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The technologies that are used by BelCash Technology Solutions are: TransIP, Google Analytics, Google Maps API, Twitter Cards

Applications were submitted by companies across the region. The 10 finalists include: Artis Technologies, LLC – modern financing made simple through an embedded financial services platform for digital lending and real-time payments EnrichHER – offers funders the best selection of vetted investment opportunities in companies that have women in leadership roles, while cultivating a thriving ecosystem of New Majority businesses Ethiopay – safe and convenient way to pay loved ones’ bills from anywhere in the world Finosec – IT and cybersecurity management platform for the banking industry Griffin Technologies – customer intelligence platform that provides banks modern day context on new and existing customers Immediate – helps businesses recruit, engage, and retain employees by providing a financial wellness solution that delivers on-demand access to earned pay InvestGuard – technology-enabled exchange for independent PE sponsors Lendsmart AI – AI-enabled technology platform transforming the homebuying process Ryze – Bitcoin-first financial institution, starting with the most powerful way to save and accumulate Bitcoin VIVA Finance – improving employees’ financial well-being through an affordable lending program and financial education

At the conclusion of the program, the startups will present to a panel of investors during Fintech South’s Investor Preview event on Monday, Oct. 5. The top three companies will hit the virtual conference’s main stage for a chance to win $25,000.

At Pula, we are radically restructuring agricultural insurance, using technology to insure the previously unbanked, uninsured, untapped market of 1.5 billion smallholders worldwide. We work in nine countries across Africa and Asia, and in 2017 alone, we facilitated crop and livestock insurance cover to 611,000 farmers in Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Malawi.

Pula uses satellite data and farm yield measurements to understand how weather patterns affect a smallholder farmer’s yield, and uses this information to automate compensation in case of loss. The company also provides farmers with targeted agronomic advice via SMS messaging, helping them grow more from their existing landholdings.

Insurtech startup Pula announced today that it has closed a seed funding round to advance its efforts to provide insurance to smallholder farmers in Africa and South Asia.

FarmDrive is a tech-driven social enterprise working at the intersection of technology, agriculture and finance. FarmDrive is improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers in Africa by using new technology and alternative data to increase availability of capital; mitigating both financial and operational risks while creating shared value for other players in the value chain.

FarmDrive understands smallholder farmers uniquely through dynamic datasets and translates this to financial institutions. More than 50 million smallholder farmers in Africa are struggling to make a living due to lack of capital to improve their farming activities.

FarmDrive has developed a platform that gathers data on smallholder farmers both from the ‘ground’ and ‘data from the sky’. FarmDrive uses sophisticated algorithms to turn that data into comprehensive credit profiles of “unbanked and underbanked” smallholders who have little access to credit.

Fintech is one of the buzziest trends in financial services right now, and no financial institution wants to be left behind. But with seemingly boundless opportunities, how do you know which fintech partnerships make sense for your FI? Here are seven tips for making sure your fintech activities align with your business strategy: Start with a clearly defined business strategy. Strategy, not technology, should drive your fintech decisions. Before considering any fintech partnerships, make sure you have a clearly defined and communicated business strategy that aligns with your FI’s objectives. Don’t get on board with a promising technology and then build a strategy around it. Don’t blindly jump into opportunities that fall in your lap—seek out partnerships that will support your goals. Don’t just sign on for a fintech partnership because it sounds cool. Only experiment with fintech if you have a goal and purpose in mind. Think about what you’re trying to accomplish. Don’t spread your focus too thinly. Not every new initiative needs to have ties to a fintech partnership. Only experiment in areas that are important to your business. Use your limited resources to explore fintech that can make a significant contribution to your FI. Experimenting with fintech partnerships that do nothing to drive bottom-line results may not be a good use of time and effort.

A lot of times an FI will direct IT staff to develop fintech partnerships. While IT has a lot of insight to offer, they don’t have all the information to drive the decision. Business and IT need to work together to find and deploy fintech partnerships that make sense. It shouldn’t be a strictly business or tech initiative.

Fintech is one of the buzziest trends in financial services right now, and no financial institution wants to be left behind. But with seemingly boundless opportunities, how do you know which fintech partnerships make sense for your FI? Here are seven tips for making sure your fintech activities align with your business strategy: Start with a clearly defined business strategy. Strategy, not technology, should drive your fintech decisions. Before considering any fintech partnerships, make sure you have a clearly defined and communicated business strategy that aligns with your FI’s objectives. Don’t get on board with a promising technology and then build a strategy around it. Don’t blindly jump into opportunities that fall in your lap—seek out partnerships that will support your goals. Don’t just sign on for a fintech partnership because it sounds cool. Only experiment with fintech if you have a goal and purpose in mind. Think about what you’re trying to accomplish. Don’t spread your focus too thinly. Not every new initiative needs to have ties to a fintech partnership. Only experiment in areas that are important to your business. Use your limited resources to explore fintech that can make a significant contribution to your FI. Experimenting with fintech partnerships that do nothing to drive bottom-line results may not be a good use of time and effort.

“Mobile payment systems are quickly becoming mainstream, and it will be fascinating to see how the more mechanical systems like QR Codes compete,” says World Wide Worx managing director Arthur Goldstuck. “Ideally, there should be room for any system, with each one finding its ideal niche. But there are no certainties in a sector that is moving so fast.”

According to new research from technology research company World Wide Worx, the format first took off in the country thanks to BlackBerry Messenger, where it became the quickest way to add a friend. In the past year however gained new life as mobile apps like SnapScan roped it in for payments at small merchants, flea markets and the like. By the end of 2014, the research says, more than 2.1-million South Africans were using QR Codes. Of those 1.1-million were male, with female users only marginally behind, at 1.04-million.

ability to provide speedy payments without the need for the large-scale tech investments required by the payment technologies emerging in more developed areas of the world.

Since JUMO was founded in 2014, the company doubled its staff complement each year for two consecutive years, and it was recently recognized by the London Stock Exchange Group as one of the Companies to Inspire Africa in 2019.

JUMO is a full technology platform, developed for building and running financial services

JUMO’s extensive network of partners includes financial services providers such as the Barclays Africa Group, Letshego Bank, and Telenor Microfinance Bank, as well as mobile network operators such as MTN, Airtel, Telenor, and Tigo.

The 2008 financial crisis has generated a confidence loss among financial institutions (banks), businesses, and customers. This erosion of trust is getting worse over time because of the financial services offered by their banks that have been deemed to be outdated by the clients. In our century, the march of technology, internet connectivity, and digital connectivity toward financial institutions are inevitable. This economic downturn leads financial institutions to turn to technology in order to improve their services vis-a-vis the clients, and prevent the spread of this trust crisis. In many financial service organizations, technology has moved from the back offices to the front. The industry has become the world’s most digitized one according to Strategy & Analysis; they say that 60 percent of all retail banking transactions now are done online. In Europe, more than 47 percent of ultra-high-net-worth individuals use Facebook and more than 40 percent of high-net-worth individuals under the age of 50 view social media as an important channel for communicating with their bank, according to a recent study by Assetinum. Similarly, a recent Deutsche Bank study finds that more than 33 percent of all new banking business with customers between the ages of 16 and 39 is conducted fully on the Web. Among these younger clients, online channels (including social media) have become one of the most important information sources for investment decisions

M-Pesa is a branchless banking service; M-Pesa customers can deposit and withdraw money from a network of agents that includes airtime resellers and retail outlets acting as banking agents.

Why choose WorldRemit?We're SimpleNo need to visit an agent. Send 70 currencies to 130 countries, from your smartphone or computerWe’re SafeWe use industry-leading technology that protects your money and guarantees it arrives safely every time.We're Fast90% of our transactions are completed in minutesWe’re Low-costSee our low fees and our best exchange rates up front, with no hidden costs

We're SimpleNo need to visit an agent. Send 70 currencies to 130 countries, from your smartphone or computerWe’re SafeWe use industry-leading technology that protects your money and guarantees it arrives safely every time.

n April 2007, following a donor‐funded pilot project, Safaricom launched a new mobile phone‐based payment and money transfer service, known as M‐PESA. 10 The service allows users to deposit money into an account stored on their cell phones, to send balances using SMS technology to other users (including sellers of goods and services), and to redeem deposits for regular money. Charges, deducted from users’ accounts, are levied when e‐float is sent, and when cash is withdrawn.

Artificial intelligence technologies are permeating financial services sectors around the world. The application of these technologies in emerging markets allows financial service providers to further automate their business processes and to leverage new and big data sources to overcome obstacles, including the high cost of serving rural and low-income customers and establishing customer identity and creditworthiness, that prevent the delivery of financial services to many consumers.

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.

Fawry is yet to announce the results for fourth quarter of 2020 but for the first nine months of last year, the company made about $57 million (EGP 892.7 million) in revenue, an 45.2 percent increase year-on-year basis. For the same period, it doubled its net profit (on a YoY basis) to $7.5 million (EGP 119 million). The company has been witnessing decent growth over the last few years but it seems that Covid-19 has accelerated it even further.

MTN Group Ltd. engages in the provision of network information technology services. It offers broadband and Internet products and services and converged fixed or mobile products and services.

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.

The application of technological innovations to the finance industry (Fintech) has been attracting tens of billions of dollars in venture capital in recent years. Examples of Fintech innovations include digital cash transfer services in Kenya and India, and peer-to-peer lending platforms in China. These services, when developed in tandem with complementary government policies and regulatory frameworks, have the potential to expand financial services to hundreds of millions of people currently lacking access and to break new ground on the way finance is conducted. This is important because sustainable economic growth is strongly linked with financial inclusion. The successful adoption of Fintech to increase financial inclusion is highly dependent on competent regulatory oversight. By examining varying degrees of success in the adoption of Fintech services in Kenya, India and China this paper argues that adopting a responsive regulatory approach, rather than an overly interventionist one, is the most suitable framework for boosting financial inclusion through technological innovation.

SIMBA Pay is open source and designed for developers who wish to integrate blockchain-based payment systems. SIMBA Pay offers built-in support for a wide array of third-party technologies and services, including CoinBase and cold wallets. The ease-of-use for developers will accelerate the growth of the cryptocurrency industry and make integrations with traditional financial systems easier down the road. “We believe our technology stack provides a unique advantage for developers,” said Joel Neidig, CEO of SIMBA Chain. “SIMBA’s world-class developer tools have already made cloud-based dapps easier to create than ever and provide transparency and verification for complex digital workflows. It’s never been easier to jump into this exciting space, no matter where you are in your developer journey.” “We are excited to see SIMBA Chain, a Stellar Service Provider, launch their open source payment application to foster greater adoption of Stellar and end-user accessibility through lower fees as compared with traditional payment solutions,” said Boris Reznikov, Director of Business Development at the Stellar Development Foundation.