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Recently the introduction of 5G to the world has got everyone interested to find out more about it.5G is the fifth-generation mobile network. It is a new global wireless standard that is designed to connect virtually everyone and everything together including machines, objects, and devices

Customers, when purchasing, simply need to scan a QR (quick response) code in store using their phones. And the customer can use any MasterCard or Visa card to sign up. Ehlers added: “We tried to design a product which allowed absolutely everybody to be part of the formal side of the economy.”

In an interview with How we made it in Africa, Ehlers explained: “A sizable part of why we built the product the way we did really relates to how the economy of South Africa functions. So to give one example, we built SnapScan so the merchant selling the products doesn’t need any special hardware at all. No point of sales system is required.” Merchants who don’t have bank accounts can redeem payments at any Standard Bank ATM or selected supermarkets.

SnapScan’s partnership with Standard Bank has allowed the company to grow faster. But Ehlers and his team are still required to adapt to the differences between the corporate and start-up worlds. He explained: “A start-up can quickly make a decision and then two hours later start implementing, whereas in a large corporation there is a process, things move a lot slower. Politics are involved and different people – and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, just the reality.”

In Ghana there is currently just one sharia-compliant financial institution – Ghana Islamic Microfinance, which began as an NGO – though there is significant scope for growth. Part of this is due to the country’s demographic make-up. Although Muslims are far from the only potential client base for IFS, as evidenced by the rollout of Islamic financing instruments in countries like the UK and Japan, sharia-compliant products could prove attractive for the roughly 17.6% of Ghana’s population that identifies as Muslim, according to the 2010 census.

DabaDoc.com, an internet company, has a mission of improving access to healthcare in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. DabaDoc is the most convenient, free way to find a nearby health practitioner, instantly book an appointment online and ask the community of doctors all types of medical questions !

Cassava is a specialised Pan-African Fintech company that delivers innovative digital transaction solutions across the mobile ecosystem. The organisation endeavors to operate wherever money changes hands, with an ambition to drive financial inclusion, digital payments and lead the adoption of e-Commerce in Africa. They are the catalyst to providing millions of people in Africa with access to digital financial solutions that empower them to move and progress in life. Cassava Fintech is a subsidiary of Econet Group, a TMT company with its beginnings in Zimbabwe. Cassava Fintech is known for its flagship product, EcoCash, that was named Best Mobile Payment Solutions at the GSMA Glomo Awards 2017 in Barcelona.

Most people probably don’t think of Kenya as an innovation and technology hub, but in 2007 it became the launching pad for M-Pesa, a transformative mobile phone-based platform for money transfer and financial services.  Since then, M-Pesa has undergone explosive growth: in 2013, a staggering 43 percent of Kenya’s GDP flowed through M-Pesa, with over 237 million person-to-person transactions. M-Pesa is nearly ubiquitous in the daily lives of Kenyans due to a range of services that include money deposit and withdrawal, remittance delivery, bill payment, and microcredit provision.

Pula uses insurance and digital products to help smallholder farmers endure climate risks, improve their farming practices, and bolster their incomes over time. LEARN MORE

“I hope that Pula continues in the future and that we can continue to improve our future through its benefits.” Festus Mutio, farmer, Kitui County, Kenya

Nigerian fintech startup Paga, poised for global expansion, has announced its acquisition of Apposit, a United States (US)-based technology company with operations in Ethiopia. Founded in 2009, Paga provides Nigerians with safe and convenient ways of making payments, allowing money to be sent to any phone number for the beneficiary to redeem at a Paga agent or at an ATM via a cardless withdrawal. Customers can also use Paga to deposit money to bank accounts in Nigeria, pay their bills, or top-up mobile phone airtime.

Capiter, according to its website, offers on-demand cash flow solutions to small businesses and vendors, paying vendors immediately for the goods they sell to small business buyers and then collecting payments from the buyers using flexible payment plans. There are not a lot of details on the website but it would be safe to assume that Capiter makes money by charging a fee, interest, or a combination of both from the small businesses using its solutions.

“Capiter’s unique technologies and sophisticated ML models empower businesses to increase their sales, grow their customer base and improve their cash flow,” the startup notes on its LinkedIn page.

South Africa-based financial technology firm JUMO plans to expand in high-growth Asian markets after securing the backing of Goldman Sachs GS.N in an equity funding round, the company's chief executive said.

Since its founding in 2014, JUMO, which helps individuals and small businesses access savings and credit products through their mobile devices, has mainly focused on Africa where the adoption of mobile money has transformed the banking landscape.

JUMO uses behavioural data such as mobile telephone use to help financial services providers and mobile network operators assess lending risk and tailor financial products to those living in developing countries where credit information is scarce.

Capiter is a financial technology company that offers smart cash flow & credit solutions to businesses. Capiter empowers businesses to increase their sales, grow their customer base and improve their cash flow. We’re building and scaling our products in the F&B and agri sectors. We’re hiring top talents. We offer competitive packages, unique growth opportunities and an environment of a highly talented and diverse team. Specialities: Cash flow & credit solutions to businesses

Across Pula’s eight African markets, insurance penetration rates are typically less than 5 percent. Pula innovates to improve this. The farmers realize that insurance is useful, but they are not willing to pay its upfront cost.

Zeepay Ghana has been awarded the Electronic Money Issuer (EMI) license to operate as a mobile financial services company by the Bank of Ghana, the regulator of banking and financial services

WorldRemit, like other money transfer companies, has its upsides and downsides. However, based on customer experience and forum reviews, the pros outweigh the cons. Pros Easy to Use -It takes approximately 5 minutes to sign up for an account on WorldRemit and make a transfer.Extensive Global Reach -You can send money to 150 countries on the WorldRemit platform. Irrespective of where your loved ones are, you can rely on WorldRemit to deliver the money to them in 30,000+ agent locations globally.Reasonable Fees -Compared to other money transfer services, WorldRemit charges fair transfer fees. It allows you to independently handle third party fees thereby, giving you control of your transfer.Flexible Payment Options-You can choose to pay for your transfer using a credit card, a debit card or a bank transfer.Multiple Delivery Channels-The beneficiary can receive money through bank deposits, cash pickup or mobile money.

Founded in 2010 in the United Kingdom by Ismail Ahmed, an economics student at the University of London, WorldRemit has grown its geographical coverage quite fast. You can now send to 150 countries around the world with thousands of well-placed payout locations. However, the company still has ground to cover in terms of partnerships with financial institutions and mobile money companies to strengthen its global footprint.

WorldRemit is an online money transfer service that allows people to transfer money to their families in a secure, fast and affordable way.

Payments provider Small World FS and Ghanaian mobile financial services aggregator Zeepay have struck a partnership to offer mobile money wallets in Ghana.

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

AIG Insurance Company has signed an agreement with Fawry, a digital payment platform.The partnership concerns the marketing of "Qershak el Abyad", an electronic policy managed by Fawry Insurance Brokerage.The product will thus be available through Fawry's network of 151 000 sales outlets and numerous distribution channels (banks, telephone operators, etc.) used by more than 30 million consumers.