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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.

THESTRATEGICFINTECHFRAMEWORK Theconceptofthe StrategicFintech frameworkisoneofmanagedinnovation.Itisabusinessschoolledapproachto managingchange.Itcombinestheecosystem,unitingchallengersandincumbents,governmentanduniversities.The alignmentofinterestsisdoneattheplatformle v el,allowingforcompetitionbutonale v elpla yground.Itbenefits fromindustryinsightandanunderstandingofemergingtrendsandconsumerbehavior .Atitscoreisatechnologyand competencefocus.Itisawa yofapproaching,addressingandactioninginno vativ echange. Havingastrategyfocuson Fintech innovation,beitacorporateornationallevel,isacommitmenttoasetof coherent,mutuallyreinforcingpracticesaimedatdeliveringadigital financialservice.Thisconeptiscapturedby Gomberetal(2018).Theideabehind StrategicFintech istopromotealignmentwithinanorganization,clarifyobjectives andpriorities,andhelpfocuscorpor atebeha viorandproductinno vation.Theo v er allstr ategyiscustomerfocused,but supportedb yboththebackandfrontoffice. Thecoretechnologiesbehind StrategicFintech arecentraltounderstandinghowcollaborationbenefitsthemajority ofparticipants.T akeforexampletheroleofArtificialIntelligencein Fintech,theabilityofadigitalcomputertoperform financialtasks.Thisresultsinblackbo xoutcomesunlessproperthoughtando v ersightgoesintothede v elopmentofits coreassumptions.Thisisa v oidedb yaholisticviewoftherisksandanunderstandingofthemo vingparts.

Our pilot with Pula revealed that most data sets in the countries where Pula works still focus on larger farm sizes, not the very small farms of poorer, vulnerable farmers, which reduces variation in the model. Additionally, if yield data are not available for a long period or across climatic regions, the predictability of the model is further reduced. This innovation holds tremendous promise for inclusion but will need space for experimentation to perfect.

Fintech is used to define an industry that integrates financial and technology resources to develop financial solutions for organizations. In recent years, fintech innovations have transformed the way and the speed at which money can change hands. The major benefit of this has been at the consumer end. Making payments for them has become safer and quicker than ever before!

As a result of their potent blend of trail-blazing technology and disruptive innovation, FinTech players have the ability to accelerate the digital transformation of financial services in Africa and, in turn, further spur the major existing banks to rapidly ramp-up their own innovative approaches to meet the financial needs of under-served markets across the continent. FinTech players are increasingly becoming an important part of the fabric of Africa’s financial services industry. In addition, the leading banks on the continent are now harnessing innovative technology to meet market needs and are also collaborating with FinTech start-ups to better connect with under-served consumers, improve financial inclusion and provide a platform to scale much faster.

Driven by the belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life, MTN is ramping up its efforts to enhance access to digital and financial services for its customers.

The company’s latest Fintech innovation is a mobile remittance application, MTN Homeland, aimed at facilitating money and airtime transfers from Europe to Africa and parts of the Middle East.

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.

Financial-technology companies are changing the face of finance. Over the past ten years, what started mostly as disruption in the payments space has expanded to every corner of finance. Even areas once assumed to be safe are seeing new entrants and competitive threats. Wealth and asset management, wholesale banking, capital markets, regulation and risk (“regtech”), and trade finance are just the most recent areas to see innovation driven by small technology-first players.

Whether fintechs ultimately win or lose significant market share may be beside the point; they are redefining customer expectations and continue to create new business models. As fintechs are frequently building their entire technology stacks from the ground up, they are highlighting incumbent financial institutions’ weaknesses not only in digital user experiences but also in operational efficiency. Whether a new digital brokerage wins or loses may not matter when customer expectations around brokerage fees change. A retail foreign-exchange fintech having 5 or 50 percent of the market may matter less than retail FX margins disappearing for everyone. Whether the next crops of “neobanks” disrupt retail banking may be less important than their highlighting for users and customers the possibilities of a modern, digital-first experience.

f your downside potential from disruptive threats. Incumbents can choose to invest in companies they partner with or to focus on areas they know well or interesting adjacencies. We frequently advise clients to find ways of keeping corporate venture-capital groups slightly at arm’s length to attract skilled managers, and we recently have seen increased interest in investing in established outside managers who focus on financial technology. Transform yourself to be more like a fintech. Digital transformation is a difficult but necessary process for most incumbent financial institutions. Redesigning core infrastructure to be more modular and dynamic, driving a new agile operating model, and upgrading technology and workforce skills are all necessary to compete with outside threats, fintech and otherwise. Build your own (internal) fintech. The road for transformations is normally measured in years, but the competitive threat from fintechs is today. Increasingly, we are seeing financial institutions try to beat fintechs at their own game or self-disrupt areas of their business before others can. The key to success in new digital business building is to combine the agility, speed, and talent of a start-up with the “unfair advantage” of an incumbent by leveraging existing assets (e.g. customers, distribution, or infrastructure). Serve the fintechs. A few financial institutions can find their competitive advantage in creating scaled, efficient technology and operations to enable others to embed financial services in their customer experiences. This “banking as a service” business model depends on finding a profitable path to white labeling but draws on the inspiration of large tech platforms. Enabling the customer experiences of others has quickly moved beyond just enabling fintechs to also working with big technology companies, retailers, telecommunications companies, and beyond. Ignore fintechs. Although ignoring the competition is rarely the right choice, some businesses are built on moats—frequently regulatory—that are difficult to disrupt or they play within narrow markets. Companies should prioritize where they need to focus and in doing so know when they need to pay attention and when they need to avoid the distraction of disrupters.

A FinTech sandbox or an application program interface (API) sandbox is an environment that innovators and testers can use to mimic the characteristics exhibited by the production environment on a real-time basis to help simulate responses from all the systems an application interfaces with. This enables banks and FinTech players to experiment with innovative financial products or services within a well-defined space and duration. Moreover, the presence of appropriate safeguards helps in containing the consequences of failure. Essentially, the sandbox allows for the pilot testing of newly developed technologies. 

the MFSA published a Consultation Document proposing to (i) launch a FinTech Regulatory Sandbox, (ii) set up a framework for the regulatory certification of RegTech solutions, while also encouraging persons developing SupTech solutions to approach the Authority through a dedicated online form, and (iii) provide a status update on the other strategic objectives presented under Pillar 1 of the FinTech Strategy

MFSA FinTech Strategy Overview The MFSA aims to establish the foundations to enable FinTech start-ups and  scale-ups, technology firms and established financial services providers to develop viable FinTech solutions which drive innovation and enhance access to financial products, increase competition whilst promoting market integrity, deliver better customer experiences, and ultimately, contribute to the long- term success of the Maltese financial services sector.

The MFSA FinTech Strategy proposes to set out six pillars for the MFSA to create a holistic long-term approach to catalyse innovation, growth and competition in the financial services sector, whilst ensuring robust investor protection, market integrity and financial soundness.

“Common investor wisdom is to stay in your market and dominate. This assumes that you are expanding on your own but we believe that by collaborating and partnering deliberately, Carbon and other tech companies can scale faster and build more enduring platforms,” Chijioke Dozie, chief executive officer (CEO) and co-founder of Carbon, said. 

Nigerian fintech startup Carbon has set up a US$100,000 pan-African fund to address the lack of funding and support holding back entrepreneurs on the continent.Consumer lending platform Carbon, which rebranded in April as parent company OneFi continues to transition into being a full digital banking platform after raising US$5 million in debt funding and acquiring Nigerian payments startup Amplify, has been busy expanding its offering, and has also moved into new markets with a Kenyan launch.Its “Disrupt fund” is the first of its kind by an African fintech startup, and will invest up to US$10,000 per startup for five per cent equity. Portfolio companies will also be given access to Carbon’s API, allowing them to leverage Carbon’s growing customer base and innovative technology platform to get to market faster. Carbon expects the initiative to spark more collaboration and further investment that should drive growth across the ecosystem, and is accepting applications from companies with operations in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Egypt. Startups looking to apply for the fund must have a functioning product, be post-revenue, and be looking to operate in multiple countries. The fund has a wide investment mandate but target sectors include insurance, health and education.“There are many excellent companies across the continent looking for the kind of scale Nigeria offers and we are excited to partner with them to provide the support and financial investment they need. We are equally excited to expand beyond Nigeria and Kenya by working with a new generation of innovators across the continent and sharing our experience to tackle common obstacles to growth.”

Nigerian fintech startup Carbon has set up a US$100,000 pan-African fund to address the lack of funding and support holding back entrepreneurs on the continent.

Cassava is a specialised Pan-African Fintech company that delivers innovative digital transaction solutions across the mobile ecosystem. They endeavor to operate wherever money changes hands, with an ambition to drive financial inclusion, digital payments and lead the adoption of e-Commerce in Africa. Cassava is constantly looking for ways tointroduce solutions that bring developmental impact to a diverse range of African communities, thereby improving their quality of life. These solutions are delivered through our strategic partners such as mobile operators, whom we support in attaining their immediate and long-term strategic goals.

SimbaPay is an award winning mobile app transforming the international remittance space. With a focus on extreme speed, convenience and constant innovation.

SimbaPay is an award winning mobile app transforming the international remittance space. With a focus on extreme speed, convenience and constant innovation. Customers are able to send money to loved ones or even merchants, from wherever they are at any time of day or night. The company is headquartered in London and can be found online at www.SimbaPay.com SimbaPay is licensed and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

SimbaPay is an award winning mobile app transforming the international remittance space. With a focus on extreme speed, convenience and constant innovation.

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.

EthioPay which specializes in cross-border payments to Ethiopia he is currently in TYE competing to win funding for EthioPay.  In his journey of understanding what it truly means to help others, he has uncovered the power of innovation. Innovation is the act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods. Through his own life experiences of being a first-generation Eritrean American, he has found at the crossroads of innovation and entrepreneurship lies impact.