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nouhaila_zaki

M-Pesa: a Mobile Money success story from Kenya - Technology and Operations Management - 0 views

digital.hbs.edu/...money-success-story-from-kenya

M-Pesa Kenya Success Business Model

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Given the up-front costs of acquiring agents, it is tempting for mobile money providers to want to take short cuts and minimize the agent-to-customer ratio. However, this does not set an individual agent up for success. If Safaricom were to recruit too few agents, customers would find M-Pesa difficult to use and difficult to access.. On the other hand, if there were too many agents, many of them would not be able to generate enough business to cover the cost of managing their e-cash and cash liquidity. As a result, they would stop maintaining their electronic money float and cash balances. M-Pesa’s success lies in the fact that they grew their agent network at the same pace as their customer base, keeping transactions per agent per month steady at around 1,000 / agent / month.
  • According to a McKinsey report on Mobile Money, proximity of nearest agent makes a significant impact on transaction volumes. “When a cash agent is more than 15 minutes away, mobile money has relatively little appeal, and customers use it once or twice a month. But when the agent is less than 10 minutes away, usage rises to 10 times a month—and for those within 2 minutes of an agent, to 30 times a month.” Safaricom spread its agents out across Kenya so as to truly enable network effects and enable Kenyans to send e-cash to their family members and friends even if they did not live in the same geography.
  • Customers who sign up for the M-Pesa service can convert between e-cash and real cash (these are called cash-in / cash-out transactions), and can transfer e-cash from their account to that of another account holder via SMS.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      M-PESA gives people the option of converting their e-cash to real cash which is not the case in most services.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Customers who sign up for the M-Pesa service can convert between e-cash and real cash (these are called cash-in / cash-out transactions), and can transfer e-cash from their account to that of another account holder via SMS. Cash-in / cash-out operations take place at one of many designated M-Pesa retail outlets, also known as “agents”. These agents are not employed by Safaricom, but are simply retailers / regular businessmen and women that are ‘authorized’ to trade e-cash for real cash.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      m-pesa is a company that allows its customers to convert between e-cash and real cash.
  • Although some of M-Pesa’s initial success could be attributed to a uniquely favorable context for mobile-payments (strong customer need, welcoming regulatory environment, support from banks, strong brand awareness of Safaricom), its rapid and sustained growth was only possible due to a thoughtful operating model design, particularly regarding M-Pesa’s “agent network.”
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 13 Feb 21
       
      M-pesa's success goes back to its advantageous situation in Africa as well as it successful operating model design.
  • Revenue from transaction fees that Safaricom collects via the agent during cash withdrawal operations and transfer operations (depositing money into mobile wallet is free). Reduce Safaricom customers’ churn, improve engagement, lifetime value etc.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt shows the business model that M-pesa follows and thier values
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it reports the two ways in which Safaricom makes value through M-Pesa: on the one hand revenues from transaction fees collected via agents, and on the other hand, the reduction of Safaricom customers' churn.
  • Safaricom pays commission to its “agents”, usually on a monthly basis, based on metrics such as transactions per branch, customers per branch, and quantities transacted, etc. Because it takes agents a couple months to ‘ramp up’ at their branch by attracting M-Pesa customers and convincing them to start transacting, the business model of M-Pesa incurs significant up-front costs and is one of the reasons many mobile-money deployments fail in the early days. Mobile-Money becomes profitable only when it goes viral. According to a McKinsey report, to make mobile money for the unbanked commercially viable, operators and telco’s like Safaricom “must sign up 15 to 20 percent of the addressable market.”
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt describes M-Pesa's business model, which consists of paying commissions to agents, incurring significant up-front costs and relying on mobile-money to become viral for success.
  • mohammed_ab on 12 Feb 21
     
    I think that it's interesting to see that agents are playing a vital role in the success of M-Pesa in Kenya. The company knew about the costs related to acquiring agents, but they also knew that recruiting too few agents will kill the solution M-Pesa is providing. In addition to that, M-Pesa tried to spread its agents all over Kenya to make their solution available and easy to access anywhere in Kenya.
mehdibella

AgroCenta: Digital food distribution platform creating shared value for businesses and ... - 2 views

agrocenta.com/about

Fintech Agrocenta ghana

shared by mehdibella on 07 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Our Cropchain and LendIt platforms solve these two problems. Cropchain is our user-friendly integrated agricultural supply chain management platform that allows organizations to manage everything in the agricultural supply chain from outgrower schemes, logistics, traceability to digital trading, quality assurance and data analytics. LendIt, our financial inclusion platform enables farmers access digital services such mobile money payments for commodities sold, micro-lending/input financing, crop insurance and pension scheme for the informal sector.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 07 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it highlights how AgroCenta solves two persistent problems in the Ghanian agricultural value chain. First, agricultural supply chain management is ensured through the Cropchain platform. Second, the financial inclusion mission of the company is ensured by the LendIt platform.
  • Our Cropchain and LendIt platforms solve these two problems. Cropchain is our user-friendly integrated agricultural supply chain management platform that allows organizations to manage everything in the agricultural supply chain from outgrower schemes, logistics, traceability to digital trading, quality assurance and data analytics. LendIt, our financial inclusion platform enables farmers access digital services such mobile money payments for commodities sold, micro-lending/input financing, crop insurance and pension scheme for the informal sector.
    • aminej
      aminej on 08 Feb 21
       
      This article shows that AgroCenta is built around an online trading platform which connects smallholder farmers to a larger structured market. It was founded by two ex-esoko employees Francis Obirikorang and Michael K. Ocansey in 2015. It is located in Ghana and more precisely in the capital which is Accra. The service is used through a smartphone so the main target customer here will be small holder farmers who have a phone.
  • Onboarding smallholder farmers onto the AgroCenta platform. Agents visit communities where smallholder farmers who deal in sorghum, rice, maize, millet and soybean are registered onto the AgroCenta platform to trade. Agents also work with farmer based organizations (FBOs) to carry out trading activities. 2 Facilitating trade deals on behalf of Smallholder farmers. Agents deal with buyers who wish to purchase directly from smallholder farmers. AgroCenta agents are trained in the field of technology, sales and marketing to effectively help smallholder farmers who have little or no knowledge of technology trade easily. 3 Gathering market information and statistical data. Agents are assigned to major trading markets across the country to collate data on market pricing for various commodities. This information is relayed to smallholder farmers via Voice technologies in languages they read and understand.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 08 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it shows how Agrocenta's agents help smallholder farmers, what are the responsibilities they have towards their customers. Plus, it encourage other farmers to join the digitalization world to improve their businesses.
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • Onboarding smallholder farmers onto the AgroCenta platform. Agents visit communities where smallholder farmers who deal in sorghum, rice, maize, millet and soybean are registered onto the AgroCenta platform to trade. Agents also work with farmer based organizations (FBOs) to carry out trading activities. 2 Facilitating trade deals on behalf of Smallholder farmers. Agents deal with buyers who wish to purchase directly from smallholder farmers. AgroCenta agents are trained in the field of technology, sales and marketing to effectively help smallholder farmers who have little or no knowledge of technology trade easily. 3 Gathering market information and statistical data. Agents are assigned to major trading markets across the country to collate data on market pricing for various commodities. This information is relayed to smallholder farmers via Voice technologies in languages they read and understand.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 08 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it shows how the Agrocent'as agents help the smallholders' farmers access different financial services, plus it encourages the other farmers to join the digitalization world and develop their businesses
  • Our Cropchain and LendIt platforms solve these two problems. Cropchain is our user-friendly integrated agricultural supply chain management platform that allows organizations to manage everything in the agricultural supply chain from outgrower schemes, logistics, traceability to digital trading, quality assurance and data analytics.
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      this section shows how much Agrocenta is dealing with its supply chain management to allow farmers benefit from different schemes
  • AgroCenta is made up of dedicated and talented people. Our core team is made up of project managers, agricultural experts and consultants, software developers, regional and district managers and field agents.
  • Onboarding smallholder farmers onto the AgroCenta platform. Agents visit communities where smallholder farmers who deal in sorghum, rice, maize, millet and soybean are registered onto the AgroCenta platform to trade. Agents also work with farmer based organizations (FBOs) to carry out trading activities.
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      AgroCenta is made up of dedicated and talented people. Our core team is made up of project managers, agricultural experts and consultants, software developers, regional and district managers and field agents.
  • ase directly from smallholder farmers. AgroCenta agents are trained in the field of technology, sales and marketing to effectively help smallholder farmers who have little or no knowledge of technology trade easily.
  • AgroCenta is made up of dedicated and talented people. Our core team is made up of project managers, agricultural experts and consultants, software developers, regional and district managers and field agents.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      this part is important because we can see how devoted and dedicated is agrocenta when it comes to choosing their team
  • aminej on 08 Feb 21
     
    Some of the advantages that will come with this platform are reducing unemployment and connecting between the lower social class and the high social class in order to develop relations and improve their services. Farmers will gain more profit since it will become more regulated and distribution facilities will be smoother between the two
kenza_abdelhaq

Two African startups where inclusive fintech comes with a human touch | Accion - 0 views

www.accion.org/ntech-comes-with-a-human-touch

Lumkani South Africa Insurtech Implementation

shared by kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • In South Africa, mobile money systems are much less available than they are in Kenya, so they are not a good option for Lumkani clients to use to manage policy payments and payouts. Additionally, people in the informal settlements where Lumkani provides its services tend to be limited in both financial literacy and experience with technology, so they need information on what the insurance product is and how it works. So Lumkani relies on agents — many of whom live in the same settlements — to do face-to-face sales pitches and enrollments. The agents, however, carry smartphones with an app for setting up the new accounts. Agents also collect cash payments in person but send SMS reminders to keep clients up to date.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      Lumkani adapts to local communities that are generally with limited literacy and experience with technology by relying on agents to do face-to-face pitches and assist in the installation and activation of the device.
  • kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
     
    "In South Africa, mobile money systems are much less available than they are in Kenya, so they are not a good option for Lumkani clients to use to manage policy payments and payouts. Additionally, people in the informal settlements where Lumkani provides its services tend to be limited in both financial literacy and experience with technology, so they need information on what the insurance product is and how it works. So Lumkani relies on agents - many of whom live in the same settlements - to do face-to-face sales pitches and enrollments. The agents, however, carry smartphones with an app for setting up the new accounts. Agents also collect cash payments in person but send SMS reminders to keep clients up to date."
omarlahmidi

St. Mary's University Institutional Repository: FACTORS AFFECTING AGENT BANKING DEPOSIT... - 0 views

www.repository.smuc.edu.et/...4439

Belcash Africa E-Payments

shared by omarlahmidi on 14 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Agent banking has increasingly gained importance in developing countries over the last two decades. However, the extent to which agent banking can be used as a tool to mobilize deposit in the banking sector remains largely unknown and the true benefits of the agent banking model to customers, the banks and the bank agents also remains largely unstudied. The main objective of the study was to assess factors affecting agent banking deposit mobilization in case of lion international bank s.c. The study was conducted among 1,300 recorded agents with a respondent sample of 306 agents.
    • omarlahmidi
      omarlahmidi on 14 Feb 21
       
      Belcash: a company that supplies technology system which used to provide the hello cash mobile and agent banking service.
ghtazi

Belcash Launches E-commerce Platform - 0 views

addisfortune.news/h-launches-e-commerce-platform

Belcash App Platform

shared by ghtazi on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • A Dutch company technology company developed an application that enables buyers to order, pay and receive a shipment. Belcash Technology Solutions Plc launched the e-commerce platform, HelloMarket shipments, with an estimated investment of one million dollars. The application, which was designed with the major aim of allowing local suppliers and manufacturers to promote and sell their products, will provide leather products, crafts, traditional clothing, souvenirs, homemade seasonings and other similar items manufactured by small and medium-sized enterprises. The e-commerce platform, integrated with Hellocash, a mobile and agent banking app for the purpose of making electronic payments, has a delivery system in place through Belcash agents around the country.
    • aminej
      aminej on 13 Feb 21
       
      Belcash Strategy aims to lead the Ethiopian E-commerce market by offering different services in their platform for users. They also facilitate access to so many different products that you can buy just through your phone. They also embraced Fintech by creating an application that is really innovative. They also plan to strengthen innovation by encouraging more people to be reactive in this sector of industry
  • Belcash successfully piloted the app for three months and officially launched it in July 2019. It has supplied 200 tablets to its agents. Thus far, 50 small and medium enterprises have signed up and placed their products on the HelloMarket platform.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      In spite of the many challenges in the sector, such as the lack of a legal framework for e-commerce, Belcash designed a payment system and agents across the country.
  • Belcash successfully piloted the app for three months and officially launched it in July 2019. It has supplied 200 tablets to its agents. Thus far, 50 small and medium enterprises have signed up and placed their products on the HelloMarket platform.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      when the app was launched officially in July 2019, the app supplied about 200 tablets to its agents. which means that about 50 small and medium firms have signed up their products on the platfrom.
nouhaila_zaki

Paga - an Unreasonable company - 0 views

unreasonablegroup.com/...paga

Paga Nigeria Overview Company Size

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Leading application to send and receive payments in Nigeria, with more than 8.4 million users. Founded in 2009 with the simple belief that technology can transform lives by delivering universal access to financial services, Paga is now the top mobile payment service in Nigeria, used by more than 12 million individual users, while employing nearly 22,000 Paga agents. Anyone with a mobile phone can send money to the recipient's mobile phone number which can then be collected either through a Paga agent or an ATM without the use of a card. Paga can also be used for airtime credits, bill payments, and retail. The company is constantly evolving to bridge the gap between commerce, financial services, and economic development within Nigeria's emerging economy.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      Paga is now Nigeria's top mobile payment service, and it is used by more than 12 million individuals, while approximately 22,000 Paga agents are working. everyone can use it if they have a mobile phone. users can transfer money to the mobile phone number of the recipient, which can then be collected without using a card, either through a Paga agent or an ATM. Paga can also be used for airtime credits, retail, and bill payments.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is a great introduction to what Paga does, how many users it has, and what it can be used for. A great overview of the company.
  • COMPANY SIZE 101–200
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      Knowing the company size allows us to assess the capabilities and resources available to Paga, which can prove to be very useful when analyzing corporate strategies and developing new ones for Paga.
ghtazi

Money transfer group Mukuru acquires fintech Zoona's assets in Malawi - Ventureburn - 0 views

ventureburn.com/...-acquires-zoonas-malawi-assets

Malawi Mukuru Fintech Zoona

shared by ghtazi on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      These excerpts are important because they show how operations of Mukuru and Zoona Malawi will be changing due to the acquisition of the latter by the former. It also reflects how Mukuru expands geographically (here in Malawi) but also in terms of capabilities and assets (i.e. agents from Zoona).
  • In a statement yesterday Mukuru CEO Andy Jury said the acquisition will extend Mukuru’s African footprint deep into the urban and rural areas cross Malawi. “This acquisition will bring the benefits of our extensive products and cutting-edge technology to the citizens of Malawi – giving them better options and safe mechanisms to send money to loved ones and ultimately uplift their communities,” he said. Following the acquisition, Zoona Malawi’s agents will operate as Mukuru agents benefiting from a wider product range to offer customers backed by Mukuru’s trusted and established brand name. In addition, agents will benefit from being part of the Southern African Development Corporation (SADC) regional network, increasing their regional exposure and potentially boosting earnings over time.
  • Mukuru, one of the largest international money operators and remittance companies in Africa, has confirmed that it has acquired Zoona’s operational assets in Malawi along with the technology systems that support its Malawian operations.
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Zoona, which has worked with Mukuru for four years as a partner, is an Africa-based fintech that enables entrepreneurs to bring safe and reliable financial services to underserved communities in Malawi and elsewhere.
    • hibaerrai
      hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21
       
      Mukuru acquired Zoona Fintech assets and took over Malawi's online financial services. it is making its place among the popular remittance companies in Africa.
  • Zoona, which has worked with Mukuru for four years as a partner, is an Africa-based fintech that enables entrepreneurs to bring safe and reliable financial services to underserved communities in Malawi and elsewhere.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      Acquiring zoona is a good step for mukura to expand its capital but also acquiring zoona's customer portfolio
  • Zoona, which has worked with Mukuru for four years as a partner, is an Africa-based fintech that enables entrepreneurs to bring safe and reliable financial services to underserved communities in Malawi and elsewhere.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      working with Zoona is great for Mukuru it will add more safety and reliable financial services that will be beneficial for Malawi and elsewhere
sawsanenn

Paga: Send and Receive Money - 0 views

www.mypaga.com

Nigeria FinTech E-payments

shared by sawsanenn on 10 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Paga is a mobile payment company. We are building an ecosystem to enable people to digitally send and receive money, and creating simple financial access for everyone.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 10 Feb 21
       
      These types of digital financial services offered to the mass market and increasing the usage of mobile money can play a strong role in promoting inclusive growth.
  • Banked or unbanked, online or offline Paga offers you a central place for simple money transfers.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      Like simbapay, Paga's target customers are the ones that have a Smartphone. it does not matter if they are banked or not.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it reflects what Paga proposes for individuals (banked or unbanked) very briefly.
  • Paga for Agents Earn a commission for every transaction you perform for your customers. Paga for Business Accept payments or disburse money to banked or unbanked customers in Nigeria
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it provides a concise introduction of what Paga offers for Agents (a commission on every transaction) and for Businesses (receive or make payments to banked or unbanked customers) in Nigeria.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • We ensure that your money is safe by complying with the highest global security standards.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is very important because it claims that Paga is compliant with the highest global security standards. It is very good to know that because cyber security is a core concern for all companies offering digital services.
  • Enjoy a smooth and stress-free money transfer experience across all your devices.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      paga offers a free and easy money transfer that make transactions go smoothly without any technical issues
ghtazi

People on the Move: Islamic Finance for Pastoralists in the Horn of Africa - 0 views

www.findevgateway.org/...nance-pastoralists-horn-africa

Mobile Money Payments

shared by ghtazi on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Belcash’s CEO will describe the partnership and challenges he has faced in rolling out an agent network targeting pastoralist clients at the 2015 SEEP Opening Plenary: Private Sector Partnerships: Creating Sustained Impact
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      The challenge is explained by the lack of trust that the customers have toward digitalization. However, I think nowadays partnership is not a challenge as it was.
  • BelCash Technology Solutions PLC - a Mercy Corps partner and Ethiopia’s first mobile and agent banking technology platform to launch agent-based mobile money services in Ethiopia’s Somali region.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      we can see in this part that belcash is Ethiopia's first mobile and agent banking technology platform. In this article, we can also see how The CEO of belcash describes the partnership and challenges he has faced during the launching of belcash.
hindelquarrouti

Multi-banks interoperable and agent network sharing mobile money go live in Ethiopia - 1 views

innov8tiv.com/-mobile-money-go-live-ethiopia

Belcash Financial Inclusion Provides-Banks

shared by hindelquarrouti on 11 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • CEO of BelCash International, Mr. Mountaga Vince Diop mentioned that this is only the beginning of what seems to be an irreversible step to reinforce Financial Inclusion in the country.
  • BelCash Technology Solutions PLC provides the Banks and the Micro Finances, Go-to-Market turn-key mobile money solutions (including capacity building, business and operational models, hardware, disaster recovery and Call center facilities) and facilitate the penetration of Mobile and Agent Banking in the Ethiopian Financial landscape.
  • hindelquarrouti on 12 Feb 21
     
    Belcash is an Ethiopian technology service that provides the financial industry. The company claims that this is only the first step toward financial inclusion.
kenza_abdelhaq

Private equity investment in leading mobile payments platform | responsAbility - 0 views

www.responsability.com/...ading-mobile-payments-platform

Fawry Egypt Services

shared by kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Fawry is the leading mobile payments platform in Egypt. Through a network of 65,000 agents, mostly small shop owners, Fawry allows 20 million customers to perform a variety of transactions such as utility bills payments, airtime top-ups or merchant transactions. Over the years, Fawry has created a platform connecting all clients’ channels of payments including bank accounts, credit cards and mobile wallets with any of the 23 banks connected to its platform. Fawry’s success has been to build acceptance and usage from clients as well as banks and merchants.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      Fawry's services, operations, and network include small shop owners, a variety of transactions, and a platform connecting clients and more than 20 banks.
  • Speaking on behalf of Fawry, Ashraf Sabry, CEO, said: “Our efficient payment platform and network will enable us to provide financial services for sections of the population that have so far been underserved – at costs that will allow the model to be commercially sustainable. At the same, we aim to further spread cashless transaction in Egypt, thereby serving customers as well as commerce.”
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      Fawry is targeting customers as well as commerce while focusing on providing financial services to the underserved. The company focuses on financial inclusion while maintaining a certain level of costs to have a commercially sustainable model.
  • kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
     
    "Fawry is the leading mobile payments platform in Egypt. Through a network of 65,000 agents, mostly small shop owners, Fawry allows 20 million customers to perform a variety of transactions such as utility bills payments, airtime top-ups or merchant transactions. Over the years, Fawry has created a platform connecting all clients' channels of payments including bank accounts, credit cards and mobile wallets with any of the 23 banks connected to its platform. Fawry's success has been to build acceptance and usage from clients as well as banks and merchants."
hichamachir

Client Registration: The Blind Spot in Agricultural Insurance | Agrilinks - 0 views

www.agrilinks.org/...nd-spot-agricultural-insurance

Pula Agriculture Insurance Fintech

shared by hichamachir on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • However, PULA’s research showed that registration was not as simple in practice. Because customers had to go through several steps on their phones, they found the registration process to be cumbersome. More importantly, research showed that customers wanted more than simplicity. Most agents and smallholders hesitated to sign up for the insurance after simply reading about it. And input agents, who are often trusted, face-to-face sources of information, did not make enough of an effort to explain the product. PULA often told agents that, by informing customers that their input purchases were insured, they were likely to increase sales, but this proved to be an inadequate incentive.
  • hichamachir on 13 Feb 21
     
    I think that simplicity is the key to win customers heart especially when you deal with small scale farmers that are not very comfortable with technology. Pula needs to put more efforts in simplifying its business so everyone can have access to it.
nouhaila_zaki

My PAGA - transact mobile payments; send cash via mobile; pay bills via mobile. - 0 views

www.mypaga.com/...C48866E180618E0E570B5BE493B-s1

Paga Nigeria Overview

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • We are a team of passionate Africans determined to tackle what we consider a critical issue paramount to Africas development - the availability of financial services to all Africans. Paga was founded early 2009 on the simple belief that the ubiquity of mobile phones can be leveraged to bring financial services to all Africans. We aim to accomplish our mission by working in partnership with select Banks, Microfinance institutions, and all Mobile Network Operators. Innovation is at the core of our company - we strive to develop "appropriate technology" suited for the local markets where we operate. We also work hard to ensure our services are low cost and accessible via our agent network - in doing so we can strive towards universal access. Paga works on the most basic SMS enabled phone and on all mobile networks so customers have the liberty to have their Paga account available at their finger tips regardless of what phone or network they are using. For consumers, our core offering is a money transfer service - with Paga you can send money to anyone with a mobile phone. You can either use Paga by yourself (if you own a Paga account) or by going to any Paga Agent. We also offer several other products such as: buying/sending airtime credits, bill payments, and retail payments. For ultimate convenience we provide several channels for consumers to use Paga - SMS, Online, a mobile application, USSD, or IVR (automated line). Paga Merchant Services allows businesses to collect payment from all spectrums of the population - whether banked or not. By leveraging the Paga e-widget, businesses can integrate a world class online checkout process on their own websites. Businesses can also leverage our agent network to collect payment for goods and services or provide customers the convenience of paying via SMS or online at Pagas customer portal. Our current services are the beginning of a journey. Through our innovation lab "Paga labs" and in conjunction with our partners we will continue to develop and deliver valuable offerings to our customers. Together with our partners we will achieve our mission and bring financial services within reach of millions of Africans!
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is an introductory statement of the company Paga, its operations, its goals, its customers, its core offerings, and its innovation programs.
hichamachir

How FinTech is Transforming The Insurance Industry | Clearbridge Mobile - 0 views

clearbridgemobile.com/forming-the-insurance-industry

Fintech Artificial-Intelligence InsurTech

shared by hichamachir on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Enhancing the Customer Experience with InsurTech Financial service companies understand the demand for mobile. PwC’s recent FinTech Survey notes the significant growth in customers using mobile applications by 2020, and 75% of respondents say the most important impact FinTech will have is an increased focus on the customer.   Similar to FinTech, InsurTechs have many advantages insurance companies can leverage. These lean startups are free from legacy products and processes; they can use emerging technologies to build brand new systems; they can target specific value pools instead of offering lengthy end-to-end solutions that don’t meet everyone’s needs. Overall, InsurTech’s can go to market entirely different than traditional insurance companies. By partnering with InsurTech enterprises, insurers can offer:   Enriched Connectivity. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions can eliminate friction at several touch points in the customer journey. Chatbots will be able to understand and act on customer queries at any time. With deep learning, chatbot solutions can further interpret sentiment to identify when to introduce a human agent.
    • hichamachir
      hichamachir on 13 Feb 21
       
      Pula is a successful InsurTech company. However, I suggest that Pula uses Artificial Intelligence even more especially if they can create a system that explain their service to the customers in a very clear way. Human agents sometimes don't operate objectively because they might get emotional and make the company lose a significant customer but it's not always the case for sure. So, I suggest a mix of AI and human agents.
nouhaila_zaki

M-Pesa - Wikipedia - 0 views

en.wikipedia.org/M-Pesa

M-Pesa Financial inclusion Kenya

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • M-Pesa is a branchless banking service; M-Pesa customers can deposit and withdraw money from a network of agents that includes airtime resellers and retail outlets acting as banking agents.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      M-PESA is unique because it offers branchless banking which makes transactions more efficient.
  • It has since expanded to Tanzania, Mozambique, DRC, Lesotho, Ghana, Egypt, Afghanistan and South Africa. Meanwhile services in India, Romania, and Albania have been terminated amid low market uptake. M-Pesa allows users to deposit, withdraw, transfer money, pay for goods and services (Lipa na M-Pesa), access credit and savings, all with a mobile device.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      I like this excerpt because it describes where M-Pesa has successfully expanded and where the company's expansionist efforts failed.
  • M-Pesa is widely seen as demonstrating that it is possible to make a profit while also improving the lives of the poor.[28] Tavneet Suri, based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and William Jack, based at Georgetown University have produced a series of papers extolling benefits of M-Pesa. In particular, their 2016 article published in "Science" has been very influential in the international development community. The much cited result of the paper was, that 'access to M-PESA increased per capita consumption levels and lifted 194,000 households, or 2% of Kenyan households, out of poverty.[29] Global development institutions focusing on the development potential of financial technology frequently cite M-Pesa as a major success story in this respect, citing the poverty-reduction-claim and including a reference to Suri and Jack’s 2016 signature article. In a report on "Financing for Development", the United Nations write: "The digitalization of finance offers new possibilities for greater financial inclusion and alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and implementation of the Social Development Goals. In Kenya, the expansion of mobile money lifted two per cent of households in the country above the poverty line."[30]
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it reports on academic research describing how M-Pesa is the living example of how the search for profit is not antithetical to inclusion and improvement of lives of the poor. Using M-Pesa as a case study, several researchers praise fintech for its ability to offer greater financial inclusion.
ayachehbouni

Kenya's Bismart Insurance Launches E-Commerce Platform for Industry Players - 0 views

www.inversk.co.ke/...-platform-for-industry-players

shared by ayachehbouni on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • The Kenyan insure-tech company, Bismart, has unveiled an online e-commerce platform that will enable insurance companies, brokers, agents to connect with their customers end to end.Dubbed Pamsmart, the cloud-based platform is tailored to cut down the costs of developing new technologies for insurance players by 90%.
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 13 Feb 21
       
      Bismart has recently launched an online e-commerce platform that will facilitate its service and that relies on the cloud-based platform Dubbed Pamsmart.
  • 337SHARESShareTweetSubscribe The Kenyan insure-tech company, Bismart, has unveiled an online e-commerce platform that will enable insurance companies, brokers, agents to connect with their customers end to end. Dubbed Pamsmart, the cloud-based platform is tailored to cut down the costs of developing new technologies for insurance players by 90%.
    • aminej
      aminej on 13 Feb 21
       
      Bismart have managed to create a new platform that will enable customers to have more insight and information about their services and how they work. It is good since it gives some kind of education to people who do not know anything about that
  • 337SHARESShareTweetSubscribe The Kenyan insure-tech company, Bismart, has unveiled an online e-commerce platform that will enable insurance companies, brokers, agents to connect with their customers end to end. Dubbed Pamsmart, the cloud-based platform is tailored to cut down the costs of developing new technologies for insurance players by 90%.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Through the platform, customers can easily check the status of their policies, approvals, and lodge insurance claims from online platform.
    • ayachehbouni
      ayachehbouni on 13 Feb 21
       
      Bismart helps customers manage and check their policies in addition to giving them more knowledge about the status and progress of these policies. This is great as customers will feel more at ease knowing exactly what is happening with their policies.
kaoutarchennoufi

HEYA fawry Initiative - 0 views

fawry.com/heya-fawry-initiative

WomePower Insurance Coverage Healthcare DreamsComeTrue

shared by kaoutarchennoufi on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Heya- fawry is an initiative in collaboration with arab women enterprise fund, Baheya, AXA and unilever to empower women, increase their opportunities in the financial market and help them to climb up the financial inclusion pyramid in Egypt Fawry as the leading e-payment network in Egypt is supporting poor and disadvantaged women by training them to become Heya fawry-agents, providing POS machines offering them complementary micro-insurance coverage. Ultimately, this initiative will allow poor unbanked women to have access to life-enhancing financial services (mobile top-ups, bill payments, money transfers, microloan payments, as well as essential nutrition and healthcare goods) directly via their nearest Fawry’s agents to raise income for them and their families and to enhance the well-being of the society. Fawry’s main aim is “to ensure that women access our services in the same extent as men do”
    • kaoutarchennoufi
      kaoutarchennoufi on 13 Feb 21
       
      It is very appreciable and significant to see big cooperates thinking about women and their desires and putting on actions to help them achieve their dreams. Fawry has launched the"Heya-Fawry initiative in order to empower women by encouring them to become Fawry's agents so that they can provide them with different kinds of help such as insurance coverage, POS machines... This is very exceptional!
aymanelmamoun

https://paymentsafrika.com/payment-news/mobile/multi-banks-interoperable-and-agent-netw... - 0 views

paymentsafrika.com/...bile-money-go-live-in-ethiopia

E-Payment Africa FinTech

shared by aymanelmamoun on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • One of the uniqueness of HelloCash mobile money services is its interoperability and shared infrastructure features. The system is designed for multi banks and MFI’s to be interconnected and offer the mobile money service to their respective customers, therefore, partnering financial institutions are able to share each other’s agent and branch network to serve each other’s customers.
    • aymanelmamoun
      aymanelmamoun on 13 Feb 21
       
      The competitive advantage of HelloCash is interoperability and shared infrastructure features.
hichamachir

Kenya Is Becoming a Global Hub of FinTech Innovation - 0 views

hbr.org/...obal-hub-of-fintech-innovation

Fintech M-Pesa GDP Kenya

shared by hichamachir on 27 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • The country has seen skyrocketing mobile penetration rates, with subscriptions surpassing the total population amount by 12%, and FinTech innovations have followed. For example, the telecommunications giant Safaricom, which contributes 5% of the county’s GDP, led the push in 2007 with its M-Pesa money transfer service, which functions much like a limited mobile bank but without the need for an Internet connection. M-Pesa combines Safaricom’s mobile infrastructure with an agent model; Safaricom stores their balance and customers can go to one of 110,000 agents throughout the country to conduct transactions in person. The whole system runs on technology similar to text messaging, and has expanded to seven countries.
    • hichamachir
      hichamachir on 27 Feb 21
       
      Safaricom the company responsible for M-Pesa contribute with 5% to the GDP of Kenya. This data shows the influence of this company in Kenya.
nouhaila_zaki

AgroCenta - 0 views

www.globalinnovationexchange.org/...agrocenta

AgroCenta Ghana Competitive Advantage

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • AgroCenta's innovation focuses on the post harvest value chain. The suite of services within AgroCenta provides an end-to-end solution that ensures that it provides a win-win situation for the smallholder farmer and all active players in the value chain. If a smallholder farmer wants to know the latest market price of maize in the nearest market to enable him price competitively, he uses AgroInfo to request for information via SMS and Voice solutions. After the farmers has made a decision on how much to sell, the farmer's commodity information are uploaded onto the AgroTrade platform to connect him to buyers. When a trade agreement is reached between the farmer and a buyer, the farmer requests for TruckR, which is the truck delivery service component of AgroCenta, in real time using mobile phone. After the commodities are sold to the buyer, the farmer is paid via the AgroPay solution, which is the financial inclusion platform within AgroCenta
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      The important message to take from AgroCenta is that it gives win-win situations for all players. Smallholder farmers as well as those active in the value chain are taking advantage of this concept.
  • AgroCenta targets about 10 million smallholder farmers in Sub Saharan Africa within the next 5 years to help them trade fairly. Over 90% of these smallholder farmers live under $1 and are not able to make enough money from sales proceed to take care of their families and re-invest a percentage of the money raised back into their farms.
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      AgroCenta's value proposition lies in the advantage of providing the last mile market access for smallholder farmers in the staple food value chain through extensive collaboration with many partners who play an active role in the value chain.
  • AgroCenta's value proposition lies in the advantage of providing the last mile market access for smallholder farmers in the staple food value chain through extensive collaboration with many partners who play an active role in the value chain.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • AgroCenta provides an end-to-end solution for smallholder farmers in the post-harvest value chain from farm to market, leveraging on technology to create impact. AgroCenta's services include a market linkage platform (AgroTrade) linking farmers directly to buyers and removing exploitative buying, TruckR which is an on-demand trucks and logistics services (uber for trucks), AgroPay which is a financial inclusion plaform for the rural unbanked smallholder farmer.
  • AgroCenta has launched and piloted its Smallholder Farmer Integration Platform (AgroTrade) and has currently signed up over 7500 smallholder farmers in the staple food (rice, maize, soybean, sorghum and millet) value chain and connected them to a larger market (offtakers) to trade fairly. Also AgroCenta has recruited the services of 30 agents who work in close collaboration with smallholder farmer and farmer based organizations in 30 communities. Agents are responsible for signing up smallholder farmers onto the AgroCenta platform, uploading trade deals on behalf of farmers and collecting market price information from major markets across the Northern, Upper East and Upper West Regions in Ghana.
    • tahaemsd
      tahaemsd on 12 Feb 21
       
      Agrocenta provides an end to end solution for smallholder farmers in the post-harvest value chain from farm to market
  • Competitive AdvantageAgroCenta's value proposition lies in the advantage of providing the last mile market access for smallholder farmers in the staple food value chain through extensive collaboration with many partners who play an active role in the value chain. Secondly the provision of an on-demand access to trucks (uber for trucks) enables commodities to be moved from farms to markets etc in real time, reducing food glut and ensuring food security.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it highlights the competitive advantage that Agrocenta enjoys. This advantage relies upon two components: 1- The company's partners who are crucial actors in the value chain, 2- The provision of on-demand trucks that allow for the smooth and swift movement of goods.
  • AgroCenta is currently operating in 3 out of 10 regions in Ghana. Our expansion plans are to rollout the platform in the remaining 7 regions of Ghana by end of 2018 and sign up a total of 70,000 smallholder farmers to connect them directly to a market to trade and eliminate exploitative buying. Also AgroCenta plans to scale into immediate countries in West Africa (Ivory Coast & Nigeria) by end of 2020. The long-term goal of AgroCenta is to create the first of its kind commodity exchange and aggregations platform in sub Saharan Africa.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      AgroCenta wants to expand in the rest of Ghana's region before scaling into immediate countries in West Africa and finally moving to a Pan-African approach.
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