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Lending through a pandemic COVID-19 has prevented them settling into Kenya, where there are no less than 50 digital lending platforms competing for an adult population that is over 80% financially included.  Reports of predatory lending have increased red tape in the East African country. A newly gazetted directive bars digital lenders from reporting defaulting borrowers below certain amounts to credit bureaus, among other rules.  It increases the time it will take for a new entrant like Carbon to comfortably express its various services. “We haven’t really had a chance to test the engine,” Dozie says, but they have given out enough loans to calibrate their algorithm. In Nigeria, they have reduced lending to shore up against the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, revising the repayment schedule for 9,016 loans. However, Dozie says they are currently at more than half the level achieved last year, in value and volume. Another profitable year ahead? Carbon’s products need overall improvement, in responding to customer complaints (see responses to this tweet) about deductions, and notification lags, among others. The pandemic’s impact on the Nigerian economy could have an effect on the company’s bottom line. Profit in the next report might as well be less impressive than what this year’s report contains. “It will be easier to beat [this year’s] numbers in naira terms, but we are all at the mercy of macroeconomics on the dollar terms,” Dozie says. He says they will report whatever happens, as part of a long-term pitch to customers who, he believes, will be impressed by an honest expression of financial strength. Otherwise, focus remains on leveraging other strategic moves from 2019, notably the acquisition of payments startup Amplify.  The latter’s intellectual property has gone into developing an SME platform, as well as in developing Carbon Express, a smartphone keypad button that can be used for instant transactions within any app. Carbon acquired Amplify particularly for this feature and their engineering. Maxwell Obi, one of Amplify’s two co-founders who joined Carbon as part of the deal, has left the company, but the others have been instrumental in building valuable aspects like an iOS app.

Another value-adding space is credit reporting. Carbon doesn’t produce the reports; they source from partner bureaus, and make them available to customers. 

In an audited report published this week, Carbon, the Nigerian fintech company, declared that it made the naira equivalent of $312,905 in profit after tax in 2019. 

As it grows abroad, Paga faces greater competition in Nigeria. For the last decade, South Africa and Kenya — with the success of Safaricom’s  M-Pesa product — have been Africa’s standouts in digital payments.But over the last several years, Nigeria has become a magnet for VC and fintech startups. This trend reached a high-point in 2019 when Chinese investors put $220 million into Opera owned OPay and Transsion backed PalmPay — two fledgling startups with plans to scale in Nigeria and broader Africa.

With its Apposit acquisition and continued expansion, PayPal may become more than a model for Paga.Founder Tayo Oviosu sees big fintech players, such as PayPal and Alipay, as future competitors with Paga’s plans to move into more emerging markets.

Founded in Cairo, Egypt, Tpay Mobile says it’s the leading digital merchant acquirer in the MENA region

The company supports DCB via three mobile network operators and it facilitates bank transfers and ATM withdrawals through large banks.

Sahar Salama, CEO of TPAY Mobile says that its platform will “provide one simple integration giving digital entertainment players all-inclusive capabilities for bundling, billing, and multi-channel acquisition access to new markets and audiences covering up to 80% of the Middle East and Africa (MEA) population. What we bring to the table is an easy and convenient fintech solution built for mobile operators to connect even more users with premium digital services like Jawwy TV.”

BelCash has an estimated 300 employees and an estimated annual revenue of 25.0M.

As mentioned in the last article, it is not possible to define exactly what a robo-advisor is, as the individual providers offer a range of services of varying breadth. In fact, robo-advisors have long since ceased to offer mere recommendations or advice, and most providers are steadily expanding their services into a fully integrated solution. Accordingly, people now associate a robo-advisor with a platform that can also be used to make an investment directly (see [Bloch/Vins 2017, 114]). However, this service, for example, is linked to certain regulatory requirements, which are presented below. It should be noted here that this is the regulatory framework in Germany. In terms of regulation, four business models can be distinguished in the area of robo advisory services:

Fawry offers a convenient and reliable way to pay bills and other services  in multiple channels (online, using ATMs , mobile wallets and retail points)Fawry’s network of retailers includes small groceries, pharmacies and stationaries, and post-offices, all equipped with point-of-sale machines – the same ones used for credit card payments.

Based on its own-patented technology, that is fully compliant with international security standards of the ISA 27001 and PA DSS certifications, Fawry performs more than 3 million financial operations daily.Fawry services for businesses include collection services, customer acquisition, electronic cash, payment facilitation, and business-to-business collection centers.

Fawry is the Leading Egyptian Digital Transformation & E-Payments Platform, offering financial services to consumers and businesses through more than 194,000 locations and a variety of channels.Fawry offers a convenient and reliable way to pay bills and other services  in multiple channels (online, using ATMs , mobile wallets and retail points)Fawry’s network of retailers includes small groceries, pharmacies and stationaries, and post-offices, all equipped with point-of-sale machines – the same ones used for credit card payments.