HiPipo Money

For Immediate Release.

16^th, September, 2020 – Primera Muthoni; a Products Specialist at MTN Uganda, Leading Innovator and Entrepreneur has today challenged young developers to always ensure that they execute a proper product roll-out plan because ‘Going to Market’ is as important as Product Development.

Primera Muthoni said this while delivering a mentorship session around Technology and Product Go to Market at the 4^th day of the Women in FinTech Hackathon that is currently underway in Kampala, Uganda.

With over 10 years’ experience in Telecoms’ products develop and marketing, she shared special insights on when to roll-out a product, how to handle the first launch days and what happens thereafter with focus on the fact that there is no perfect product, and thus all products require upgrades from time to time.

“Not yet good enough to go to market? This is the story today. I have had my App in the market for six years. The day we went to market, it had like two, three features but we went to the market. We have been adding more features and functions all this time,” Primera Muthoni said.

She added: “I have SMSs that clock in my phone every hour. I have emails every single morning showing me statistics of the last seven days plus all sorts of notifications. This is because if there’s a problem with my product, I want to be the first person to see and know it. I am the owner of that product. I do not want the tech team telling me. I don’t want the developer telling me. I don’t want that stuff. I want to know and keep updated because I know that I can never create a product that is problem free completely.”

Organized by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne program in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox, Mojaloop Foundation and Level One Project, this women focused hackathon has participants conceptualizing and developing different financial inclusion products with special focus on women in areas such as payments, lending, saving, e-commerce, e-education and e-agriculture among others. 

Minus the mentorship session, the fourth day of the Women in FinTech Hackathon had teams get introduced to the Level One Principle of Level 1 Principle of Scheme Design & Governance, tackled MVP (minimum viable product) details, and forex cross country use case. The hackathon will culminate in to the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 18^th September.

Important Dates.

1. 12 September: Women in FinTech hackathon kicks off.
2. 14^th to 17^th September: Women in FinTech hackathon underway.
3. 18^th September: Women in Fintech summit.  

Ends.

For Immediate Release.

15^th, September, 2020 – Damali Ssali; a Ugandan Chartered Accountant, Financial Inclusion Advocate, Business and Trade Development Expert has today urged start-ups to prioritize both proper financial management and quality products development because both are critical to the success of any business.

Damali Ssali made these remarks while delivering a mentorship session themed Business Financing and Financial Management at the third day of the Women in Fintech hackathon that is currently underway in Kampala, Uganda.

“Financial Management is as important as Product Development. I know you are developers and very competent in that field. It is not surprising that almost none of the 14 teams here are working with a financial expert. While this is fine right now, it cannot continue like this,” Damali Ssali noted, adding:

“You need to understand your business figures. The value of your product, the time you have spent on it and everything you have injected in. Even if you have a good product, if you don’t manage your finances properly, then you will face breakeven challenges.”

According to different studies, over 82 per cent of small businesses fail due to cash flow problems, a fact that makes prudent financial management a must if a business is to succeed.

Organized by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne program in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox, Mojaloop Foundation and Level One Project, this women focused hackathon has participants conceptualizing and developing different financial inclusion products with special focus on women in areas such as payments, lending, saving, e-commerce, e-education and e-agriculture among others. 

The third day of the Women in FinTech Hackathon saw teams work on APPs integrations with APIs, discussed the Level One Principle of System Design and went through the Digital Financial Service Provider (DFSP) Boarding Journey.  

The hackathon will culminate in to the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 18^th September.

Important Dates.

1. 12 September: Women in FinTech hackathon kicks off.
2. 14^th to 17^th September: Women in FinTech hackathon underway.
3. 18^th September: Women in Fintech summit.  

Ends.

For Immediate Release.

14^th, September, 2020:

Prof Maggie Kigozi; a Ugandan Business Champion, Investment Promotion Expert, Entrepreneur, Farmer, Feminist, Chairperson of the Africa Scout Foundation and Senior Consultant at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has today asked young developers to work on their confidence and also respect humble beginnings.

“Confidence is key for business success and for us women, it is sometimes lacking. I urge you to do your best to work on your confidence. Talk to each other, and challenge yourselves to get better,” Prof Kigozi, the chief mentor at the on-going Women in FinTech Hackathon said while addressing the over 50 participants today.

She added: “It is okay to start small and grow gradually. Look for capital from right sources such as family, friends’ groups, Saccos and banks. Please don’t go to the money lenders who simply ask for Car Cards or Land Titles in exchange for short term loans. That is not a good way of sourcing for business capital. I encourage you to have some patience, be able to save and use formal financial institutions such as banks. Business takes sometime unless you are very lucky.”

On the second day of the hackathon, the 14 teams showcased their Solution Design and Prototypes. They were also introduced to latest tools to use (such as Mojaloop), different APIs and use cases.

Organized by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne program in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox, Mojaloop Foundation and Level One Project, this women focused hackathon has participants conceptualizing and developing different financial inclusion products with special focus on women in areas such as payments, lending, saving, e-commerce, e-education and e-agriculture among others.  It will culminate in to the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 18^th September.

Innocent Kawooya, the CEO of HiPipo thanked Prof Maggie Kigozi for always finding time to help young and small organisations. He noted that HiPipo is one of the beneficiaries of Prof Maggie Kigozi’s mentorship and business coaching. He presented a Special Fibre Mosaic Art Piece to her in appreciation of her contribution to developing Uganda.

The Women in FinTech Hackathon and Summit come at the back of the great success of the recently concluded 40 Days 40 Fintechs initiative and the FinTech Landscape Exhibition that attracted over 100 financial sector organisations from all over the world, between May 13 and July 30^th 2020.

Important Dates.

1. 12 September: Women in FinTech hackathon kicks off.
2. 14^th to 17^th September: Women in FinTech hackathon underway.
3. 18^th September: Women in Fintech summit.  

Ends.

For Immediate Release.

13^th, September, 2020: The first of its kind Women in FinTech Hackathon is currently underway in Kampala with 15 women led and dominated teams taking part.

The participants are conceptualizing and developing different financial inclusion products with special focus on women in areas such as payments, lending, saving, e-commerce, e-education and e-agriculture among others.  

As part of the project, all teams are interacting with a pool of facilitators, mentors and assessors pulled together from all over the world but mainly accessible remotely via ID8, Slack and other virtual platforms.

Organized by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne program in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox, Mojaloop Foundation and Level One Project, this women focused hackathon will culminate in to the Women in FinTech summit on Friday 18^th September.

“We are excited to deliver this. Day One had all teams get introduced to latest financial inclusion tools, detailed discussions around level one principles, submission of each team’s problem statement and business case,” Nicholas Kalungi, the COO of HiPipo, noted on Saturday 12^th September, the first day of this Hackathon.

He added; “The next four days are very crucial to the success of each team. The teams are doing their work and getting continuous guidance from facilitators, mentors and assessors both on site and remotely. We are convinced that this is the start of something amazing for all of the participants.”

The Women in FinTech Hackathon and Summit come at the back of the great success of the recently concluded 40 Days 40 Fintechs initiative and the FinTech Landscape Exhibition that attracted over 100 financial sector organisations from all over the world, between May 13 and July 30^th 2020.

Important Dates.

1. 12 September: Women in FinTech hackathon kicks off.
2. 14^th to 17^th September: Women in FinTech hackathon underway.
3. 18^th September: Women in Fintech summit.  

Ends.