"So far, 3,000 farmers have registered with FarmDrive, borrowing over $130k in loans. That's a tiny portion of what's needed across Africa where 65% of the workforce is involved in agriculture, but less than 1% of bank loans go to the industry. And globally there's a $450 billion funding gap in agriculture, according to FarmDrive."

"Building a credit score with FarmDrive. Credit: FarmDrive"

"They did not have the capital to purchase the critical farming inputs that could increase their yields and revenues."

"In South Africa, mobile money systems are much less available than they are in Kenya, so they are not a good option for Lumkani clients to use to manage policy payments and payouts. Additionally, people in the informal settlements where Lumkani provides its services tend to be limited in both financial literacy and experience with technology, so they need information on what the insurance product is and how it works. So Lumkani relies on agents - many of whom live in the same settlements - to do face-to-face sales pitches and enrollments. The agents, however, carry smartphones with an app for setting up the new accounts. Agents also collect cash payments in person but send SMS reminders to keep clients up to date."

"Lumkani provides residents in South Africa's informal settlements with fire insurance and an internet-connected heat sensor that notifies all users if a fire is detected nearby. Eighteen months after launching, Lumkani demonstrated that, in 73 percent of cases, its technology helped prevent fires from spreading beyond the first home."

""It makes me proud to work in insurance - and for Hollard Insure in particular - when we are able to be there for customers when they need us the most. In the past, residents of informal settlements had no chance of an insurance safety net. "But in partnering with Lumkani, we are part of a solution that combines technology with insurance-cover that does, indeed, offer people the opportunity of a better future," says Smith."

"Right now, Lumkani is funded by charitable donations, with consumers paying a small, affordable fee - about $1.30 per box. But the company is looking for a more sustainable business model, and hopes to expand beyond South Africa's big cities throughout the nation and sub-Saharan Africa."

"Thanks to partnerships with NGO Islamic Relief South Africa, and insurance firm Hollard, residents are able to opt-in to a micro-insurance scheme which will insure their homes against damage or loss to fire. Early findings have shown this to be a critical lifeline to those impacted by fire outbreaks."

"Funded through a government innovation agency and a successful crowdsourcing campaign, the start-up has also won several awards and grants, including best start-up in 2014's Global Innovation through Science & Technology competition. Last year, it was chosen by the International Red Cross as a provider for its Fire Sensors initiative, a project that has distributed 900 of the devices along with extensive market research. Julie Arrighi, Innovation Advisor at the American Red Cross, said that using networked heat sensors like Lumkani is crucial to mitigating the growing risk of slum fires around the world."

"The device is a small blue box that measure the rate of temperature rise rather than detecting smoke which helps in reducing false alarms.[5] The network of Lumkani devices in a specific slum uses radio frequency to send text messages and notify people in cases of emergencies. An alarm will be activated in all houses within a 60 metres (200 ft) radius if the initial alarm is not disarmed within 30 seconds.[6][7] The central device of the network locates the GPS coordinates of the blaze,[4] to coordinate with the fire department for immediate intervention."

"The company's success is built on delivering consistently fast, dependable services alongside continual innovation. Seeing an opportunity to do more with its data, Fawry evaluated its technology infrastructure to ensure it was ready for the next phase in its evolution."

"Fawry is the leading mobile payments platform in Egypt. Through a network of 65,000 agents, mostly small shop owners, Fawry allows 20 million customers to perform a variety of transactions such as utility bills payments, airtime top-ups or merchant transactions. Over the years, Fawry has created a platform connecting all clients' channels of payments including bank accounts, credit cards and mobile wallets with any of the 23 banks connected to its platform. Fawry's success has been to build acceptance and usage from clients as well as banks and merchants."

"Fawry that is the only technology company on The Egyptian Exchange currently offers over 250 electronic payment services through its network of over 105,000 service points across 300 cities in Egypt - that include ATMs, mobile wallets, retail shops, post offices, and little vendor kiosks."