapted, or as a blueprint – the Mojaloop Foundation’s open source software can be used by organizations to build interoperable, digital payment systems that enable seamless, affordable financial services between individual users, banks, government entities, merchants, mobile network operators, providers, and technology companies – connecting the underserved with the emerging digital economy.

Running for the 4th consecutive year, this Hackathon is part of HiPipo’s broader Women in Fintech initiative that also includes a Summit and Incubator program.

The 2023 Women in FinTech Hackathon will culminate in the Women in FinTech summit on 18th August 2023 where the best-performing teams and individuals will be announced and receive their share of the USD 10,000 collective prize money. This will be in addition to the winners automatically qualifying for the Women in FinTech Incubator program that will run from September until December 2023.

The Women in FinTech Hackathon is implemented by HiPipo in partnership with Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Crosslake Technologies and Ideation Corner and supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

A formidable group of thirty (30) teams, hailing from Uganda and Kenya, has been shortlisted for this year’s Women in FinTech Hackathon. This esteemed selection was carefully curated from a competitive pool of over 100 innovative submissions received over the past two months.

The distinguished shortlist of teams will now gather in the vibrant city of Kampala from August 10th to 17th, 2023. This announcement marks the exciting commencement of the team’s journey, aimed at transforming their pitched ideas into groundbreaking financial technology products and solutions. Their innovative focus spans a wide range of sectors, including but not limited to Payments, Savings & Loans, E-commerce, E-Health, Fundraising, AgriTech, E-Insurance, and Remittances.

As she announced the successful completion of the registration process, Charlotte Neeza, the FinTech Events Manager at HiPipo, highlighted the great surge in enthusiasm and a steadfast will to innovate as key factors contributing to the Hackathon’s growing popularity over the last three years. Recognizing this burgeoning interest, the decision was made to expand the 2023 edition’s scope to include thirty teams, a substantial 50% increase from the twenty teams that participated in the 2022 event.

“We are thrilled to introduce the participants of this year’s Women in FinTech Hackathon. The growth from 2021 to last year’s count of 20 teams was remarkable, and this year, we have broadened our horizon further with 30 teams selected from nearly 100 submissions. This consistent advancement is a testament to the trust and faith that young innovators place in this project. The triumphs of past contestants in areas such as mentorship, product design, development & go-to-market strategies, and seed capital acquisition continue to fuel inspiration among both returning and new participants,” explained Neeza with evident pride and belief.

She continued with eagerness, “For the fortunate 30 teams, this Hackathon is not merely a competition but a luminous platform to showcase your potential, revolutionize your lives, and make a lasting impact on your communities. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to all teams that demonstrated their interest and initiative by submitting their innovative propositions. To those who haven’t made the shortlist, let this not deter your spirit or ambition. Continue to chase your dreams with determination, for there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel.”

Neeza emphatically disclosed that every team in this year’s competition is characterized by both women-driven leadership and a majority of women members, underscoring a commitment to empowering and spotlighting female innovators in the field.

“An inspiring 70 percent of the participants in this initiative are women, and I’m proud to affirm that every single team is guided by a female leader.”

Now in its impressive fourth consecutive year, this Hackathon stands as a vital component of HiPipo’s expansive Women in FinTech initiative. Beyond the competition, the initiative encompasses a comprehensive suite of programs including a thought-provoking Summit and a nurturing Incubator program, all aimed at fostering innovation and empowerment in the field of financial technology.

The Women in FinTech Initiative is a bold and strategic effort aimed at dismantling gender disparities within the financial technology industry. Through comprehensive empowerment, the initiative equips women with essential digital and financial inclusion skills, enabling them to innovate, thrive, and succeed. It’s more than personal growth; it’s a pathway for these women to prosper financially, foster development within their families, and contribute positively to the broader community, creating a ripple effect of change and advancement.

The fundamental mission of this initiative is to actively advocate for women’s financial inclusion by fostering their engagement in the creation, development, and deployment of financial technology products that are thoughtfully designed to serve not only women but society at large. The HiPipo Women in FinTech initiative stands as an extraordinary force, earnestly supporting and amplifying efforts to bridge the Gender Gap in Access to Technology. It’s a movement that resonates far beyond mere participation, extending into the realms of skill-building and the practical utilization of Digital Financial Services, thus reshaping the landscape of inclusion and empowerment.

From 2020 to 2022, the multifaceted Women in FinTech initiative – encompassing the Hackathon, Summit, and Incubator project – has drawn the engagement of over 4,000 participants and has directly imparted essential training to more than 300 women. Through rigorous and tailored mentorship, a significant number of these women have emerged as qualified Software Engineers and Computer Science specialists. Their achievements transcend the classroom, with some having conceived, engineered, and introduced Financial Technology products that are actively reshaping their communities. Others have garnered seed capital from both the project itself and benevolent external contributors, propelling them further along the path to realizing their dreams. This is not merely an initiative; it’s a catalyst for change, innovation, and empowerment.

This remarkable success story is a manifestation of HiPipo’s insightful and relentless dedication to Women Empowerment and Inclusion, fortified by the steadfast commitment, collaborative synergy, and active engagement of its eminent partners: Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Yet, it’s essential to recognize that all these groundbreaking achievements could have remained a mere aspiration without the magnanimous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Their generous backing is the linchpin that transformed this visionary endeavour from a possibility into a thriving reality, creating a legacy of empowerment and innovation.

Prize Money.

The 2023 Women in FinTech Hackathon will reach its zenith at the Women in FinTech Summit on 18th August 2023, a grand occasion where excellence will be celebrated.

The best-performing teams and standout individuals will be recognized and duly rewarded, sharing in the collective prize money of USD 10,000. But the rewards extend beyond mere financial gain; the victorious winners will automatically earn a coveted place in the Women in FinTech Incubator program, scheduled to run from September to December 2023. This is not merely a competition but a launchpad to greatness, offering not only recognition and financial rewards but a pathway to further innovation, growth, and success within the dynamic field of financial technology.

Below are the 30 shortlisted Teams and their Leaders.

TEAM NAME	TEAM LEADER
FinHub	Nankunda Josephine
Kampus Wash-up Cafe	Auma Eunice
Pesajet	Angella Kansemiire
Cyanase	Patricia Giramia
Opportune	Gum Priscilla
WashUp	Nakanwagi Evelyne
Maamas Daily Cookie	Sauda Nassanga
U – Pay	Abitegeka Bridget
Virtual Mothercare Assistant	Nyirarukundo Novitah
E – Care	Christine Amutuhaire
Elite Company	Mutesi Patricia
MindSpace	Racheal Olive Kawudha
Rent Easy Peasy	Stisha Margret Amase
Financial Education Platform for Women (FEP-W)	Tumuhimbise Evas
INFITX Empowerment Hub	Fortune Agnes Tusiime
E-Fuel	Yasmin Hassan
Safe and Free	Happy Amooti
HPaysa	Beth Njoroge
Agam	Nakisozi Mastulah Sarah
SheCapital	Ayebale Allen
TaxOnPoint	Kiyiga Marion Olivea
Smart Rental System	Angella Mulikatete
FloreXpress	Elizabeth Ashley Aceng
The Achievers	Jariat Nabakooza
Simbula Tugende Limited (STL)	Nansumba Mary Vanessa
BorePay	Diana Najjuma
Hands of Women Foundation	Anena Jennifer
Business Banking Hub	Sunita Namujumbi
Game Changers	Sarah Agemo
Online Katale	Tricia Wambua

Deborah Mulungi had gone shopping in a local supermarket when she met a fine lady wearing a T-shirt with the inscription – Izere Education. Curious, Mulungi stopped this lady and asked her what Izere Education stood for.

“She told me about many things but I had never heard about Early Childhood Development. She told me that they work as a social enterprise aimed at transforming education in under-served communities to realize quality 21st-century learning outcomes for all,” she recalls.

But the most amazing part of this Edu-Tech platform was that parents were being empowered to save money using their phones and later pay school fees for their children.

“I got interested. I enrolled my sibling in this program and it has been of great impact. If they talk about nurturing children, especially helping them to develop 21st-century skills, it is remarkable,” Mulungi says.

“They give children the ability to be creative, innovative, and confident,” she says.

“The good thing is that you can enroll your child and pay in installments. You may not prioritize it, but if you see what your child goes through, you need to invest in it. If you are appreciative of personal development, then you can be willing to sacrifice what you can to ensure that your child grows up as a responsible person in this competitive world.”

Edu-Tech.

Shamim Nirere, the Team Lead at Izere Education, notes that most times, these quality learning opportunities are missed by the have-nots because of the extra money one is supposed to pay for an extra enrichment class.

So, they decided to come up with a mobile solution under the Edu–Tech platform targeting parents struggling with school fees in public institutions, which are expected to be cheap.

“We have set up an Edu–Tech platform powered by FinTech solutions and reaching schools to extend our solution, communities to set up innovation spaces for young people, parents to enroll their children in our online academy and pay online, and trainers to get their money electronically,” she says.

“We are now getting to the ground in communities to get parents to save some money on their mobile money wallets for school fees.”

And Mulungi emphasizes that every parent should give this service consideration because it offers much more than ordinary routine classroom education.

“A parent who thinks that a child’s destiny is determined by academics, I don’t think that is right. Google can give us the academic answers that we need but in the 21st century, we need competitive skills to survive,” she says.

Strong strides.

Started in 2016, Izere has evolved to offer solutions that drive communities to the vision of quality 21st-century learning outcomes.

Nirere says that when the world was met with the Covid-19 pandemic, they got a boost in numbers and 2020 was their best year because most people realized that they can do much with technology like studying, paying online, making orders, etc.

“We have so far reached close to 5,000 young people and hope to reach 20,000 by the end of 2023. This is because we are running community programs and reaching a wide range of young people in 10 districts in Uganda online,” she says.

She adds that they are currently working with different aggregators and payment gateways such as SchoolPay and Flutterwave.

“But in the near future, we shall design and roll out our own wallet that will make payments much easier for the users of our solutions – content creators, teachers, parents, and students.

Nirere nonetheless says that the biggest challenge is the inability of some parents to understand their service of holistic education.

“The journey of enrolling young people on our platform is not an easy one. First of all, some schools provide mainstream education with traditional subjects. So, parents often ask if we are a school and not many understand what we do,” she says.

“But Covid-19 was a time for people to understand that there’s so much learning that can be done online. They later realized that there’s a new set of skills that our people need,” she says.

She also appreciated the organizers of the annual 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for shining a light on players in the FinTech space.

“This is helpful because most times, people build in silos yet whatever they are working on is already out there. It has also made it a lot easier to see people do things differently and share ideas. It has also helped to demystify FinTech,” she says.

Izere Education is the 34th participant in this year’s 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative organised 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.

Now in the 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.

Sarah Nassaka Kagimu is a Pastor and small-scale businesswoman in Nansana.

Nassaka loves convenience.

So, when a group of young innovators came preaching about a platform where market vendors could save money and receive loans using phones, Nassaka was the first one to register.

“My aim was to access loans. I liked the fact that they were digital because I wanted something that would help me run a business using a smartphone,” she recalls her first encounter with Tawaza Digital Varieties, a Financial Technology start-up offering financial services to informal women and youths in rural and semi-urban areas.

“When I heard that their loans have no collateral, I was excited. Their systems are friendly where someone just pays a membership fee of only Shs 20,000. As long as you saved with them, you automatically qualified for a loan,” she adds.

For Nassaka, this was much easier than the stress of banks.

“Mainly, banks target high-end users and don’t want to approach ordinary women but these people gave us basics on how to save. I was surprised when they tripled my savings to get the loan. If they decide to continue growing with us, I can go far,” she says.

Including the excluded.

According to Winfred Nandawula, the Regional Programs director for Tawaza, this service was designed to tackle the increasing number of women and youth who can’t access formal financial services offered by banks.

“The challenge that we address is majorly that women and youth are running several informal businesses and are being excluded from access to formal banking services. We want to improve how they handle their businesses so that they can access the right credit and provide them with a simplified solution that they can easily use,” she says.

Nandawula notes that they mainly target rural farmer groups and informal women traders because they comprise the most under-served communities.

“We mainly work with USSD because most of the informal people do not have smartphones and are not vigilant with the usage of smart apps. We are now training them on how to use the various gadgets so that they get comfortable with the digital space,” she explains, noting that they are currently working with more than 60 farmer groups and over 1,000 women.

Challenges.

On the part of users, Nassaka notes that their biggest challenge is the lack of gadgets that can be used to operate the Tawaza mobile services.

“Tawaza should help us to get smart mobile phones so that we do away with the poor network on ordinary phones. They can maybe get us the phones and we pay in instalments,” she says.

Nandawula acknowledges this challenge but notes that they also face a financing problem that limits their investment capabilities.

She is, however, grateful to the organisers of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for offering startups a chance to showcase their services and address common challenges.

“If we sit in our offices and keep talking about our innovations, it won’t help. The 40 Days 40 FinTechs platform has given us follow-up programmes through HiPipo where we have benefited a lot by getting the right skills, advice, visibility, and a lot of advocacy support,” she says.

Tawaza is the 33rd participant in Season Four of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative organised by HiPipo to shine a light on emerging Financial Technology companies with unique stories changing the lives of under-served communities.

The initiative is organised 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.