HiPipo Money

Tanzanian FinTech company, Ramani is leading the transformation of Africa’s supply chains through the development of the latest technology financial infrastructure.

Founded in 2019, Ramani is focused on fixing fragmented consumer goods supply chains that traditionally suffer from a lack of data visibility and are burdened by limited access to financial services. It fixes this by providing tech-enabled inventory management systems, procurement, and point-of-sale software to digitize the processes of companies thus helping them gain real-time sales insights and inventory visibility.

According to Iain Usiri, a Co-Founder and CEO of Ramani, the company offers procurement, inventory management and financing services.

“We work with producers of fast-moving consumer goods to provide their distributors with 30-day terms on inventory. We digitize those distributors with our technology. We give them a point-of-sale application, an inventory management application and a procurement application that allows them to digitize their operations. From that, we use that data to provide them with working capital financing for their inventory,” Usiri said.

He added: “We have built a point of sale (POS) application that is used by salespeople when they go to the market to record their sales. Every time they sell, they input the transactions into the POS and then print a receipt for that customer. The point of sale works in English and Swahili, online and offline.”

Usiri noted that their procurement application is integrated through WhatsApp and thus accessible on mobile phones anywhere, anytime. 

“We have integrated and purely digitized inflows, storage and outflows for these distributors. We bring efficiencies to them but also get real-time data which is valuable for us to provide our latest offering which is loans and financing. Once you are digitized, you submit your KYC and your contracts and then we will underwrite you. We will set for you a credit limit and you can procure within that limit,” Usiri said, adding:  

“For example, if we set for you a limit of USD 50,000, you can procure from for example Coca Cola products worth USD 50,000, we pay Coca-Cola on day zero, Coca-Cola delivers to you, you sell using our software and you pay the USD 50,000 back after 30 days plus a commission.”

He noted that Ramani has over the last three years been growing at an average of about 32 per cent every month, a fact that comes with several opportunities and challenges. He noted that the main challenge they faced was hiring the best talent.

“The biggest challenge we have faced is culture; where people feel like they want job security and they prefer working for big companies that have been around for decades. People forgo opportunity and go for security.”

We interacted with Ramani on Day 26 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for Tanzania. First implemented in Uganda, 40 Days 40 FinTechs is an annual FinTech Innovation initiative presented by HiPipo to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations who are making significant strides in promoting financial inclusivity through the use of technology.

It is aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration among FinTechs in Africa. The initiative is designed to provide FinTechs and startups with mentorship, training, exposure, and networking opportunities to help them grow and scale their businesses.

Usiri noted that the 40 Days 40 FinTechs platform is helping FinTechs build trust among regulators, investors and end-users.

“Telling our stories through 40 Days 40 FinTechs helps us build trust. Potential investors will get to know more about what we are doing. They learn more about us and trust us more. Eventually, we shall get more investors and more customers. The impact of such an initiative is huge.”

40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Tanzania is part of HiPipo’s broader Include EveryOne Program that is generously supported by the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with Level One Project, ICTC Tanzania, Ideation Corner, Cyber PLC Academy, INFITX, Crosslake Technologies, NG Films, Founders Academy and Mojaloop Foundation.

The Include EveryOne program is a beacon of acceleration of FinTech Innovation, empowerment for Women in FinTech and a catalyst for investment and development in the ICT sector. Minus 40 Days 40 FinTechs, other initiatives under the Include EveryOne Program are the FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit and Incubator, Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit.

HiPipo is recognized as a premier advocate of digital Innovation and financial inclusion champion, a fervent proponent of the #LevelOneProject. HiPipo has been at the forefront, actively promoting digital innovation, Instant, Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), and DFS across Africa. With a legacy of advising, mobilizing, and facilitating the adoption of inclusive financial services, HiPipo’s efforts have been nothing short of transformative! For almost two decades, HiPipo has successfully facilitated the inclusive adoption of these crucial services.

It is not unusual that you will have TZS 100,000 in the morning and by evening you will have spent it all. This is so because while making more is hard, managing this money after earning is even much harder.

But that is where technology comes in handy. Innovators have developed several tools to spearhead prudent financial management, and financial literacy and eventually enhance financial inclusion efforts. One of the tools cultivating the financial literacy culture in Tanzania is Mipango FinTech.

Mipango FinTech, also known as Mipango App is an AI-enabled Personal Finance App for the African Market. It enables users to track their income and expenses, set financial goals and get personalized financial advice and investment opportunities.

“We enable our customers to be able to manage their finances in terms of being able to track their budgets, and their goals as well as get personalized financial advice. The application is available on both Android and IOS platforms. We have chosen the segment of personal finance because we believe that for someone to attain financial literacy, they must be able to manage their finances,” Agness Mollel, the Co-Founder and COO of Mipango FinTech said, adding:

“From an African perspective, managing personal finance is something you get to learn probably once you are at work. We believe that if we try to change people’s behaviours of managing finance from the early age of eighteen, we would be able to drive behaviour change in terms of saving and investments and attain financial literacy and inclusion at the end of that. Our target audience is the Youth and Women”

Mollel noted that they are diversifying the Mipango platform to also offer loans and payment services to customers.

“We are building a feature which will enable our customers to be able to access loans within the platform through their credit score as well as enable them to be able to spend through the application. We are creating an e-wallet feature to support this,” she said.

The HiPipo Team interacted with Mipango FinTech on Day 25 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for Tanzania. First implemented in Uganda, 40 Days 40 FinTechs is an annual FinTech Innovation initiative presented by HiPipo to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations who are making significant strides in promoting financial inclusivity through the use of technology.

It is aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration among FinTechs in Africa. The initiative is designed to provide FinTechs and startups with mentorship, training, exposure, and networking opportunities to help them grow and scale their businesses.

40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Tanzania is part of HiPipo’s broader Include EveryOne Program that is generously supported by the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with Level One Project, ICTC Tanzania, Ideation Corner, Cyber PLC Academy, INFITX, Crosslake Technologies, NG Films, Founders Academy and Mojaloop Foundation.

The Include EveryOne program is a beacon of acceleration of FinTech Innovation, empowerment for Women in FinTech and a catalyst for investment and development in the ICT sector. Minus 40 Days 40 FinTechs, other initiatives under the Include EveryOne Program are the FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit and Incubator, Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit.

HiPipo is recognized as a premier advocate of digital Innovation and financial inclusion champion, a fervent proponent of the #LevelOneProject. HiPipo has been at the forefront, actively promoting digital innovation, Instant, Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), and DFS across Africa. With a legacy of advising, mobilizing, and facilitating the adoption of inclusive financial services, HiPipo’s efforts have been nothing short of transformative! For almost two decades, HiPipo has successfully facilitated the inclusive adoption of these crucial services.

Customers are always looking out for new gadgets and the latest devices so that to keep up with the fast-moving world.

While the demand for new gadgets, devices and accessories is never-ending, the prices are always a turn-off. These products are not only expensive but most of the stores require customers to make full payments for any purchase.

Nonetheless, technology is addressing some of these challenges. Thanks to financial technology, customers are now able to get access to their favourite products on credit, commit to periodic instalment payments and fully own the products when the entire payment is down.

Among the pioneers of this buy now and pay later business model in Tanzania is Laina Finance; an integrated non-deposit-taking micro-finance service provider that extends payment plans for the purchases of goods and services by allowing customers to pay over a period of three to nine months. It offers micro-finance payment plans for electronic devices (smartphones and other home gadgets) and insurance policies. The platform offers flexible payment options that let customers buy what they want when they want it.

Founded in 2018, Laina Finance seeks to empower consumers with convenient and affordable payment solutions that help them manage their finances and achieve their goals.

“We are specializing in embedding micro credit to enable customers to buy goods or pay for services while paying in instalments. Since 2019, we have been in collaboration with Vodacom Tanzania, other mobile operators, banks and insurance companies. Our service is credit embedded in any transaction,” Tonny Missokia, the Co-founder and Director of Laina Finance noted, adding;

“For example, if a customer wants to buy a mobile phone, they simply walk into a Vodacom shop or any other partner shops that we have. The customer will give his/her information which will be sent to our system. The customer is prompted to give consent. Once they give their consent, we analyze the data and generate a payment plan for that customer. Once they accept the payment plan, they make an initial deposit to us and we pay instantly the full amount to the shop. The customer will get the mobile phone and then pay us in instalments. You can access our service by either going to one of our partner shops or through USSD or downloading our mobile APP available on both Android and IOS.”

Missokia noted that their service is a win-win for all stakeholders as it addresses the issues of affordability, and increases customers’ purchasing power while growing revenues for shops.

Even so, he noted that the main challenges they face include the fact that this line of business is very capital intensive thus requiring multiple funding options, delayed decision-making by potential funding partners and low attraction of investors in the Tanzania Fintech space.

Laina Finance features on Day 24 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for Tanzania. First implemented in Uganda, 40 Days 40 FinTechs is an annual FinTech Innovation initiative presented by HiPipo to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations who are making significant strides in promoting financial inclusivity through the use of technology.

It is aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration among FinTechs in Africa. The initiative is designed to provide FinTechs and startups with mentorship, training, exposure, and networking opportunities to help them grow and scale their businesses.

“We seriously underestimate the power of visibility of our brands. Most of the FinTechs and generally start-ups focus on building solutions and pitching them but when they go to some boardrooms, people tell them that they have never heard of their companies and solutions. This is what 40 Days 40 FinTechs is addressing,” Missokia said.

40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Tanzania is part of HiPipo’s broader Include EveryOne Program that is generously supported by the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with Level One Project, ICTC Tanzania, Ideation Corner, Cyber PLC Academy, INFITX, Crosslake Technologies, NG Films, Founders Academy and Mojaloop Foundation.

The Include EveryOne program is a beacon of acceleration of FinTech Innovation, empowerment for Women in FinTech and a catalyst for investment and development in the ICT sector. Minus 40 Days 40 FinTechs, other initiatives under the Include EveryOne Program are the FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit and Incubator, Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit.

HiPipo is recognized as a premier advocate of digital Innovation and financial inclusion champion, a fervent proponent of the #LevelOneProject. HiPipo has been at the forefront, actively promoting digital innovation, Instant, Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), and DFS across Africa. With a legacy of advising, mobilizing, and facilitating the adoption of inclusive financial services, HiPipo’s efforts have been nothing short of transformative! For almost two decades, HiPipo has successfully facilitated the inclusive adoption of these crucial services.

Public road transport is a common and pocket-friendly type of transport across East Africa. It is either you use a bus, coaster, taxi, cab or get a motorbike.

Motorbikes have over the years been transformed into different types and given different names. Depending on the East African country you reside in, you will hear names such as Boda Bodas, Tuk Tuks and Bajaj.

In Tanzania, the most popular are Boda Boda – a two-wheeled motorbike or Bajaj – two or three-wheeled Rickshaws. These employ hundreds of people and transport thousands of passengers every day.

Even though so popular, Boda Bodas and Bajajs as known in Tanzania come with dangers such as many accidents, theft, unskilled personnel, absent mechanical maintenance and health issues caused by poor hygiene. This is worsened by the fact that the market has over the years lacked well-tailored products targeting this sector; for example, most of the health and insurance products on the market are very expensive for the Boda Boda sector.

But this is fast changing. In 2023, CRDB Bank launched motorcycle taxi insurance, targeting the Boda Boda and Bajaj riders.

Implemented in partnership with Laina Finance, Bima Ya Buku is a revolutionary Insurance scheme targeting the motorbike business. The scheme is payable in instalments of TZS 1,000/- a day for three months after which the rider enjoys motor and health insurance.

“Towards the end of September, we launched a new Insurance proposition in partnership with Laina Finance. The product goes by the name Bima Ya Buku which speaks directly to its pricing. Buku means TZS 1,000 which is less than a dollar. Through Bima Ya Buku, riders get insurance for their motorcycles, medical insurance, life insurance and condolences. It is a package of four but also includes liability insurance for the third party that utilizes these Bajaj and Boda Boda services,” Moureen Majaliwa, the Head of Bancassurance at CRDB Bank.

“The payment for this product is set on a daily but users have room to pay weekly, ten days or quarterly. This is a first-of-its-kind value proposition that considers all market realities. The product is 100 per cent accessible digitally through our USSD. It takes you less than 20 seconds to own an insurance which protects not only your assets but also your health.”

Majaliwa noted that while the product has received a great reception with hundreds of riders enrolling, it is not without challenges.

“The biggest challenge we are facing is limited awareness among our target audience. But as a bank, we have invested a lot in terms of media, influencers, and social media messaging to address this.

We interacted with Bima Ya Buku by CRDB Bank on Day 23 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for Tanzania. First implemented in Uganda, 40 Days 40 FinTechs is an annual FinTech Innovation initiative presented by HiPipo to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations who are making significant strides in promoting financial inclusivity through the use of technology.

It is aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration among FinTechs in Africa. The initiative is designed to provide FinTechs and startups with mentorship, training, exposure, and networking opportunities to help them grow and scale their businesses.

Majaliwa noted that the 40 Days 40 FinTechs is helping tackle the issue of silos that has undermined the industry for ages.

“There have been very few partnerships, collaborations and engagements which allowed different platforms to share data. But with 40 Days 40 FinTechs activities, we now know that we are focusing on a similar financial inclusion goal. As such, every other person is looking at how we can work together to deliver impact.”

40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Tanzania is part of HiPipo’s broader Include EveryOne Program that is generously supported by the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with Level One Project, ICTC Tanzania, Ideation Corner, Cyber PLC Academy, INFITX, Crosslake Technologies, NG Films, Founders Academy and Mojaloop Foundation.

The Include EveryOne program is a beacon of acceleration of FinTech Innovation, empowerment for Women in FinTech and a catalyst for investment and development in the ICT sector. Minus 40 Days 40 FinTechs, other initiatives under the Include EveryOne Program are the FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit and Incubator, Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit.

HiPipo is recognized as a premier advocate of digital Innovation and financial inclusion champion, a fervent proponent of the #LevelOneProject. HiPipo has been at the forefront, actively promoting digital innovation, Instant, Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), and DFS across Africa. With a legacy of advising, mobilizing, and facilitating the adoption of inclusive financial services, HiPipo’s efforts have been nothing short of transformative! For almost two decades, HiPipo has successfully facilitated the inclusive adoption of these crucial services.

Now and then, you may have to purchase a particular product or service. Usually, most of these purchases are done with full payments. That is to say, if Item X costs TZS 200,000, the buyer will make this payment and then acquire the said item.

The other way goods and services are acquired is on credit. This is divided into two avenues – Buy Now and Pay Later or Save Now and Buy Later.

Under Buy Now and Pay Later, the buyer takes the product on credit with a clear payment plan of when s/he will clear the product fee and then completely own the purchased product or service. This model usually factors in an interest, over and above the actual cost of the product considering that the payment doesn’t come at once.

The opposite of Buy Now and Pay Later is Save Now and Buy Later. Under this model, the buyer identifies the goods or services s/he intends to purchase, agrees on the price with the seller, signs the agreement and then starts saving money towards this purchase; the money is saved with the seller. As soon as s/he saves enough to buy this item, s/he then takes his product or consumes the service.

Thanks to financial technology, both Buy Now and Pay Later and Save Now and Buy Later are fast-growing across Africa. 

In Tanzania, Tunzaa FinTech enables unbanked customers to save for purchases from a curated marketplace of trusted merchants with secure savings and payment APIs. The platform is built for everyday Africans who want to improve their financial habits with a save now and buy later model which allows users to purchase goods and services from vetted vendors who accept payments installment payments regarding of the amount.

According to Ng’winula Kingamkono, the Founder and CEO of TUNZAA FinTech, Tunzaa – ‘to save’ in English, is a digital platform that allows people to pay for products and services in instalments, in advance and as soon as they finish the payments, they get the products or have the services delivered.

“Tunzaa is available as both a web and mobile APP – accessible on Google Play and Apple Store. We are also accessible on the Vodacom MPESA APP. You simply come to our platform and pick a product of your choice, then you can pay for your product in instalments -daily, weekly or monthly. As soon as you finish the payment, you get the product,” Kingamkono said.

He added: “We aim at helping Africans understand their consumption, spending and saving habits. We then help them use their income to pay and acquire what they need. We give them the power to pay when they want and what they want until the full payment is made. We support both mobile money and bank card payments. Ours is to ensure that once the payment is complete, you get a genuine product.”

Kingamkono noted that the main challenges they faced when first rolling out this Save Now and Buy Later business model were Limited Trust among customers, Low Compliance and Lack of Enough Products to satisfy the appetite of customers. He nonetheless noted that they have since taken steps to address these challenges and thus serve more customers.

We interacted with Tunzaa FinTech on Day 22 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for Tanzania. First implemented in Uganda, 40 Days 40 FinTechs is an annual FinTech Innovation initiative presented by HiPipo to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations who are making significant strides in promoting financial inclusivity through the use of technology.

It is aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration among FinTechs in Africa. The initiative is designed to provide FinTechs and startups with mentorship, training, exposure, and networking opportunities to help them grow and scale their businesses.

Kingamkono noted that the 40 Days 40 FinTechs gives Africans a chance to see what their fellow Africans are doing, something that further inspires them to work harder.

“Everything starts with a conversation. A platform like 40 Days 40 FinTechs gives us a chance to exchange ideas with different stakeholders. It also allows us to share our story; something that inspires other young innovators out there. We need to hear more stories that we can relate to and this is one way of doing it,” Kingamkono said.

40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Tanzania is part of HiPipo’s broader Include EveryOne Program that is generously supported by the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with Level One Project, ICTC Tanzania, Ideation Corner, Cyber PLC Academy, INFITX, Crosslake Technologies, NG Films, Founders Academy and Mojaloop Foundation.

The Include EveryOne program is a beacon of acceleration of FinTech Innovation, empowerment for Women in FinTech and a catalyst for investment and development in the ICT sector. Minus 40 Days 40 FinTechs, other initiatives under the Include EveryOne Program are the FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit and Incubator, Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit.

HiPipo is recognized as a premier advocate of digital Innovation and financial inclusion champion, a fervent proponent of the #LevelOneProject. HiPipo has been at the forefront, actively promoting digital innovation, Instant, Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), and DFS across Africa. With a legacy of advising, mobilizing, and facilitating the adoption of inclusive financial services, HiPipo’s efforts have been nothing short of transformative! For almost two decades, HiPipo has successfully facilitated the inclusive adoption of these crucial services.