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ghtazi

AgroCenta - VC4A - 1 views

vc4a.com/agrocenta

Innovative platfrom Online

shared by ghtazi on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • AgroCenta is an innovative online platform that empowers small holder farmers and farmer based organizations in rural farming communities access a wider online market outside their immediate locality to trade fairly and equitably. They can access technological tools and information that will inform them on best farming practices such weather information, market information and finally access to agro inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides directly from stakeholders.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      The engagement of farmers with AfroCenta is not only important to have wider access to larger markets, but also to have access to advanced tools and data in the agricultural industry.
  • AgroCenta is an innovative online platform that empowers small holder farmers and farmer based organizations in rural farming communities access a wider online market outside their immediate locality to trade fairly and equitably. They can access technological tools and information that will inform them on best farming practices such weather information, market information and finally access to agro inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides directly from stakeholders.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      AgroCenta's mobile app provides two key services to smallholder farmers: access to markets (AgroTrade) and access to finance (AgroPay). On the AgroTrade platform, farmers can trade directly with small, medium, and large processing companies that need raw commodities for processing.
  • AgroCenta is an innovative online platform that empowers small holder farmers and farmer based organizations in rural farming communities access a wider online market outside their immediate locality to trade fairly and equitably. They can access technological tools and information that will inform them on best farming practices such weather information, market information and finally access to agro inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides and weedicides directly from stakeholders.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      Agrocenta is an innovative platform that helps small farmers in rural communities access a wider online market in order to trade freely and equitably.
nouhaila_zaki

M-Pesa - 2 views

www.investopedia.com/...mpesa.asp

M-Pesa Financial inclusion Kenya

shared by nouhaila_zaki on 07 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • One of the drives for Fintech innovations, like M-Pesa, is financial inclusion, which is mostly geared toward an underbanked or unbanked group of people.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 07 Feb 21
       
      Financial inclusion is a main priority of M-Pesa.
  • M-Pesa is a virtual banking system that provides transaction services through a SIM card. Once the SIM has been inserted into the card slot of the mobile device, users can make payments and transfer money to vendors and family members with SMS messages. Users with no bank accounts can access the numerous M-Pesa outlets distributed across the country. The money that needs to be stored is given to the kiosk attendant, who transfers the amount in digital form to the user’s M-Pesa’s account. Cash collected from M-Pesa is deposited in bank accounts held by Safaricom. The bank accounts serve as regular checking accounts and are insured up to a maximum of 100,000 shillings (or $1000) by the Deposit Protection Fund. M-Pesa provides receipts as proof of transaction. For a transaction to take place, both parties have to exchange each other’s phone numbers because the phone numbers act as account numbers. After settlement, both parties receive an SMS notification with the full name of the counterparty and the amount of funds deposited or withdrawn from the user’s account. The mobile receipt, which is received within seconds, helps to promote transparency for all individuals involved in a transaction.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 07 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it explains how this mobile banking service operates. 1. Payments are made through SMS messages. 2. Cash collected by M-Pesa is deposited in bank accounts held by Safaricom. 3. Phone numbers act as account numbers. 4. M-Pesa provides receipts as proof of transaction.
  • M-Pesa is a virtual banking system that provides transaction services through a SIM card. Once the SIM has been inserted into the card slot of the mobile device, users can make payments and transfer money to vendors and family members with SMS messages. Users with no bank accounts can access the numerous M-Pesa outlets distributed across the country. The money that needs to be stored is given to the kiosk attendant, who transfers the amount in digital form to the user’s M-Pesa’s account. Cash collected from M-Pesa is deposited in bank accounts held by Safaricom. The bank accounts serve as regular checking accounts and are insured up to a maximum of 100,000 shillings (or $1000) by the Deposit Protection Fund. M-Pesa provides receipts as proof of transaction. For a transaction to take place, both parties have to exchange each other’s phone numbers because the phone numbers act as account numbers. After settlement, both parties receive an SMS notification with the full name of the counterparty and the amount of funds deposited or withdrawn from the user’s account. The mobile receipt, which is received within seconds, helps to promote transparency for all individuals involved in a transaction.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 08 Feb 21
       
      this article shows us how M-Pesa is a virtual system that provides transaction services through a SIM card. 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.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • A farmer has no bank account and wants to deposit his commodity sale proceeds of 1,000 shillings goes to an M-Pesa outlet and deposits the money with the kiosk agent or attendant. The agent, in turn, uses her phone to access the client’s account with the client’s registered phone number and credit the account for 1,000 shillings.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 08 Feb 21
       
      M-Pesa target customers are anybody who has a phone.
  • M-Pesa is a mobile banking service that allows users to store and transfer money through their mobile phones. M-Pesa was introduced in Kenya as an alternative way for the population of the country to have access to financial services. Safaricom, the largest mobile phone operator in Kenya, launched M-Pesa in 2007. The service is a blend of two entities where M means mobile and Pesa means money or payment in the Swahili language.
  • Financial inclusion is an initiative that seeks to include residents who have no access to banks or who can’t afford the required minimum deposits in the digital banking era. In order for this initiative to succeed, different sectors must collaborate in sharing data with each other and build a meaningful digital platform.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      I like how M-PESA gave opportunities for those who cannot afford to have bank accounts , an alternative to still have access to those services.
  • Through mobile payment services like M-Pesa, the standard of living in Kenya has improved greatly. Market traders, debt collectors, farmers, and cab drivers don’t need to carry around or transact in a large amount of cash. This means that the occurrence of theft, robbery, and fraud is reduced. Also, individuals and business owners don’t have to wait in long lines for hours to make their electricity and water bill payments because these can be made using M-Pesa.
    • samielbaqqali
      samielbaqqali on 12 Feb 21
       
      The mobile payment industry was revolutionized by M-Pesa. The value of this business in the financial industry is demonstrated by the fact that the term M-Pesa has a financial significance. I believe that by using digitalisation in a way that can benefit people and solve their problems, M-Pesa has gained its impact.
  • To combat fraud, Safaricom mandates that users of a Safaricom SIM card who want to register for M-Pesa have to do so with a valid government ID such as the Kenyan national identification card or a passport. This way, each transaction is marked with the identification of the party transferring, paying, depositing, or withdrawing money from an account.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      to combat fraud they use either a sim card, ID card, or passport. in this way every transaction made will be marked with identifications of the parties transferring money, paying or whatever action it was made.
  • To combat fraud, Safaricom mandates that users of a Safaricom SIM card who want to register for M-Pesa have to do so with a valid government ID such as the Kenyan national identification card or a passport. This way, each transaction is marked with the identification of the party transferring, paying, depositing, or withdrawing money from an account.
  • M-Pesa is one of the innovative tools that have been birthed from the collaboration of telecommunication and banking sectors in East Africa.M-Pesa began in Kenya and is being utilized in 10 countries, including India and Romania. Emergent technology in the financial sector, or Fintech, has made it possible for financial services and products, like M-Pesa, to be more accessible at small costs.M-Pesa makes it possible for unbanked people to pay for and receive goods and services using a mobile phone instead of utilizing a brick-and-mortar bank.
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 13 Feb 21
       
      this article explains that M-pesa is a virtual banking platform that gives the opportunity for unbanked or underbanked individuals to conduct transactions through a SIM card.
  • This cross-communication tactic used by M-Pesa is developing rapidly in sub-Saharan Africa, where the telecommunication and banking sectors are working together to create mobile banking services for those with limited access to traditional banking.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      Mobile payment is progressively being used in emerging regions in which a large percentage of the population has little or no access to traditional banking such as Africa
  • Mobile money is increasingly being adopted in developing nations where a high percentage of the population has little or no access to traditional banking. Revolutionary services like Paga, MTN Mobile Money, Airtel Money, and Orange Money are disrupting the traditional payment systems used frequently by residents of emerging nations, by changing the economy from a cash society to a digital one.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it reflects the increasing importance of mobile money i.e. as proposed by M-Pesa in developing countries.
  • hichamachir on 12 Feb 21
     
    M-Pesa revolutionized the mobile payment industry. The fact that the word M-Pesa got a financial meaning shows the importance of this company in the financial industry. I think that M-Pesa gained its influence by using digitalization in way that can help people and solve their problems.
mehdibella

GSMA | Meet our portfolio start-ups: AgroCenta, Ghana | Mobile for Development - 0 views

www.gsma.com/...olio-start-ups-agrocenta-ghana

ghana Fintech Agrocenta

shared by mehdibella on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • The start-up provides access to truck delivery services and real-time market information via SMS and IVR. Building on this platform, AgroCenta now enables farmers to receive mobile money, build their credit score and access financial services (like crop insurance) through its latest mobile product, AgroPay.
  • In a country where agriculture is the primary economic occupation of many — employing 52 per cent of Ghana’s labour force — the AgriTech start-up launched AgroTrade, an online platform that connects smallholder farmers in the staple food value chain to a wider online market.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it reflects the importance of agriculture in Ghana, and which products/services offered by AgroCenta serve to do: AgroTrade connects smallholder farmers to a wider online market & AgroPay allows farmers to receive money, build their credit score and access financial services i.e. crop insurance through their mobile phones.
  • In Ghana, AgroCenta has set up a mobile money API integration partnership with MTN and Vodafone to pay smallholder farmers directly and seamlessly via mobile money through its AgroPay platform.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21
       
      This part reflects the collaborations engaged by AgroCenta with mobile operators MTN and Vodafone to support financial literacy and facilitate the transfer of mobile money.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • Both mobile operators will also be supporting AgroCenta farmers with financial literacy training on-the-ground. AgroCenta has also strengthened its partnership with Vodafone Ghana to allow smallholder farmers on its platform to access free voice calls between farmers and discounted mobile devices and bundles
  • Both mobile operators will also be supporting AgroCenta farmers with financial literacy training on-the-ground. AgroCenta has also strengthened its partnership with Vodafone Ghana to allow smallholder farmers on its platform to access free voice calls between farmers and discounted mobile devices and bundles
  • Through this partnership, Vodafone Ghana can liaise with the AgroCenta team to onboard AgroCenta farmers on its Small Office/Home Office (SoHo) packages.
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      As of July 2019, AgroCenta had registered 46,100 smallholder farmers on the AgroTrade platform across four regions and 640 communities.
  • As of July 2019, AgroCenta had registered 46,100 smallholder farmers on the AgroTrade platform across four regions and 640 communities.
  • lack of access to structured markets, which leaves them at the mercy of predatory brokers or middlemen who buy at exploitative prices, and lack of access to finance, which means they may never move beyond smallholder farming to middle-level or even commercial farming.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      The inability of smallholder farmers to access markets pushes them to sell to middlemen with exploitative prices and the incapacity to get loans also prevents these farmers to grow.
  • kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
     
    "lack of access to structured markets, which leaves them at the mercy of predatory brokers or middlemen who buy at exploitative prices, and lack of access to finance, which means they may never move beyond smallholder farming to middle-level or even commercial farming."
ghtazi

BelCash Technology Solutions PLC (BelCash Ethiopia) Jobs and vacancies in Ethiopia, Feb... - 0 views

justjobset.com/...solutions-plc-belcash-ethiopia

easy financial access Online Fintech

shared by ghtazi on 11 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • The main focus for Hello brands is what customers want and expect from the respective services.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 11 Feb 21
       
      The company focuses on customer satisfaction which is not the case for all companies. It is usually stated but never conducted the right way. Belcash's Hello brand has managed to created services like, Hellomarket, HelloLawyer, HelloDoctor, etc., to satisfy the needs of the people.
  • The Hello brands are aspiring and inclusive, aiming to connect all Ethiopian citizens for a brighter future; a future that unlocks the potential of the country and its diverse people
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      this new brand of belcash offers new high level services with a better convenience, easy access, and affordability
  • Belcash is the proprietor and provider of the ‘Hello’​ brand. We attempt to find the perfect fit for our customers and partners. This heavy focus on customer service, innovation and professionalism means that our stakeholders are proud to identify themselves with us. Though each Hello brand represents a different service, they all share one key feature – the mobile phone is the access point for their service. The main focus for Hello brands is what customers want and expect from the respective services. The Hello brands are aspiring and inclusive, aiming to connect all Ethiopian citizens for a brighter future; a future that unlocks the potential of the country and its diverse people. The Hello brands say ‘Hello’​ to their customers and offer them essential services with a high level of convenience, quality and affordability. Over the last four years, our service has allowed the Ethiopian population to access the following services using their mobile phones: Health advice (HelloDoctor) Market access (HelloMarket / HelloGebeya) Labour market access (HelloJobs / HelloSera) Legal advice (HelloLawyer / HelloTebeka) Mobile Trade service (HelloBroker/ HelloDelela) And, since February 2015, in partnership with select Ethiopian banks and micro finance institutions; Financial Inclusion (HelloCash)
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      this is very important because we can see how belcash wants to make financial access easy for everyone by introducing a new platform that is convenient and easy to use for the users.
mehdibella

M-Pesa - 0 views

www.vodafone.com/...m-pesa

M-pesa kenya Nairobi Fintech finance

shared by mehdibella on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • M-Pesa is Africa's most successful mobile money service and the region’s largest fintech platform. M-Pesa is the preferred way to make payments across the continent both for the banked and unbanked due to its safety and unmatched convenience.
  • It also provides financial services to millions of people who have mobile phones, but do not have bank accounts, or only have limited access to banking services. Now, M-Pesa provides over 42 million people with a safe, secure and affordable way to send and receive money, top-up airtime, make bill payments, receive salaries, get short-term loans and much more.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      Even if people do not have bank accounts, they can still use M-PESA because it allows them to have access to financial services through their mobile phones.
  • In early 2020, Vodacom & Safaricom completed the acquisition of the M-Pesa brand from Vodafone Group through a newly created joint venture. The joint venture will accelerate the growth of M-Pesa through Africa by giving both Vodacom and Safaricom full control of the M-Pesa brand, product development and support services as well as the opportunity to expand M-Pesa into new African markets
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      after that Vodacom & Safaricom acquired M-Pesa brand from the Vodafone group, they created a new joint venture that will help M-pesa to grow across Africa, which I believe is a big opportunity for the group
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • M-Pesa is Africa's most successful mobile money service and the region’s largest fintech platform. M-Pesa is the preferred way to make payments across the continent both for the banked and unbanked due to its safety and unmatched convenience.
    • kaoutarchennoufi
      kaoutarchennoufi on 13 Feb 21
       
      Thanks to its large Fintech platform, M-Pesa has managed to target both banked and unbanked people. Also, what distinguishes it, is that it does not require people to have a bank account in order to have access to its financial services, they only need to have a mobile phone.
  • In 2019, our 41.5 million active customers carried out over 12 billion transactions
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 13 Feb 21
       
      This article states that M-pesa is the continent's leader in mobile money services with over 41,5 million customers from all over the continent.
  • M-Pesa is Africa's most successful mobile money service and the region’s largest fintech platform. M-Pesa is the preferred way to make payments across the continent both for the banked and unbanked due to its safety and unmatched convenience.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it defines M-Pesa as Fintech Platform, their services, and their customer target
  • Send and receive moneyDomestic transfers: M-Pesa customers can send money in real time to any other M-Pesa customer with an account registered in the same country. In most markets customers can now send money to mobile money users on other networks as well.International transfers: Through our international remittance partners, M-Pesa customers can receive and send money across borders in real time.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt describes the core services provided by M-Pesa, namely domestic transfers and international transfers.
  • LoansM-Pesa customers build a credit score that enables them to access loans via our bank partners. Products include M-Shwari and KCB M-Pesa in Kenya and M-Pawa in Tanzania. We work hard to ensure customers not only have access to credit but are also educated so they understand the implications of a loan.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This particular excerpt explains how M-Pesa provides underbanked/unbanked customers with access to loans that would change their lives and ameliorate their condition.
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This page is important because it enumerates all of the different product and service offerings provided by M-Pesa, which is important to know in order to acquire a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the company's actions.
  • What is M-Pesa?
  • M-Pesa is Africa's most successful mobile money service and the region’s largest fintech platform. M-Pesa is the preferred way to make payments across the continent both for the banked and unbanked due to its safety and unmatched convenience.  It also provides financial services to millions of people who have mobile phones, but do not have bank accounts, or only have limited access to banking services.
  • Established on 6th March 2007 by Vodafone's Kenyan associate, Safaricom, M-Pesa is Africa's leading mobile money service with more than 430,000 active agents operating across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique and Tanzania.
  • chaimaa-rachid on 12 Feb 21
     
    This service permits clients to store cash into an account put away on their cell phone, and send it utilizing an individual recognizable proof number and secure SMS. This makes it conceivable to pay for products and services and to guarantee standard payments.
nourserghini

​Belcash Technology Solutions PLC - 2 views

www.belcash.com/about

Belcash Hello brand Ethiopia Lending

shared by nourserghini on 08 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Over the last four years, our service has allowed the Ethiopian population to access the following services using their mobile phones: Health advice (HelloDoctor)Market access (HelloMarket / HelloGebeya)Labour market access (HelloJobs / HelloSera)Legal advice (HelloLawyer / HelloTebeka)Mobile Trade service (HelloBroker/ HelloDelela)And, since February 2015, in partnership with select Ethiopian banks and micro finance institutions;Financial Inclusion (HelloCash)
    • aminej
      aminej on 08 Feb 21
       
      In this link, we will see that the Belcash is an ecommerce platform. The application was designed with the major aim of allowing local suppliers and manufacturers to promote and sell their products and services. Some of their main services are health advice, market access, labor market access, legal advice and mobile Trade service. It was founded by Mountaga Diop in 2009 at Adis Abeba, Ethiopia. Finally their main customers here are any Ethiopian who own a smarthone and are interested by the services provided.
  • To help unlock the potential of Ethiopia through the digitalization of essential services, such as finance, healthcare and education. To help drive sustainable and inclusive growth though digitalization. We believe digitalization will lower transaction costs and bring essential services to the reach of the poor. It bypasses the conventional time consuming and capital intensive build-up of fixed assets (banks branches, school buildings and clinics).
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 08 Feb 21
       
      Belcash provides its technology platforms to businesses across different industries ( healthcare/ finance/ education/ trading/labor market etc...). This company helps the Ethiopian population to drive sustainable growth, and lower transaction costs through digitalization.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • Belcash is the proprietor and provider of the 'Hello' brand. We attempt to find the perfect fit for our customers and partners. This heavy focus on customer service, innovation and professionalism means that our stakeholders are proud to identify themselves with us. Though each Hello brand represents a different service, they all share one key feature - the mobile phone is the access point for their service.
    • nourserghini
      nourserghini on 13 Feb 21
       
      According to the company's website, Belcash is the owner of the hello brand which allows access, through mobile phones, to health advice, market data, labour market trade and legal advice.
  • aminej on 08 Feb 21
     
    To help boost the development of Ethiopia through the digitalization of crucial services, such as finance, healthcare and education and to help drive sustainable and inclusive growth though digitalization. We think that digitalization will decrease transaction costs and provide important services to the reach of the poor such as (banks branches, school buildings and clinics).
kenzabenessalah

FarmDrive: Connecting farmers to financing | Mercy Corps - 0 views

www.mercycorps.org/...farmdrive

FarmDrive SocioCultural Economic Funding Farmers

shared by kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • While financial inclusion in the country has increased, many farmers remain excluded. Limited financing for farmers is due, in part, to a lack of available credible risk-assessment information for financial institutions. Many small farmers are unbanked and off the financial grid, without credit profiles to verify or back up details on their annual income, business expenses or yields.
    • tahaemsd
      tahaemsd on 12 Feb 21
       
      Without thiis information, farmers are left with little to no access to financial services, while lenders miss out on the opportunity to build their client base and agricultural loan portfolios.
  • FarmDrive generates real-time credit reports for small farmers, allowing them to access loans from financial institutions and agricultural input providers via mobile phone. 
  • FarmDrive collects expense and revenue data from farmers via SMS and combines it with satellite imaging, remote sensing technology and alternative data points (e.g., soil analysis, weather forecasts) to create detailed yield estimates and assess credit risk.
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • FarmDrive overlaps our focus areas of agriculture and financial inclusion, empowering the world’s most vulnerable farmers with the digital financial services they need to strengthen and improve their livelihoods. 
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      FarmDrive collects expense and revenue data from farmers and combines it with satellite imaging, remote sensing technology and alternative data points to create detailed yield estimates and assess credit risk.
  • We’ve connected FarmDrive to various partners and expertise to help them scale, as its usage increases in other developing markets in sub-Saharan Africa. 
  • Reports allow credit providers to make informed lending decisions and easily reach rural clients, expanding access to financing for small farmers. As a result, farmers have greater control over their livelihoods – equipped with what they need to increase their crop yields, improve their incomes and invest their additional revenue back into their families and communities.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      FarmDrive collects data from farmers using different technologies which allows the company to generate farmers' credit reports which allow loan providers to make informed decisions and therefore give more access to financing to small farmers.
  • Since, FarmDrive has reached hundreds of farmers with its suite of financial services, credit reports and financing options, with a particular focus on serving women and youth farmers typically neglected by the formal financial system.
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 16 Feb 21
       
      The focus that FarmDrive has on serving women is essential to keep in mind. We must dig deep as to why they are being neglected by the financial system and make sure that they never get fooled by them in the future.
  • In Kenya, most small farmers — around 7.5 million — lack access to small loans to help them buy what they need to improve their production and make the most of their land – things like quality fertilizers, better seeds, livestock and micro-irrigation.  
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 16 Feb 21
       
      Knowing the percentage of the population who do not own bank accounts as well as the percentages of loans that others have access to is a must to help improve the economic situation in Kenya. Such details, like interest rate, etc. are essential in helping people construct a well structured economic strategy so that all Kenyans benefit from these financial services and never fall back again.
chaimaa-rachid

About | Kiva - 0 views

www.kiva.org/about

life improve people

shared by chaimaa-rachid on 07 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • We do this by crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved, improving the quality and cost of financial services, and addressing the underlying barriers to financial access around the world. Through Kiva's work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford needed emergency care.
  • We do this by crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved, improving the quality and cost of financial services, and addressing the underlying barriers to financial access around the world. Through Kiva's work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford needed emergency care.
    • aminej
      aminej on 11 Feb 21
       
      Kiva is an interesting platform that offers very interesting funding access to people in different areas of the world. It would enable them to either start a new business or improve theirs. There are already 1.9 million lenders which is quite huge and a repayment rate of 95.9% so I believe that it is really developped.
  • We do this by crowdfunding loans and unlocking capital for the underserved, improving the quality and cost of financial services, and addressing the underlying barriers to financial access around the world. Through Kiva's work, students can pay for tuition, women can start businesses, farmers are able to invest in equipment and families can afford needed emergency care.
    • kaoutarchennoufi
      kaoutarchennoufi on 12 Feb 21
       
      Kiva is a very impactful organization since it financially helps students and women who want to start their own business. It is well known that these two categories usually face difficulties to contract loans or get any financial service. We need more organizations like Kiva all around Africa.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Kiva started as a pioneer in crowdfunding in 2005, and is constantly innovating to meet people’s diverse lending needs. Whether it’s reinventing microfinance with more flexible terms, supporting community-wide projects or lowering costs to borrowers, we are always testing and learning.
  • We envision a financially inclusive world where all people hold the power to improve their lives.
  • hichamachir on 07 Feb 21
     
    I love the concept of Kiva where you can see technology helping people in their lives. The company aims to link borrowers with lender in order to improve the lifestyle of the people interested in this service. I just like the way Fintech plays a big role in improving our life and Kiva is just a good example of it.
  • chaimaa-rachid on 13 Feb 21
     
    Kiva provides attractive access to funding individuals to improve their lives.
ayoubb

Transforming agribusiness in developing countries: SDGs and the role of FinTech - Scien... - 0 views

www.sciencedirect.com/...S1877343519300272

shared by ayoubb on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • The discussion in this section is centered around mobile money and mobile financial services. These terms are not meant to exclude digital payments and digital finance from the discussion. While a systematic distinction between the terms – that are often used interchangeably in the literature, with ‘digital’, however, referring to the end user requiring access to digital devices (as opposed to a simple text-based mobile phone) – can be useful, as generally speaking access to the internet enhances possibilities [17••], we instead explicitly mention the role of the internet wherever access is critical, as most of the services outlined below (or at least some equivalents) are accessible without internet. This point has to be evaluated positively in terms of accessibility.
    • ayoubb
      ayoubb on 13 Feb 21
       
      FinTech and Mobile Money
ghtazi

AV Ventures Invests in AgroCenta, Supporting Digital and Financial Inclusion of Ghanaia... - 0 views

www.acdivoca.org/...f-ghanaian-smallholder-farmers

Agrocenta COVID19 Security

shared by ghtazi on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • AV Ventures, ACDI/VOCA’s impact investing subsidiary, recently completed its investment in AgroCenta, a technology-driven agricultural platform provider in Ghana. The funding made by AV Ventures is part of a US$790,000 pre-Series A investment round with other participating international institutions, including Shell Foundation, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, and Rabo Foundation, with support from AgroCenta’s strategic advisor, Qbera Capital.
    • tahaemsd
      tahaemsd on 12 Feb 21
       
      With the newly secured funding, agrocenta will widen the reach of its smallholder farmer financial inclusion programs
  • The digital services AgroCenta provides along the selected cereals value chain also improve the repayment of loans by smallholder farmers. The services provide farmers with an end market through the offtaking of produce and through facilitating the provision of high-quality agricultural inputs, which maximize their yields and productivity. To date, the average farmer on CropChain has increased their income by 35 percent and their crop yields by 40 percent, while reducing their food waste by 25 percent. AgroCenta has also made strides to promote gender and social inclusion; nearly half of its CropChain users and more than half of its microloan borrowers on LendIt are female smallholder farmers. 
    • nouhaila_zaki
      nouhaila_zaki on 13 Feb 21
       
      This excerpt is important because it introduces the results of using AgroCenta on smallholder farmers, ranging between the maximization of productivity, of income, reduction of food waste,to gender and social inclusion.
  • Founded in 2016, AgroCenta operates two integrated digital platforms in Ghana, CropChain and LendIt, to help address challenges related to smallholder farmers’ access to markets and financial services.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      Since 2016, AgroCenta operates 2 digital platforms: - CropChain: integrated agricultural supply chain management platform. - LendIt: allowing access to financial services like mobile payments, microloans, crop insurance.
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Poor infrastructure and logistics prevent many smallholder farmers in Ghana from accessing large, urban markets where they could obtain better prices for their crops. Many of these farmers lack information on fair market prices, which leaves them susceptible to selling at low prices to middlemen. Without a strong credit history, many of them also have limited access to finance for purchasing high-quality agricultural inputs that would enable them to scale beyond subsistent production.  
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      this excerpt shows reasons why smallholder farmers should consider agrocenta to increase their profitability and their revenues
  • For AV Ventures, the investment is part of its long-term strategy of providing innovative and catalytic capital to support growth-oriented small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) like AgroCenta that make up the “missing middle” of investment — too large for microfinance but too small or too early-stage to attract private equity investors. These SMEs are often the backbone of economies and potential drivers of innovation, but too often they miss out on financing that could enable their growth and longevity.  
    • hibaerrai
      hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21
       
      Agrocenta attracts more investors as it is considered among small and medium businesses that promote innovation. In fact, the fintech is specialized in agricultural loans, something not that common in the country.
  • CropChain is an integrated agricultural supply chain management platform that provides smallholder farmers with access to markets. Farmers use the platform to advertise their produce, while large offtakers or buyers of selected cereals use it to make purchases or enter long-term offtaker purchase contracts with AgroCenta. AgroCenta leverages the platform to source cereals directly from smallholder farmers to supply to large offtakers who have contracts with the company. This allows AgroCenta to earn margins between the price it pays farmers and the contractually agreed upon price with offtakers.
    • mbellakbail69
      mbellakbail69 on 13 Feb 21
       
      Agrocenta draws even more investment amongst SMEs that promote innovation. This extract shows some of the reasons why smallholders should consider Agrocentra for increasing the profitability and income .
  • “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 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.”
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      in this excerpt, we can see how agrocenta takes the pandemic situation and what are the solutions that the company adopts to face it.
aminej

FarmDrive, a win-win system - 1 views

ictupdate.cta.int/...92-0d2a-40ce-b4bf-da502f91fee8

Kenya Agriculture Farmers Funds Investing Fintech Online Bank

shared by aminej on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Most smallholder Kenyan farmers are excluded from the financial system because they do not have a satisfactory credit profile. Without access to formal credit systems, they use alternative systems providing credit at high-interest rates, which, in addition, are not well suited to support their farm and off-farm activities.Having done this, the FarmDrive team met banks and organisations financing smallholder farmers to better understand the reasons for exclusion. They discovered that it is often the lack of information that locks farmers out of the financial system. They decided to try to fill this gap by collecting information from farmers, and analysing the data obtained, establishing their credit profile. Once this is done, farmers can apply for a loan via the platform FarmDrive.
    • hibaerrai
      hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21
       
      Most banks state that the reason why farmers are excluded from financial services is that they don't have an appropriate profile. Farmdrive took the initiative and collected the necessary information (farm size, income, monthly expenses) to build suitable users' profiles so they can thus ask for loans through the platform. It made their lives easier.
  • African smallholder farmers face a recurring problem of access to finance and credit. Financial institutions, for their part, do not have access to many potential customers, considered as too risky. Young Kenyan computer scientists have developed FarmDrive, an application that aims to promote access to credit and financial services for smallholder farmers. banks remain to be won over, but the project is on track.
    • aminej
      aminej on 13 Feb 21
       
      FarmDrive use a very nice strategy that consist of teaching farmers about financial services that can help them make more profit. They also aims to facilitate accessing funds for farmers and get insured on their products
kenzabenessalah

AgroCenta | GODAN - 0 views

www.godan.info/...agrocenta

Technology platform Farm-to-market Solution

shared by kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • AgroCenta is an agricultural technology platform that 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 focuses on 4 key areas in the agricultural value chain namely market linkage, access to real time market information, access to on-demand trucks and logistics services and financial inclusion platform all targeted at the smallholder farmer
    • kenzabenessalah
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      AgroCenta doesn't only provide access to smallholder farmers, but there's an entire process behind it. It is in charge of the logistics, the delivery system, the finances, and the real time data.
sawsanenn

Paga - Crunchbase Company Profile & Funding - 0 views

www.crunchbase.com/...paga

FinTech E-payments Nigeria

shared by sawsanenn on 13 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. Our mission is to make it simple for one billion people to access and use money. Our first market is Nigeria where Paga is the leading mobile payment company.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      Paga is a company located in Nigeria that aims to make it simple for 1 billion people to access and use money with ease.
  • 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. Our mission is to make it simple for one billion people to access and use money. Our first market is Nigeria where Paga is the leading mobile payment company.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      this excerpt shows the main service of paga fintech and their first market which Nigeria
mehdibella

Kenyan agri-tech startup FarmDrive secures latest funding round - 0 views

disrupt-africa.com/...e-secures-latest-funding-round

Fintech Farmdrive kenya funds

shared by mehdibella on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Kenyan agri-tech startup FarmDrive has accessed further financing as it expands operations to provide access to credit for three million smallholder farmers.
    • tahaemsd
      tahaemsd on 12 Feb 21
       
      the investment from strategic investors enabled farmdrive to build financial identities for more smallholder businesses
  • Founded by Peris Bosire and Rita Kimani, FarmDrive delivers productive digital loans and lay away savings products to smallholder farmers in Kenya, helping them grow their incomes and resilience.
  • Having previously raised funding from the likes of Safaricom and EWB Canada, FarmDrive has now secured further investment. EWB Canada is again involved in the round, which also includes AK Impact Investors, 1 to 4 Foundation, ADAP Seed Fund 2, The Lakes Charitable Foundation and Sunu Capital.
    • mehdibella
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      The follow-on investment will allow FarmDrive to scale to US$13 million of loan, with minimal losses and exceptional returns
  • ...4 more annotations...
  • Using a combination of agriculturally relevant data, Know Your Customer (KYC) data, and advanced behavioral analytics, the startup has developed a proprietary lending engine to extend loans to these farmers.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      The relevant financial technologies behind FarmDrive.
  • The follow-on investment will allow FarmDrive to scale to US$13 million of loan originations in 2019 with minimal losses and exceptional returns using RiPe, a customisable lending engine that will allow lenders to plug in and access low-cost loan origination channels such as USSD, credit scoring, identity verification, and a portfolio management suite that includes recovery and collections, payments, customer support and advanced real time data analytics.
    • kenza_abdelhaq
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      FarmDrive is providing a range of services while focusing on its low-cost approach and maximizing its profit.
  • “We are delighted for this investment from strategic investors to enable us to build financial identities for more smallholder businesses and scale our low cost distribution model. We are going where banks haven’t reached and are creating a trust ecosystem in the most unstructured sector in sub Saharan Africa – Agriculture,” said Bosire.
    • hibaerrai
      hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21
       
      FarmDrive agritech has the potential to take over the banking system in sub saharan Africa as it provides more structured services.
  • Kenyan agri-tech startup FarmDrive has accessed further financing as it expands operations to provide access to credit for three million smallholder farmers.
    • ayachehbouni
      ayachehbouni on 13 Feb 21
       
      As I see it, Farmdrive needs and deserves all the financing it can get as it is creating a trust ecosystem in the most unstructured sector in sub Saharan Africa, which makes its operations extremely important.
kenza_abdelhaq

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

www.seedstars.com/...llenges-entrepreneurship-ghana

AgroCenta Ghana Specialized market

shared by kenza_abdelhaq on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • 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
      nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21
       
      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
      nouhaila_zaki on 12 Feb 21
       
      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
      kenzabenessalah on 12 Feb 21
       
      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.
  • ...8 more annotations...
  • 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
      mehdibella on 13 Feb 21
       
      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
      aminej on 12 Feb 21
       
      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
      kenza_abdelhaq on 13 Feb 21
       
      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
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      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
      hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21
       
      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
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      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.
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.
ghtazi

HelloSolar | HelloSolar, BelCash to offer solar home system - 0 views

www.hellosolarint.com/...-for-behaviour-change-approach

ethiopia partnership connectivity

shared by ghtazi on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • With Ethiopia moving to a strategy which helps embrace the wisdom of solar energy within the country and play catch-up to successes achieved in neighboring nations such as Kenya and Rwanda; HelloSolar in partnership with BelCash – the mobile banking platform system – is set to introduce a pay-as-you-go system for the nation’s off-grid population with affordable solar home system.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      BelCash is a company that is known to have established an advanced use of technology to give customized solutions in convenient payments to vital government services. This partnership will make belcash a pioneer in the country with a majority of customers.
  • “Our mission goes beyond proving affordable access to energy,” Michael Tesfaye Hiruy, the companies Chief Strategy Officer told The Reporter. “Moving forward, we will forge the necessary partnerships to provide access to connectivity and digital services such as healthcare, education, market access and employment”.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      i found it very interesting that ethiopia wants to become a middle-income country in 2025. they want to do so by having necessary partnerships to provide access to connectivity and digital services. having a partnership of hellosolar and belcash will be a plus not only for the company but also for the whole country.
hibaerrai

Ghana's Farmers Use Mobile Apps to Skip the Middleman - 0 views

nymag.com/...ghana-farmers-agrocenta.html

AgroCenta Agritech Fintech Ghana Africa Buyers Agropay

shared by hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • “The lack of an access to a structured market results in smallholder farmers being forced to sell to middlemen who buy at ridiculously exploitative prices,” writes the team at AgroCenta, a mobile marketplace for Ghanaian farmers, on its website. Ghanaian farmers don’t have access to buyers in faraway cities, or access to truckers who can transport their goods to a central market. The middlemen provide a service, but it hardly benefits the farmers at all. The middlemen have all the power, and with a largely illiterate population of farmers, all the leverage. AgroCenta, founded by two former employees of Esoko, a financial assistance app, is a sort of Swiss Army knife of tools to help address those issues. It’s not cutting out the middlemen, not yet, but it places some more power in the hands of farmers, with the goal of increasing that power. Within that knife are four platforms: AgroTrade, AgroPay, Truckr, and AgroInfo.
    • hibaerrai
      hibaerrai on 13 Feb 21
       
      This agritech help farmers have more power in the market and have more access to other buyers in other cities, and that through the platform.
samiatazi

4 FinTech companies in Nigeria transforming the financial space - 0 views

ibsintelligence.com/...ansforming-the-financial-space

Fitechs Nigeria Carbon Human-rights

shared by samiatazi on 13 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • Carbon belives that access to credit and quality financial services is a human right. Its mission is to empower all people with the financial access they need to pursue a life of dignity and prosperity. The FinTech empowers individuals with access to credit, simple payments solutions, high-yield investment opportunities, and easy-to-use tools for personal financial management. Interest ranges from 1.75% – 30%, with an equivalent monthly interest rate of 1 – 21%. The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) on a Carbon loan ranges from 23 – 60.8%. The company recently launched its services in Kenya and is expanding its footprint to additional African countries.
    • samiatazi
      samiatazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      Carbon believes that it is a human right to access credit and financial standard resources not an exclusive service provided by institutions to specific personas.
sawsanenn

10 Things You Thought You Knew about M-PESA - 2 views

www.cgap.org/...-thought-you-knew-about-m-pesa

Financial inclusion FinTech Service Kenya Africa

shared by sawsanenn on 12 Feb 21 - No Cached
  • The M-PESA cash merchants (or ‘agents’ in M-PESA parlance) pre-buy mobile money so that they can sell it against cash to the customers who come to their retail store for cash-in operations. They are investing their own working capital and are not intermediating someone else’s funds. For cash-out operations, they sell their cash and buy mobile money instead. Consequently, the cash and M-PESA balances that cash merchants manage and store are always their own.
    • tahaemsd
      tahaemsd on 12 Feb 21
       
      Cash merchants are mainly super users, who resell their own working capital balances, with no more access to the M-PESA platform than any other customers, except that they have higher transaction limits.
  • Each and every transaction done on the M-PESA platform is electronic and can therefore be monitored by Safaricom, which runs its own bank-grade anti-money laundering system. Even a cash-in or a cash-out operation has an electronic leg and is captured by the system. The Central Bank of Kenya gets regular reports on M-PESA transactions, as it does from other payment service providers.
  • Cash merchants are mainly super users, who resell their own working capital balances, with no more access to the M-PESA platform than any other customers, except that they have higher transaction limits.
    • samielbaqqali
      samielbaqqali on 12 Feb 21
       
      M-Pesa is a product which is stable, fast and reliable. However, because of their fear of technology, some people still don't know the value of this business. I assume that this is the case for most of countries with high illiteracy rates.
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • The M-PESA cash merchants are recruited by Safaricom after a due diligence process and put under specific training. They are regularly monitored and re-trained, and Safaricom aims to visit them on-site every two weeks. The same process is applied to all cash merchants so that any customer anywhere in Kenya has the same experience at any cash merchant.
    • ghtazi
      ghtazi on 13 Feb 21
       
      After a due diligence process, the M-PESA cash merchants are recruited by Safaricom and placed under unique training. They are tracked and re-trained daily, and Safaricom aims to visit them every two weeks on-site. All cash merchants are subject to the same procedure so that any customer anywhere in Kenya has the same experience with any cash merchant. which I believe will be something that will trigger its competitor.
  • The funds are deposited in several commercial banks, which are prudentially regulated in Kenya. In addition, the funds are held by a Trust and are therefore out of reach from Safaricom, which cannot access or use them. In the unfortunate event of Safaricom going bankrupt, the creditors of Safaricom would not have access to the M-PESA funds. This is a requirement from the Central Bank of Kenya which oversees M-PESA. The funds remain at all times the property of M-PESA users.
    • sawsanenn
      sawsanenn on 13 Feb 21
       
      this is a good approach to gain customers trust since it's one of the main challenges of this business
  • hichamachir on 12 Feb 21
     
    M-Pesa is a safe, fast and efficient product. However, some people still don't know the importance of this company due to their fear from technology. I believe that this is the case for most of countries with high illiteracy rates.
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