Informed commentary & insights on African technology, innovations and startups.
Innovative online sports betting company Betway has launched a three-phase competition, titled the Betway Fintech Challenge, with the winner taking home GHS 20,000.
The payments, banking, and financial sectors are currently at the height of change, defined by innovation and development in technology and regulation.
As consumers, businesses and governments adapt to a digital world, the desire for tech-enabled solutions that improve traditional transaction methods and financial services is growing rapidly.
West Africa, in particular, is ripe for disruption with it being home to one of the 3 fastest growing economies in Africa. With a massive unbanked population, West Africa offers an abundance of lucrative opportunities.
Seamless West Africa is a multi-brand event, with 500+ attendees and a world leading the strategic conference. The event will welcome market-leading industry players from central banks, commercial banks, insurance, e-tailers, telcos, merchants, government, fintechs, and tech startups, all looking to procure and collaborate with the latest tech and services on the market.
The conference is a C-level platform that will focus on global trends and disruptors, how market players can capitalize on the opportunities and best respond to the threats. Addressing the big issues from fintech disruption to financial inclusion, blockchain, and regtech, we will host over 70+ world-class thought leaders and welcome hundreds of conference attendees.
With keynote addresses, interviews, roundtables, panels, pre-event workshops and track sessions that focus on challenges and opportunities within the industry, the content has been designed to educate, inspire and empower commerce leaders to improve their innovative strategies and integration – effectively cultivating their bottom line.
With a thought-provoking, dynamic agenda and a wide variety of engaging and forward-thinking topics, this globally attended event promises to push the boundaries. This is made evident with the first ever regional Central Bank Panel which discusses the importance of creating partnerships that safeguard financial stability while working with disruptors and promoting the adoption of fintech innovation.
Combining our history and our passion for innovation, we are committed to bringing you the most exciting event for this brave new world of commerce and build essential connections to drive businesses forward in 2018 and beyond.
We look forward to welcoming you to Seamless West Africa, Ghana.
Kenyan finance and technology (Fintech) start-ups take a lion’s share of 99 percent of all funding in the region – leaving Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania to share the remaining 1 percent, a new research report has shown.
The study, which looks at Fintechs in the region, was supported by Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSD), East African Venture Capital Association, UKaid, and FMO bank.
“The East African technology support (hubs, incubators, and accelerators) is concentrated in Nairobi, ‘Africa’s Silicon Valley’, said the study titled Fintrek, exploring new frontiers in Fintech investments in East Africa. “Very few ecosystem support players also exist with Tanzania and Rwanda having only one tech incubator.”
It is little wonder then that Kenya, the biggest economy in the region, had its tech companies receive the highest amount of funding between 2010 and 2017. Fintechs in the region received up to $206.4 million in investment between 2010 and 2017 but 99 percent of this money went to Kenyan established Fintechs.
Also, locally owned Fintechs had fewer deals compared to foreign-owned deals with the latter having at least 105 Fintechs able to raise money compared to just 63 in the former category between 2010 and 2017. The report also found limited funding from local sources with more than 80 percent of funding into Fintechs in East Africa originated from outside Africa.
It also pointed out that there was a lack of specific Fintech support for start-ups in the region thus very generic support is provided.
Meanwhile, the report shows that Fintech partnerships have centered on multinational organizations due to their large customer base, marketing, and distribution capability as well as brand credibility.
But even then, some of these partnerships lack open Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) – standards that allow software components to communicate and exchange information – between the players which hinder the effectiveness of these partnerships.
“The region has a huge gap in a key Fintech talent including data scientists and software engineers. Academic institutions are focused on theoretical rather than practical learning,” the report said.
Very few partnerships witnessed between incumbents and non-telco Fintechs as competitors, rather than collaborators.
Evans Osano, the capital markets development director at FSD Africa, said: “The Fintech sector in East Africa is gaining momentum and has grown tremendously. Fintech innovations continue to disrupt financial markets. We expect this disruption to spread further into the capital markets,” Osano said.
Jacqueline Musiitwa, the FSD Uganda executive director, said the report highlights that Africa attracted $2.2 billion in venture funding between 2010 and 2016 – is no doubt that Fintechs are key solutions for Uganda to meet its financial and technology inclusion goals by 2022.
“I affirm that to achieve this goal, there needs to be collaboration and commitment by all the relevant players ranging from the government to the private sector,” Musiitwa said.
Read the original article on Observer.
ExpressPay, the leading FinTech company in Ghana, released an exciting money transfer product that enables instant transfers to bank accounts in Ghana.
Through this new service on Bank Direct, customers can transfer money into any bank account in the country from their own bank account (using their Visa, Mastercard, gh-link cards ) or mobile money wallet. The transfer happens instantly with the recipient receiving instant confirmation of payment. This product is currently the easiest way to get paid in Ghana.
ExpressPay worked closely with the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS) to release this service. The service facilitates instant money transfers to an extended network of banks using the new GhIPSS Instant Pay (GIP) infrastructure. Consumers can send money to over 20 banks from expressPay’s single platform. With just a few taps in the expressPay app, people can make direct bank transfers instantly.
“Over the past five years, expressPay has been providing a convenient and secure way for Ghanaians to pay their bills and services. We continue to focus on making payments seamless and efficient by creating new innovative products.
…In line with the broader cashless agenda, this was truly the next step in the evolution of our platform – a simple, real-time and efficient way to transfer funds to ease the way we do business in Ghana. The days of queueing in banking halls just to make a deposit are over. We are excited to work with GhIPSS, the banks and other financial institutions to make this a reality.” said Curtis Vanderpuije, CEO of expressPay.
Clara Arthur, General Manager of Projects and Business Development at GhIPSS commented “We have entered a new era in payments where the hallmark is speed and innovation. By expanding its portfolio to include the GhIPSS instant pay solution, expressPay has demonstrated its continued focus on customers’ present and future needs. This fits in well with GhIPSS’ vision to promote and migrate Ghana to an electronic payments society.
GIP promises unique personal and business experiences where real-time means, ‘now’. Money can be sent at any time and the recipient will have it within seconds.
It will improve convenience, and help businesses and institutions make and receive funds instantly. GhIPSS Instant pay is an alternative to cash; simply put, GhIPSS instant pay is just like cash, only better.”
expressPay continues to push the envelope on what’s possible in the FinTech arena. This innovation falls squarely in line with the government’s drive to enhance financial inclusion and drive digital payments. This is a win for the sector and is sure to unlock incremental gains and drive efficiencies for consumers and businesses alike.
Accessing this new service is simple – just follow the steps below:
Funds hit the recipient’s bank account instantly!
ExpressPay is Ghana’s leading financial technology service provider. expressPay supports three core business areas: an eCommerce marketplace, a P2P money transfer service and is a payment service provider for third parties. Through the ExpressPay marketplace, expressPay gives consumers real-time access to services such as airtime for all the major telecommunication firms, 4G and broadband internet service, DSTv, GOtv, etc.
