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

An Egyptian digital payments firm has quadrupled in value during the pandemic, helped by a government push to reduce citizens’ heavy reliance on cash. Investors and analysts are split on whether the stock rally has further legs.

A 300% rally from a mid-March low has boosted its market value to 20 billion Egyptian pounds ($1.3 billion). That puts Fawry among the country’s 10 most valuable companies alongside firms such as Telecom Egypt Co. and Elswedy Electric Co., which generate many times more revenue and profit.

Mukuru, which is based in the city of Cape Town, said that it had seen a rise in users during the coronavirus pandemic – caused in part by customers choosing to prioritise remittances to family. Remittance services were designated as essential during the coronavirus lockdowns in South Africa – offering firms such as Mukuru a lifeline as customers in some verticals sought continued services. The firm has also paired up with global money transfer brand WorldRemit to offer what was described by Mukuru’s chief executive as “broader, deeper pay-out networks” that tackled the network’s “white space” issues.

It became clear that fintech companies began to prize crowdfunding three years ago. Monzo crashed our servers in 2016 when it raised £1m in 96 seconds. Last December, the now-serial crowdfunding neobank raised £20m from retail investors. 

The world’s leading fintechs are using crowdfunding to cement and enhance their relationship with their customers. The latest Unicorns report from Beauhurst, an independent analysis firm, identifies the UK’s 21 unicorn companies – those worth $1bn (around £760m) or more. Of the 21, six are fintechs, and two are digital banks: Monzo and Revolut. Both have turned to crowdfunding – at a time when they are the darlings of the tech scene and its investors – to raise capital. 

A Kenyan-owned digital money transfer firm, SimbaPay, is taking not only the local but also the international money remittance sector by storm.The London-based firm, started with the aim of helping out Kenyans living in the diaspora pay bills through M-Pesa, has over the years grown into a full-fledged money transfer firm joining the likes of Western Union and MoneyGram in the market.Unlike conventional players, SimbaPay strives to make money transfer painless to both the sender and recipient.The tech firm allows citizens residing in the European Union to send money home instantly through its application.People with a bank account, debit or credit card use mobile phones or tablets to access the app and transfer money to recipients’ mobile money wallets such as M-Pesa or MTN mobile money or bank account.

“We are able to roll out new countries on our platform at a low cost which then allows us to pass on these savings to customers. We can do this due to our technology that allows transactions to be processed at breakneck speed with zero human interaction,” said SimbaPay chief executive officer Nyasinga Onyancha.The firm’s compliance and onboarding of customers is handled within the app, making it significantly easier for customers to sign up and start sending money to loved ones within minutes.

“We are able to roll out new countries on our platform at a low cost which then allows us to pass on these savings to customers. We can do this due to our technology that allows transactions to be processed at breakneck speed with zero human interaction,” said SimbaPay chief executive officer Nyasinga Onyancha.

By accruing farmer data, FarmDrive eliminates some of the risk for banks. FarmDrive has partnered with African financial firms who accept their alternative credit scores and determine appropriate loans for smallholder farmers. Lending institutions thus consider both the self-reported financial history of farmers as well as exogenous variables that will affect their crop yields.

FarmDrive depends on aid organizations, like USAID, and private firms that operate in the agricultural industry. FarmDrive is expanding its data collection through new partnerships with Planet, a satellite company, and The Impact Lab, a data analytics group, to potentially incorporate climate information gathered via satellite imagery into its algorithm.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the pricing strategies of French FinTech Firms (FFFs) using quantitative descriptive and correlational research methods. Based on a representative sample of 246 FFF, the study provided consistent support for the hypotheses, which argues that FFFs with high price-setting power may implement a combination of the price-setting strategy (PSS) “skimming” and the price-setting practice (PSP) “value-informed”. FFFs applying “market-based” PSSs tend to use “competition-informed” PSP preferring “pay-per-use” price-setting model (PSM). Whilst FFFs who apply “penetration” PSS tend to use “cost-informed” PSP and “pay-per-use” PSM. The findings support founders and senior management in their pricing decisions. This paper contributes to the existing literature on pricing strategies of early-stage high-tech companies. There is a need for further research about the change of pricing strategies during the lifecycle of a firm using for example a longitudinal quantitative study.

The lines between financial services (FS) and technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) firms have blurred to the point that the roads are a free-for-all and previously distinct sectors are colliding. Many TMT companies are applying for FS licences, and FS organisations have begun calling themselves technology companies. Fintech, or financial technology, is at the epicentre of this transformation. The FS and TMT industries are both using it to sharpen operational efficiency, lower costs, improve customer experience and heighten the appeal of their products and services. They’re also carving out new commercial possibilities. Digital-only banks are offering redesigned client propositions and cost profiles. Investment managers are deploying fully customised robo-advice. Insurers are using sensors to monitor people’s health and help prevent illness. And according to a recent PwC survey, consumers are ready for the digital shake-up. The question is no longer whether fintech will transform FS, but which firms will apply it best and emerge as leaders.  In this year’s Global Fintech Survey, we polled more than 500 FS and TMT executives worldwide and analysed their responses. We think the winning companies will be those that not only embrace fintech-driven business models but figure out how to navigate wider and more crowded lanes with approaches that make the most of FS and TMT’s combined strengths. This report will explore the current fintech landscape, the factors that will determine the likely winners and losers in coming years, and the steps that organisations can take to put themselves in the best position to lead. 

For years, Egyptian companies have been paying salaries in cash, and people have been saving money outside banks.  Only 10 percent of Egyptians have bank accounts, according to Payfort’s State of Payments in the Arab World 2014 report. Over the previous decade, the electronic payment market has been penetrated by two firms: state-owned e-Finance, which handles electronic payments from and to the government through banking channels, and private-sector Fawry, which was launched in 2008 to provide payment solutions through ATM machines, mobile wallets, and retail points. Chief technology officer of Fawry, Mostafa Elnahhas, told Wamda that his company succeeded in spreading 65,000 collection points in 300 cities for banked customers in Egypt. However, the electronic payment is still small-sized due to the large amount of unbanked customers and the low credit card penetration.

Regulations are, however, crippling entrepreneurs. Mourad Alashry, CEO of PayMe, launched his startup in August 2016. It  allows companies and businesses to collect electronic payment without signing contracts with banks or paying extra fees.  The startup offers a simple payment tool for companies to allow them to set up an account and have customers send money through it. PayMe app was forced by Egypt’s fiscal regulator to stop operating for four months to abide by regulations. (Photo via PayMe) However, shortly after its launch, the Central Bank of Egypt, the state regulator, suspended Payme’s operations as a payment firm as it wasn’t cooperating with a bank. The firm had to abide by this regulation until it followed the requirements and collaborated with state-owned bank the National Bank of Egypt, then resumed its business in January 2017.  

Regulations are, however, crippling entrepreneurs. Mourad Alashry, CEO of PayMe, launched his startup in August 2016. It  allows companies and businesses to collect electronic payment without signing contracts with banks or paying extra fees.  The startup offers a simple payment tool for companies to allow them to set up an account and have customers send money through it.

WhiteSight defines four categories in the payroll fintech space: 1) Salary On-demand. Fintechs in this category partner with corporations, HR software providers, and payroll systems to enable flexible access to earned wages. 2) Salary Advance. Fintechs in this category provide short-term credit to employees based on their salary and avoid the exorbitant rates charged by payday lenders. 3) Early Direct Deposit. This feature, largely provided by challenger banks, enables account holders to receive paychecks up to two days in advance from standard payday. 4) Crypto Payroll. This is the newest category which enables firms to make wage payments through multiple crypto-currencies.

1) Salary On-demand. Fintechs in this category partner with corporations, HR software providers, and payroll systems to enable flexible access to earned wages. 2) Salary Advance. Fintechs in this category provide short-term credit to employees based on their salary and avoid the exorbitant rates charged by payday lenders. 3) Early Direct Deposit. This feature, largely provided by challenger banks, enables account holders to receive paychecks up to two days in advance from standard payday. 4) Crypto Payroll. This is the newest category which enables firms to make wage payments through multiple crypto-currencies.

Nigerian fintech firm Carbon — an early-stage financial services startup based in Lagos — has posted on its website financials audited by KPMG.This comes four months after the company obtained a credit rating as a pre-IPO venture. Carbon — which recently rebranded its OneFi holding company and PayLater product titles into one name — plans to continue releasing its financial results on an annual basis, co-founder and CEO Chijioke Dozie told TechCrunch.This may not be totally unheard of in other global tech markets, but for startups in Africa’s big tech hubs — such as Nigeria — it’s a rarity.One of the first glimpses into startup financials in Nigeria came when Jumia shareholder Rocket Internet went public in 2014, which required it to include limited Jumia data in its annual report. The accompanying prospectus to Jumia’s listing this year on the New York Stock Exchange offered the most expansive financial data to date on a tech venture operating in Africa.Prior to this — and still for the most part — companies in the continent’s (mostly) pre-public (earlier-stage) startup hubs — such as Nigeria — provide little to no financial performance info.“Typically, in the local market, we have not seen a lot of voluntary transparency or the availability of data,” said Lexi Novitske — a Lagos-based VC investor at Acuity Venture Partners.“Most startups are concerned such disclosure could expose losses, give market intel to competitors or attract unwanted attention from regulators. It could also lead to negative negotiation leverage if partners saw that they were making good returns.”So why’d Carbon go to the trouble of putting its pre-public accounting out in the open for anyone to see?

Clients and recruiting were two reasons. “From a customer perspective, we are trying to get people to trust us with their financial services…so they can see this is the institution I’m dealing with and this is their financial position,” explained Carbon’s Dozie.Carbon has evolved from its original focus as an online lender to offer a broader array of mobile-based financial services — including payments, investment products, credit reports and business banking services. In March, the company acquired Nigerian payment solutions company Amplify for an undisclosed amount.By stats offered by Briter Bridges and a 2018 WeeTracker survey, fintech now receives the bulk of VC capital and deal-flow to African startups, many of which are attempting to reach the continent’s large unbanked and underbanked populations.Carbon fits into that category and its CEO believes being upfront about the startup’s financial position will attract top talent. “From a recruitment perspective, we want recruits to know we have good prospects — that this is a company that’s doing well and wants to keep doing well,” said Dozie.That impression is buoyed by Carbon’s initial results, which were fairly positive for a Series A-stage startup. The company had revenues in 2018 of $10 million, according to its online annual report, and turned a profit of around $500,000.It’s helped with recruiting interest, according to Dozie, who said he’d marked an increase in candidates inquiring about open positions since the results were posted.

we don’t get considered because investors don’t really think that you can get the results or this performance in the markets that we’re in,” he added — noting that Carbon has operations in Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa and is considering expansion in Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, DRC and Egypt.Investor Lexi Novitske thinks Carbon offering financial performance data is a good thing for Africa’s tech ecosystem. “The move builds trust from clients, partners or investors in a market where there is not a lot of openness,” she said. “I am encouraged to see how other companies will react. My hope is that more will openly report their own metrics…”Dozie says the company will continue to post audited financials on an annual basis, even if they show losses. If the startup continues to expand, attract capital and talent and grow revenues, other Nigerian fintech firms may follow suit.

BelCash’s helloCash service could have 2-3 million users this year and 10 million by 2017 or 2018, the firm’s chief executive Vince Diop said, adding that BelCash would receive a fee for each transaction made.

BelCash’s helloCash service could have 2-3 million users this year and 10 million by 2017 or 2018, the firm’s chief executive Vince Diop said, adding that BelCash would receive a fee for each transaction made.

Netherlands-based BelCash is offering a technology called helloCash, while MOSS ICT, mainly owned by an Ireland-based firm, is rolling out M-Birr in the nation of 96 million people.In both cases, Ethiopian banks and institutions will offer the service to customers and hold the cash deposited, in line with government policy that bars foreign firms or banks from investing in the financial sector or the telecoms industry.

Ghanaian fintech startup Zeepay has raised a US$940,000 seed funding round to enable it to continue to scale and roll out its services across the continent. Zeepay is focused on digital rails to connect digital assets such as mobile money wallets, cards, ATMs, bank accounts and digital tokens to international money transfer operators, payments, subscriptions, international airtime and refugee payments. 

As electronic payments have moved to the forefront, the traditional market participants, banks, have also been facing increased competition from innovative financial technology firms (FinTechs) focusing on niches within the payments value chain. Such firms have been enabled by advances in technology, including the ability to develop their systems in the cloud and with a green field that is not tied to a mainframe and old code.

This study sought to find out perceptions of employee poaching by employees in telecommunication firms and how these perceptions affected their morale. A survey was conducted in which 30 questionnaires were administered and 27 filled. Results showed that 92% of the population had a positive perception of poaching with 8% having negative perceptions. When a regression analysis was done on the data received, in order to test the significance of the relationship between the variables, p-value for significance did not meet the standard which implies that there is not significant relationship between the variables. According to these results, employee perceptions of poaching do not have any effect on morale.