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kenza_abdelhaq

Fintech Trends: Crowdfunding | finleap - 1 views

  • The most obvious benefit of crowdfunding for entrepreneurs is the funding. With so many startups on the market, it is hard to gather the money needed to bring ideas to life. Through crowdfunding, ventures that do not have a company builder like FinLeap behind them, can gain support at the very beginning. Crowdfunding provides a way for innovate ideas to be presented attractively, so it can be launched. Moreover, a crowdfunding platform can help successful entrepreneurs to validate their product which can then help with gathering the Series A funding. It makes validation faster and more scalable. Additionally, a crowdfunding platform allows entrepreneurs to get insights from their future customers and experts in the startup field while building awareness for the idea. [3]
    • kenzabenessalah
       
      Crowdfunding would help EasyEquities come up with new innovative ideas for entrepreneurs and future customers. With this strategy, the company will always be classified high in the "Trend" sectors of the FinTech industry.
  • One thing to remember, however, is that the entrepreneur does not choose his investors which leads to unclear boundaries in the process. In addition, depending on the platform, entrepreneurs have to pay out between 8% and 12% of their raise which has to be budgeted in. [5] Moreover, crowdfunding platforms usually require through reporting and disclosure procedures that are strictly followed, making every step of the entrepreneur difficult. Due diligence is also absent as investors can contribute very small amounts, so are not particularly concerned with it. [6]Finally, the low percentage of success in crowdfunding is the main disadvantage
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      Though crowdfunding appears to be a great opportunity, this excerpt introduces us also to the drawbacks of this fintech strategy in order for us to make an informed decision when formulating a strategy. Problems of failure, due diligence, disclosure of confidential information to investors and the need for entrepreneurs to pay a certain percentage of their raise, and the need to carefully budget the amount needed since it cannot be changed later, are really discouraging many fintech companies from considering crowdfunding as an option.
  • the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet”. Thus, crowdfunding has become the champion of small businesses, allowing them to have a chance to succeed by showing their innovate business models to the world
    • kenza_abdelhaq
       
      Crowdfunding is a great alternative to have access to financing even though the success rates of these campaigns may be low, but the prompt describing the project should be promising and innovative.
ghtazi

Financial Services & Banking Technology | JUMO - 0 views

  • Get the ability to provide banking services to people who were previously unreachable, thanks to a lower cost of risk and the ability to accurately predict future behaviour.
  • Unlock the value of individuals’ digital footprints and power a generation of entrepreneurs, small businesses and communities with real financial choice.
    • kenzabenessalah
       
      JUMO not only provides fast, secure, and cost-effective financial services, but it is able to give an opportunity to entrepreneurs who are new to the market to invest and make money.
  • Credit Our lending products give entrepreneurs quick access to funds or asset finance. The loan amount, life cycle and repayment method can be configured to fit the needs of the individual. Savings JUMO builds and operates short-term, structured and long-term savings products that bear interest. They’re available to anyone who needs a safe place to store and grow their money. Insurance JUMO is able to work with underwriters and insurers to create standalone or wrapped insurance products to safeguard incomes, families, assets and businesses, no matter how small. Points We’re developing a white label points programme that can be used as a tool to drive and incentivise mobile transactions and empower people to build a personal, digital financial profile.
    • ghtazi
       
      in this article, we can see all of the financial services that jumo is offering. they presented a new wave of financial products such as credit, saving, insurance, and points. this website shows us how Jumo has redefined the banking service for a mobile, digital age, and has built a full technology stack to create financial services for everybody.
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    • aminej
       
      This website shows that JUMO is a service that provides insurance, savings and lendings to entrepreneurs in developping countries. There are five different types of services like credit, savings, insurance and points for loyal customers. It is a very safe service backed with advanced data engine and end to end banking technology. Finally, their main customer target are entrepreneurs and people who want to start their own business and who own a phone.
  • This cloud and AI-powered technology stack connects banks with traditionally inaccessible customers in cost-effective, low-risk and responsible ways. Today our partners deploy loans, savings and insurance services from Africa to Asia, helping entrepreneurs in emerging markets to grow and prosper.
    • ghtazi
       
      in this article, it shows that JUMO ensures security and low risks to its customer. it aims to deploy loans, savings, and insurance services from across the globe so that it can help entrepreneurs with their projects in emerging markets.
mehdibella

JUMO reaches 15 million customers across Africa and Asia - JUMO - 0 views

  • JUMO reaches 15 million customers across Africa and Asia
  • JUMO has disbursed over USD 1.6 billion in funding and is growing its base of savings products. “By empowering MSMEs, we’re also positively impacting communities, families and employees. Technology is removing barriers to financial inclusion making it possible to responsibly provide everyone with access to good financial choices,” Watkins-Ball added.
  • “We are working to connect every entrepreneur to the financial products they need to grow and prosper,” says Watkins-Ball. “Our technology enables our partner banks and payments companies to help millions of underserved people access financial services.”
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  • JUMO, a technology company building next-generation financial services for emerging market entrepreneurs, is celebrating connecting over 15 million people to credit and savings in their six markets in Africa and Asia today.
    • mehdibella
       
      JUMO has partnered with financial service providers and mobile network operators to provide credit and savings solutions in Pakistan, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Zambia.
  • Founded in London in 2015, JUMO has partnered with financial service providers and mobile network operators to provide credit and savings solutions in Pakistan, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Zambia.
  • Andrew Watkins-Ball, Founder & Group CEO, said this milestone demonstrates JUMO’s unique ability to reach underserved entrepreneurs – over 60% of JUMO’s customers are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
  • “We are working to connect every entrepreneur to the financial products they need to grow and prosper,” says Watkins-Ball. “Our technology enables our partner banks and payments companies to help millions of underserved people access financial services.”
  •  
    JUMO is celebrating interfacing more than 15 million individuals to credit and investment funds in their six business sectors in Africa and Asia today.
  •  
    Jumo are strategically targeting unbanked entrepreneur in order to help them become part of the consumers of the financial product, and consequently develop themselves. It initially targets low-income classes and gives them the opportunity to grow and prosper
mohammed_ab

Kiva: A crowdlending twist on traditional microfinance - Digital Innovation and Transfo... - 0 views

  • Kiva utilizes an innovative peer-to-peer crowdlending platform to enable budding entrepreneurs across the globe to access the funds they need to help themselves out of poverty. Kiva, founded in 2005, was one of the first non-profit platforms developed to enable “crowdlending” of loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries unable to access credit in more formal manners. Kiva’s innovative model of using the internet to enable peer-to-peer transactions has largely been successful to date. Over 1.3M individuals have lent to over 1.7M entrepreneurs around the world, with a total of almost 1M loans amounting to $773M.
  •  
    This excerpt explains exactly the mission of Kiva, a crowdfunding platform that links borrowers and lenders around the world to support entrepreneurs who have difficulties accessing formal loans. I really like the idea behind this fintech as it solves a major issue in emerging countries.
mohammed_ab

A competitor for Kiva? - 1 views

  • if someone doesn’t want to have that relationship but they want to microfinance, Kiva’s the best. For someone who’s interested in dialoguing and learning more and building relationships or having contact, this is where Mobile Movement becomes a new platform.
  • MobileMovement, a "next-generation microfinancing site, where donors and participants can communicate directly with young social entrepreneurs in the slums of Nairobi.
  • .if someone doesn’t want to have that relationship but they want to microfinance, Kiva’s the best. For someone who’s interested in dialoguing and learning more and building relationships or having contact, this is where Mobile Movement becomes a new platform.
  •  
    Kiva has many competitors, but it still dominates the market for people who want to do microfinance.
  •  
    This article talks about the different competitors of Kiva. What got my interest is that in Kiva, there isn't the possibility to dialogue and build contacts with the entrepreneurs you want to invest in. I believe that microfinance should be more than just money and funding, communication and sharing knowledge with the entrepreneur is also very important.
chaimaa-rachid

Kiva To Offer Its Zero-Interest Crowdfunded Loans To Small Businesses Nationwide - 0 views

  • Since its founding ten years ago, Kiva’s micro-lending platform has helped entrepreneurs in emerging markets borrow $788 million from average Joes in increments as little as $25.
  •  
    Kiva is making loans easy for people which is amazing. I think this company will have an extraordinary future.
kenza_abdelhaq

AgroCenta CEO on the Challenges of Entrepreneurship in Ghana - 0 views

  • Does being an entrepreneur in Ghana – and in a developing economy in Africa – presents any ulterior challenges you had overcome?Being an entrepreneur in Africa and in emerging markets, in general, is quite difficult because of the lack of structure and supports put in place by the government. It requires a lot of courage and persistence to get the simplest things done. Any simple tech solution that you might want to build can end up being a very complex challenge because it relies on services that do not exist or don’t work properly. Access to funding also remains a big problem for many entrepreneurs who will need money to test, pilot and scale a platform or a solution. Many investors are quite held back when it comes to making investments in Africa for an obvious reason: corruption.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This excerpt is important because it reflects the challenges faced by AgroCenta in Ghana, i.e. corruption, lack of financing, lack of proper infrastructure, lack of government help, among other things.
  • Our business model is simple, we are a B2B business that generates commission fees on trade volumes from the businesses we work with.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This excerpt is extremely important because it clearly states the business model of the company.
  • we are definitely improving the financial livelihood of smallholder farmers through fair trade. Many smallholder farmers are paid less than $1 a day and our objective is to increase it to $4 a day by 2020.
    • kenzabenessalah
       
      AgroCenta is an extremely important concept because it is helping to increase farmers' salaries. Going from $1 a day to $4 a day is already an improvement.
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  • AgroCenta focuses on 3 key impact goals for Ghana:No Poverty: Gender Equality: in Sub-Saharan Africa, traditions and land ownerships do not favor women, which ends up in many women being excluded from the agriculture value chain. By engaging the relevant stakeholders, AgroCenta rents arable agricultural lands to female smallholder farmers for free. Women are also given seeds, fertilizers, mechanized tractor services and extensive advisory information on farming best practices such as what type of seed to plant, when to plant, how to plant, etc.Decent Work & Economic Growth: we empower smallholder farmers to see agriculture as more than just a way to survive and position it as a viable industry that can be sustainable for their family.
    • mehdibella
       
      as you can see this company cares a lot about the livelyhood of their farmers and is trying to provide them only with the best features that would make life easier which in fact the main things that they tackle in the SDGs.
  • Seedstars Summit has been phenomenal. It has put AgroCenta on a pedestal and in the spotlight of a huge community in Africa. The experience after the Summit has been amazing: we received a lot of proposals from potential investors, partners and other service providers keen on working with us for growth and expansion.
  • Winning the vote of the entire jury, AgroCenta from Ghana was crowned the Seedstars Global Winner of the 5th edition of Seedstars Summit. At Seedstars, we are convinced that AgroCenta will shape the future of AgriTech in Africa. Indeed, the start-up’s mission is to improve the financial livelihood of smallholder farmers through fair trade.
    • aminej
       
      Agrocenta will have a great impact on farmers in Africa since it will enable them to protect their production and have an insurace in case of any risks. It will also help them regulate the market of agricultural products in order to set a price for each one
  • We identified a missing gap in the value chain that was the capacity to access the market for smallholder farmers after they have successfully cultivated their commodities. Access to the market was a huge problem for millions of smallholder farmers.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
       
      AgroCenta is fulfilling a market gap that is the need for smallholder farmers to access the market.
  • AgroCenta focuses as well as Seedstars on achieving the Sustainable Goals set up by the UN
    • sawsanenn
       
      one of the main goals is to reach economic growth by empowering smallholders farmers to see agriculture not only as a survival solution but as an investment
  • Gender Equality: in Sub-Saharan Africa, traditions and land ownerships do not favor women, which ends up in many women being excluded from the agriculture value chain. By engaging the relevant stakeholders, AgroCenta rents arable agricultural lands to female smallholder farmers for free. Women are also given seeds, fertilizers, mechanized tractor services and extensive advisory information on farming best practices such as what type of seed to plant, when to plant, how to plant, etc.Decent Work & Economic Growth: we empower smallholder farmers to see agriculture as more than just a way to survive and position it as a viable industry that can be sustainable for their family.
    • hibaerrai
       
      Agrocenta main goals are the following: first and the most evident one no poverty especially for farmers who are not paid enough. second, gender equality and finally economic agricultural development within the country.
  • A great team for sure! Our major strength has been a team made of people with diverse backgrounds and experiences and a deep understanding of the agricultural value chain. This asset allowed us to save a lot of time we would have naturally spent on trying to fine tune and launch the AgroCenta platform. Thanks to that we avoided making the common mistakes many new and unexperienced founders make.
    • ghtazi
       
      what we can understand is that having a great team is the key asset that led to the rapid growth of Agrocenta. cross-cultural team has been a plus for the development of agrocenta. it helped the company to save time and avoid making common mistakes that many new and inexperienced founders make.
  • Many investors are quite held back when it comes to making investments in Africa for an obvious reason: corruption.
ghtazi

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

    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      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.
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  • 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
       
      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
       
      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
       
      working with Zoona is great for Mukuru it will add more safety and reliable financial services that will be beneficial for Malawi and elsewhere
mohammed_ab

Former Kiva.org CEO Starts Mobile Microfinance Effort in Kenya - 2 views

  • The downloadable Branch app analyzes social and financial data on a borrower’s phone to determine creditworthiness before providing up to $20. Those with a “digital identity” too limited to establish credit standing can start off borrowing smaller amounts and climb a “trust ladder” to larger loans by timely repayment. Kiva.org, launched in 2005, facilitates more than a million dollars a week in small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries by matching them with microlenders.
  • The downloadable Branch app analyzes social and financial data on a borrower’s phone to determine creditworthiness before providing up to $20. Those with a “digital identity” too limited to establish credit standing can start off borrowing smaller amounts and climb a “trust ladder” to larger loans by timely repayment. Kiva.org, launched in 2005, facilitates more than a million dollars a week in small loans to entrepreneurs in developing countries by matching them with microlenders.
  •  
    Connecting lenders with borrowers is not an easy task. I think that we should give credits to Kiva for doing this great task!
  •  
    I like the fact that Kiva does give the chance to everyone to borrow money, even if you don't have a digital identity, which is in my opinion is a necessity in such a business model. It's also very interesting to see the volume of lending per week.
mehdibella

JUMO Empowers Asian And African Market With Over $2.5 Billion, Eyes Nigeria, 2 Others - 2 views

  • JUMO also has a mobile wallet technology that offers an easy-to-use service that is accessible via mobile devices.Watkins-Ball commented on the cost-effective technology used to collect information which strengthened the business model, He said: “When we founded JUMO, we were always clear that we can only achieve our mission by leveraging sophisticated information technologies at really low cost.
  • JUMO Empowers Asian And African Market With Over $2.5 Billion, Eyes Nigeria, 2 Others
  • JUMO is one of South Africa’s next-generation fintech companies offering emerging market entrepreneurs financial services.
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  • The tech startup was built as a unique platform to help facilitate digital financial services such as credit, and savings in emerging markets, and has handed out over $1.8 billion prior to date since its founding in London in 2015.
    • mehdibella
       
      it has partnered with telecommunications companies, funders, and banks, to create accessible financial tools, and insurance products targeted at entrepreneurs in emerging markets, and also offers accessible financial services to both Asia and Africa's unbanked populations.
  • “We’re optimistic about the  possibilities in these markets and continue to see huge growth  opportunities in Africa, with the potential to replicate our successes  in other markets over the longer term.”
    • mehdibella
       
      Jumo also hopes to explore the Indian, Nigerian, and Ivorian markets in no distant future.
  • JUMO Empowers Asian And African Market With Over $2.5 Billion, Eyes Nigeria, 2 Others
  • JUMO is one of South Africa’s next-generation fintech companies offering emerging market entrepreneurs financial services.
    • samiatazi
       
      Jumo won many awards all over the worlds and grants that will help it as a company to grow and expand its business into other countries
  • The tech startup was built as a unique platform to help facilitate digital financial services such as credit, and savings in emerging markets, and has handed out over $1.8 billion prior to date since its founding in London in 2015.
  •  
    I like the way that JUMO is clear about delivering a great technology with a low cost! I think that Fintechs must act based on this logic.
kenzabenessalah

Home - cassava fintech - 0 views

  • A uniquely integrated international fintech ecosystem that allows customers to make online money transfers using mobile money, bank account transfers, and cash pick-up services. We built Africa’s first truly global super app to help drive our ‘financial inclusion for all’ vision. A multi-service technology platform that brings together digital payment solutions, on-demand services, instant messaging, and digital media services in a single, easy-to-use mobile application. In some of our key markets across Africa, we have been able to drive financial inclusion from under 10% to 70-80% through solutions that have helped to create thousands of jobs and business opportunities for young entrepreneurs.
    • kenzabenessalah
       
      Giving opportunities for youngsters is always a great idea because they have a lot of potential. Cassava is able to increase that financial inclusion from 10% to 80%.
  •  
    "A uniquely integrated international fintech ecosystem that allows customers to make online money transfers using mobile money, bank account transfers, and cash pick-up services. We built Africa's first truly global super app to help drive our 'financial inclusion for all' vision. A multi-service technology platform that brings together digital payment solutions, on-demand services, instant messaging, and digital media services in a single, easy-to-use mobile application. In some of our key markets across Africa, we have been able to drive financial inclusion from under 10% to 70-80% through solutions that have helped to create thousands of jobs and business opportunities for young entrepreneurs."
samielbaqqali

GOODsoil VC accelerates Africa's fintech investment surge with $940 000 seed capital in... - 0 views

  • Founded in 2017 by Charmaine Hayden, Orla Enright, Ashley Thompson-MacCarthy and Richard Mensah, GOODsoil comprises 50% female and 75% black partners, all young, serial entrepreneurs intent on becoming catalysts of economic growth for minority founders across Africa.
    • samielbaqqali
       
      Africa is growing in terms of potential and is having more and more young entrepreneurs.
  • Zeepay focuses on digital rails to connect digital assets. The company has a footprint in more than 20 African markets and, in April 2020, became the first indigenous company to be awarded the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) license to operate as a mobile financial services company by the Bank of Ghana, the regulator of banking and financial services.
kenzabenessalah

Top 10 Benefits Of Crowdfunding - 2 views

  • Since the launch of CoFoundersLab, one of the largest networks for entrepreneurs, we have seen many small businesses and entrepreneurs flourish and benefit from the aid of this industry. However, being successful in startup fundraising via crowdfunding is not as easy as it seems. It comes with a lot of effort and dedication, but if one puts in the necessary work, they can realize fortunes that go far beyond just the raising of money.
    • kenzabenessalah
       
      Crowdfunding comes with a lot of dedication and hardwork. If EasyEquities believes in the value of this strategy, its entrepreneurs could make fortunes.
mbellakbail69

South African fintech JUMO scooped up $55 million in funding - 0 views

  • JUMO offers a wide range of services to users in emerging markets via partnerships with other financial institutions
    • nourserghini
       
      Jumo delivers services to third parties in emerging markets using partnership with other financial institutions.
  • JUMO offers financial services infrastructure to third parties and has served over 15 million customers across countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Pakistan, and Tanzania, and it plans to use the fresh capital to launch new products and expand into new markets: It's set to launch in Bangladesh, India, Côte d'Ivoire, and Nigeria soon, per its website.
    • nourserghini
       
      The article shows that Jumo specializes in financial services infrastructure to third parties. It operates in African countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania.
  • South African fintech JUMO scooped up $55 million in funding
    • nourserghini
       
      Jumo's original location is in South Africa.
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  • And while JUMO is focused on serving customers in emerging markets, it should use the fresh captial to offer more consumer products, like loan products, to better close the financial inclusion gap in these regions.
  • JUMO's partners include Telenor and Telenor Microfinance Bank, with which it launched its first commercial product in Asia in 2018, and Tigo, Airtel, and MTN with which it offers short-term loans in Kenya, Zambia, and Uganda. With help of the latest funding, JUMO will be able to further boost such partnerships, and become a more dominant player in the financial services industries in emerging markets.
    • mehdibella
       
      jUMO is focused on serving customers in emerging markets, it should use the fresh captial to offer more consumer products
  • JUMO offers this technology stack to partners, including telecommunication firms and other financial institutions, to power their financial products and serve consumers via their respective platforms.
  • The fintech's technology stack includes a lending product that gives entrepreneurs quick access to funds or asset finance, and JUMO has so far disbursed over $1.8 billion in loans. It also provides savings options to clients, including short-term, structure, and long-term products, and works together with underwriters and insurers to create standalone insurance products to "safeguard incomes, families, assets, and businesses".
    • ghtazi
       
      JUMO has already distributed 1.8 billion USD loans, it gives also the possibility to its users to have savings options to clients, including short term, structure, and long-term products. The company also ensures the creation of standalone insurance products.
  • JUMO's debt and equity round included participation from both new and existing investors, like Goldman Sachs, Odey Asset Management, and Leapfrog Investments, per TechStartups.com.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This excerpt is important because it reflects the nature of funding that Jumo secures whether through debt or equity; new or existing investors.
  • JUMO's business model of working with third parties helps it to diversify its distribution channels, and allows for quicker expansion — which is likely boosting investor interest in the fintech. To further diversify its offering, and make a bigger impact on serving the financially excluded population in emerging markets, JUMO should look into offering more consumer products, including loan options and bank accounts, as most of its offerings currently focus on serving entrepreneurs and businesses.
    • nouhaila_zaki
       
      This excerpt is important because first it clearly states the business model of Jumo. Then, it discusses the possibilities of (geographical) expansion and diversification of offerings (more consumer products, loan options, bank accounts etc).
  • JUMO's business model of working with third parties helps it to diversify its distribution channels, and allows for quicker expansion — which is likely boosting investor interest in the fintech. To further diversify its offering, and make a bigger impact on serving the financially excluded population in emerging markets, JUMO should look into offering more consumer products, including loan options and bank accounts, as most of its offerings currently focus on serving entrepreneurs and businesses.
    • sawsanenn
       
      this excerpt included the services that jumo offers, the business model, and some recommendation that the company should consider improving the platform
  • Additionally, only 27% of the population in Southeast Asia has a bank account, leaving a financial inclusion gap of around 438 million consumers. And we've seen fintechs that aim to close this gap attract significant investor interest in the past year: Investment in African fintechs increased by 155% from $111 million in 2018, to $283 million, while Southeast Asian fintechs saw funding surge of 69% from $588 million to $993 million over the same period, per CB Insights.
aymanelmamoun

No cash needed using South Africa's SnapScan - 1 views

  • Customers, when purchasing, simply need to scan a QR (quick response) code in store using their phones. And the customer can use any MasterCard or Visa card to sign up. Ehlers added: “We tried to design a product which allowed absolutely everybody to be part of the formal side of the economy.”
  • In an interview with How we made it in Africa, Ehlers explained: “A sizable part of why we built the product the way we did really relates to how the economy of South Africa functions. So to give one example, we built SnapScan so the merchant selling the products doesn’t need any special hardware at all. No point of sales system is required.” Merchants who don’t have bank accounts can redeem payments at any Standard Bank ATM or selected supermarkets.
    • samielbaqqali
       
      SnapScan is a new app that aims to make it easier to make mobile payments, so I think this unique concept will drive potential entrepreneurs to develop and build new ideas that can enhance real digital services. It isn't always a major challenge to develop a new concept, but the problem may be how to view the idea or how to preserve it. SnapScan is a notion of a new concept that in South Africa revolutionized mobile payments so that this company could inspire us to build better ideas.
  • SnapScan’s partnership with Standard Bank has allowed the company to grow faster. But Ehlers and his team are still required to adapt to the differences between the corporate and start-up worlds. He explained: “A start-up can quickly make a decision and then two hours later start implementing, whereas in a large corporation there is a process, things move a lot slower. Politics are involved and different people – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, just the reality.”
    • aymanelmamoun
       
      SnapScan is cooperating with international banks in the aim of growing faster. Standard Bank is a example of alike partnerships, both companies adapt to the differences between the corporate and start-up worlds.
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  • Why is this app so popular, and what does it do? In short it aims to replace the use of cash for both customer and merchant. What makes this unique for the merchant, is that they don’t need a bank account or a card machine to receive payments.
    • omarlahmidi
       
      SnapScan makes customer-s life much easier by providing many facilities.
  • SnapScan’s partnership with Standard Bank has allowed the company to grow faster. But Ehlers and his team are still required to adapt to the differences between the corporate and start-up worlds.
    • aymanelmamoun
       
      Partnerships as important strength.
  •  
    SnapScan is a new product that aims to make mobile payments easier, so I believe that this unique idea might push future entrepreneurs to innovate and create new ideas that can improve the actual digital services. Creating a new idea is not always a big problem but the problem might be how to interpret the idea or how to protect it. SnapScan is a concept of a new idea that revolutionized mobile payments in South Africa so this business might inspire us to create better ideas.
hibaerrai

Farmers,techies,entrepreneurs- the story of the FarmDrive girls - 0 views

  • “The digital nature of the product can be seen as exacerbating the usual challenges of ICT illiteracy. However, FarmDrive presents the record-keeping platform in different languages  – it’s now available in English and Kiswahili – via a simple SMS to increase the uptake of record-keeping among rural farmers. So farmers don’t have to have a smartphone,” Bosire says.“It also emerged during our pilot that farmers feel more empowered if they can their mobile phones for other activities apart from for calling, texting and mobile money. Their openness to  embracing new ways of using their simple mobile phones to solve challenges is what drives the culture shift from keeping non-organized farm records on paper or none at all  to digital record keeping,” she says.
    • hibaerrai
       
      One of the most added values of this agritech is the fact that farmers can access and apply for loans just by sending messages, and it doesn't need to be a smartphone. This shows that both creators of this app really taught about all potential customers.
mehdi-ezzaoui

Entrepreneurs from Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe now fundraising... - 0 views

  • Belcash provides an ICT platform to banks and coordinates the roll out, with special focus on rural areas. LOI with local banks are signed for implementation. The project is advised by a former CEO of a large Dutch Development Bank and 2 international banks sit in the advisory board.
  •  
    Participation of Belcash in the foundraising
ayachehbouni

How we're investing in entrepreneurs to improve lives around the world | Mercy Corps - 0 views

  • FarmDrive generates real-time credit reports for smallholder farmers, allowing them to access loans. Their proprietary platform collects traditional and alternative data points like revenue and satellite imaging to create detailed yield estimates and assess credit risk and then delivers loans via mobile money. As a result, farmers can increase their crop yields, improve their incomes and invest their additional revenue back into their families and communities.
    • ayachehbouni
       
      In Kenya, many smallholder farmers do not have access to small loans to help them buy the quality products they need to improve their incomes. Farmdrive was smart to see the opportunity there and create its idea.
mohammed_ab

Crowdsourcing student loans: Student financing in Kenya with Kiva and Strathmore Univer... - 1 views

  • n 2012, the micro-lending institute Kiva partnered with Kenya’s Strathmore University to offer tuition loans to low-income students. The loans were crowdfunded by Kiva and distributed by Strathmore University, who selected applicants based on the criteria of having high academic performance and coming from a low-income household, among other requirements. From 2012 to 2018, Kiva fundraised USD 762,675, which was distributed to 84 students who received an average loan of USD 9,004. The program ended in 2018 because the delinquency rate had risen to 14.65%, with many students being unable to pay back their loan owing to scarce job opportunities after graduation (Kiva, 2018).
    • hichamachir
       
      Kiva is treating a very important point in the society. It's to facilitate students loans. I think that kiva is playing it smart at this point because as we know students loans can be expensive to get and kiva found a solution for which can make the company very successful.
  • In 2012, the micro-lending institute Kiva partnered with Kenya’s Strathmore University to offer tuition loans to low-income students. The loans were crowdfunded by Kiva and distributed by Strathmore University, who selected applicants based on the criteria of having high academic performance and coming from a low-income household, among other requirements. From 2012 to 2018, Kiva fundraised USD 762,675, which was distributed to 84 students who received an average loan of USD 9,004
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    I think that Kiva is a platform that could benefit different market segments. Their main value proposition is to help entrepreneurs find funds for their business. However, as it can be seen in this article, Kiva could also serve students who have difficulties in financing their studies. I think that this is the power of crowdfunding, It can be used in many areas of life.
mohammed_ab

Kiva's 5 Year Growth Plan | Kiva - 0 views

  • We've set three strategic goals that we believe are both ambitious and achievable within the next 5-years:1. Raise $1 billion in loans over the internet2. Reach 2 million entrepreneurs around the world3. Realize our own self-sufficiency in the process.
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    This excerpt highlights why we should have more fintech companies like Kiva. Even if the company was a pure success story during the first four years of operations, Kiva is still aiming at having more impact all over the world by reaching $1 billion in loans.
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