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Digital financeAs the global economy recovers from COVID-19, one particular area of focus for FinTech is financial inclusion. According to the World Bank, there are currently around 1.7 billion unbanked individuals worldwide, and FinTechs will be central to efforts to integrate these people into the global banking system.Doing so will help to mitigate the economic and social impact of the pandemic. According to Deloitte, FinTechs, in strategic partnerships with financial institutions, retailers and government sectors across jurisdictions, can help democratise financial services by providing basic financial services in a fair and transparent way to economically vulnerable populations.Digital finance is also expanding in other areas. Health concerns in the COVID-19 era have made physical cash payments less practical, opening the door to an increase in digital payments and e-wallets. Though cash use was predicted to decline in any case, COVID-19 has hurried that decline, due to concerns that handing over money can cause human to human transmission of the virus. According to a Mastercard survey looking at the implications of the coronavirus pandemic, 82 percent of respondents worldwide viewed contactless as the cleaner way to pay, and 74 percent said they will continue to use contactless payment post-pandemic.In addition, improved ‘know your customer’ services are required to counter the rise in digital fraud and cyber crime since the beginning of the outbreak. As more of the global economic and financial system continues to move online, cyber defences will become even more crucial to protect data. Security-conscious FinTechs are designing their products with this in mind – even if face-to-face meetings and processes do return. Given the rising reliance on technology, digital transformation will be a primary focus for FIs in the months and years ahead. Whereas previous efforts to integrate technology may have been limited in scope, many FIs are awakening to the fact that in order to deliver an efficient, effective and sustainable banking service, they must adopt a more holistic approach to digital transformation, which includes utilising FinTech.

People across the world are economically impacted by the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. Funding these loans will provide a financial safety net during an uncertain time, in addition to leading borrowers on a path to recovery.

Fawry’s fortune is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused more people to place a high demand for its e-payment offerings. Being the leading fintech company in Egypt, Fawry’s revenue for the first half of 2020 increased by 47% to EGP 549.26M, from EGP 373.33 generated in 2019.Fawry has joined the rank of African companies that have become unicorns. Jumia was the first to attain unicorn status after listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Interswitch also became a unicorn after Visa acquired minority stakes last year. All three have attained global recognition, credibility, and reputation. The unicorn status creates a good public perception for investors and potential customers.

Fawry’s fortune is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused more people to place a high demand for its e-payment offerings. Being the leading fintech company in Egypt, Fawry’s revenue for the first half of 2020 increased by 47% to EGP 549.26M, from EGP 373.33 generated in 2019.

Ashraf Sabry and Mohamed Okasha founded Fawry in 2008. It has an online payment gateway for business owners to transact with customers via cash, credit cards, and e-wallets. In 2019, Fawry listed about 36% (254.6M) of its ordinary shares on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. It initially sold at EGP 6.46 per share, and then it tripled to EGP 18.78 at a market cap of EGP 13.3B in July 2020. After going public, other investors took an interest that led to a significant increase by over 300% in its stock price since its debut at the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

Cotlands is proud to be partnering with EasyEquities for a cause related marketing initiative with their investor community through #DonateForGood.  EasyEquities and the EasyCommunity want to play their part by supporting Cotlands beneficiaries that are adversely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. EasyEquities have created a feature on their platform inviting investors to donate to our organisation. You can make a donation on the share purchase page on the EasyEquities platform. All you need to do is to make sure you have enough funds in your available cash. This donation feature is available in the EasyEquities ZAR and TFSA accounts. 

Face au Covid-19, les médecins se réorganisent et se ruent sur la consultation en ligne sur la plate-forme DabaDoc. De quoi soulager tous les Marocains à risque de contamination. 

Fawry for Banking & Payment Technology Services SAE, an Egyptian digital payments provider, was listed on Cairo’s exchange about a year back. The company recently experienced a 300% increase in its market value to 20 billion Egyptian pounds (appr. $1.3 billion). The payments firm confirmed that its valuation has grown 4x since the COVID-19 outbreak in late February 2020. As first reported by Bloomberg, Fawry is now ranked among Egypt’s 10 most valuable firms, which include Telecom Egypt Co. and Elswedy Electric Co. However, these businesses are generating a lot more revenue compared to Fawry for now. Many locals in Egypt are still settling transactions with cash payments, despite the Coronavirus crisis which has made it unsafe to handle paper currency notes. However, the nation’s reserve bank has asked lending platforms and other financial service providers to encourage residents to make digital payments via mobile wallets. The central bank also wants Egyptians to use online payment platforms like Fawry in order to limit physical contact, so that the virus doesn’t spread further.

MTN Nigeria recovered from elevated volatility caused by COVID-19 to record massive revenue growth from digital and fintech services in the nine months ended 30 September.

#SolidariTECH The CGEM continues to invest in startup development. In collaboration with the Moroccan Start-up Ecosystem Catalysts (MSEC), it has launched a social initiative called #SolidariTECH. It orientates the startups to develop agile solutions to the COVID19 and quarantine issues for the benefit of civil society, companies and the Government. They provide new solutions in the fields of health, education and even DabaDoc medical consultation online. Now this initiative is welcoming a new stakeholder, the International Finance Corporation. It also aims to deploy the solutions proposed by these startups in neighboring countries such as Algeria and Tunisia and identify new synergies between #SolidariTECH and similar initiatives carried out in the Maghreb region.

The CGEM continues to invest in startup development. In collaboration with the Moroccan Start-up Ecosystem Catalysts (MSEC), it has launched a social initiative called #SolidariTECH.

For instance, the platform “DabaDoc “offers citizens the option to have a medical consultation online. Now this initiative0.959

According to Gartner,* “Application leaders responsible for digital commerce payments should use this Gartner research to adapt their customer-facing and operational payments processes to the current environment, optimize the customer payment experience and build organizational resiliency.”  

This funding was secured from UK charity Shell Foundation, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), AV Ventures and Rabo Foundation. “This is a significant milestone for AgroCenta, having the support of leading institutions, particularly with the COVID-19 backdrop, underlining the strength of AgroCenta and the importance of its mission. The demand for agricultural raw materials from offtakers in the brewery, manufacturing and consumer sector is increasing exponentially because of the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions that were put in place by the government of Ghana, hence this capital injection will help to secure purchases at fair and transparent prices from smallholders — a much needed lifeline for many who are at the proverbial bottom of the pyramid”. Francis Obirikorang, AgroCenta’s CEO and Co-Founder Michael Ocansey said while highlighting the importance and criticality of this investment.

“The demand for agricultural raw materials from offtakers in the brewery, manufacturing and consumer sector is increasing exponentially because of the easing of the COVID-19 restrictions that were put in place by the government of Ghana, hence this capital injection will help to secure purchases at fair and transparent prices from smallholders — a much needed lifeline for many who are at the proverbial bottom of the pyramid.”

This is a significant milestone for AgroCenta, having the support of leading institutions, particularly with the COVID-19 backdrop, underlining the strength of AgroCenta and the importance of its mission,” they said. 

Average monthly M-Pesa transactions, including Safaricom, was $24.2 billion (Sh2.6 trillion) and represented a growth of 57.8 per cent.

Revenues from the global mobile financial service M-Pesa have recovered following the reinstatement of fees on person-to-person transactions on the platform.

Vodacom says revenue from the international M-Pesa business, excluding Kenya, rose 10 per cent to Sh8.5 billion in the quarter ended December compared to Sh7.7 billion a year earlier.

The remittances services were declared an essential service during the lockdown restrictions to curb the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.South Africa moved to level 3 lockdown late in December after the country breached the one million mark of confirmed Covid-19 cases while Zimbabwe went into a hard lockdown as the entire country was declared a coronavirus hotspot as the infection rates drastically surged in all the country’s regions.“We remain cautiously optimistic we can continue in the year ahead to layer new products and services onto our platform to unlock value and move our customers up along the financial inclusion curve.“We will also constantly look to build our network and footprint across Africa and beyond, which will allow us to grow our business not only in terms of the breadth of relevant products and services we offer, but in the depth of customer markets we serve,” said Jury.

The Central Bank of Lesotho has authorised mobile money issuers to increase the daily limit of transactions for duly identified and verified mobile money customers. The Bank came about this decision of authorisation in order to facilitate a wider use of electronic payments for goods and services by the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Central Bank of Lesotho has authorised mobile money issuers to increase the daily limit of transactions for duly identified and verified mobile money customers. The Bank came about this decision of authorisation in order to facilitate a wider use of electronic payments for goods and services by the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.