HiPipo Money

Our Reporter.

While micro, small and medium enterprises account for over 80% of businesses in Uganda and employ the largest number of the country’s working population, they still find it hard to access bank credit. This is mainly because majority are informal, fragile, lack collateral and thus considered risky.

However, in a bid to close the financing gap and enable them continue playing their rightful role in Uganda, Social Lend Africa, a Financial Technology Company (FinTech) has democratized lending to ease access to credit, using a digital platform.

Through the platform, small business owners in need of credit are linked to lenders, so as to access affordably and conveniently, according to the Social Lend Africa co-founder and chief executive officer Marvin Peter Akankwasa.

Akankwasa alludes to the existing gap in the market, between businesses that need credit and those who can give it.

“We believe everyone deserves to access quality financial services to enable them pursue a life of dignity and prosperity. So we lend small unsecured amounts of money at scale to millions of financially responsible Africans,” he says.

According to him, SMEs in Uganda need about $4.8b (Shs17.8 trillion) to be able to finance their businesses and scale operations but they cannot access the money, yet there are many unbanked people with sizable amounts of savings and income that can be loaned out.

“There is an opportunity in bringing cheap credit to both banks and the unbanked in an efficient manner; this efficiency can better be achieved by going digital,” Akankwasa says.

Social Lend Africa, which is one of the FinTechs participating in the 40-days-40-FinTechs initiative launched recently, by HiPipo, in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation.

The project seeks to enable FinTechs to innovate solutions that facilitate cross-network financial transactions at minimal risks to enhance access to financial services.

Running for 40 days, the project will see the participating 40 FinTechs, acquire interoperable development skills to improve access to financial services, using the Mojaloop open source software.

Akankwasa applauded HiPipo, saying that the project has come at a right time, when Social Lend Africa is focusing on democratising lending and borrowing, which he said they cannot achieve unless  they revolutionise risk assessment and credit extension.

“I am happy that Mojaloop is trying to revolutionise how payments are done; with Mojaloop, I am sure that we have a tool that is going to make financial technology better. We are looking forward to working with Mojaloop Foundation, HiPipo and other partners in enhancing financial inclusion,” Akankwasa said, adding that the Mojaloop software will help them make financial technology better.

Background

Founded over four years ago, Social Lend Africa has over the years helped micro and small enterprises access affordable credit.

It screens borrowers, facilitates the transaction and services the cash advance. Borrowers can then use the cash advance for business, consolidate debt, finance purchases or cater for certain personal financing needs.

The company was established in 2015, initially lending money to small business owners and students around universities for their tuition. It initially traded Spectrum Xchange (U) Limited before rebranding to Social Lend Africa in in 2018, owing to the growth in reliance on peer-to-peer lending networks.

“We settled for Social Lend Africa because we felt it represents our aspiration to leverage our online peer-to-peer lending networks and spread them across Africa, enabling entrepreneurs and small business owners easily access instant, short-term loans through a simple loan application process, via a secure platform,” Akankwasa says.

Due to the need to leverage technology to ease the application process and also provide access to credit to more consumers, it went fully digital in May 2019 by launching the Social Lend Africa web app, which helps customers access credit any time.

Good solution

The HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya said: “I am excited to learn about Social Lend Africa. We are happy that your registered and made the shortlist for the 40-days-40-FinTechs project, a brainchild of HiPipo. HiPipo is a 15-year old company that focuses on using technology to serve and save millions of people mainly in Africa.”

Kawooya says that while offering people credit is a noble job, it is so challenging as businesses, mainly start-ups need loans yet most of them do not have collateral to access the loans.

“Many of these start-ups are by young Ugandans who do not own anything except their innovative minds and products they are developing. Most lenders can never come to their help because of lack of collateral,” he explains.

Kawooya also explains that informal lenders are also hard to deal with as they charge high interests and yet their conditions are short term.

“It is thus exciting to interact with a company like Social Lend Africa that is trying to democratise lending and borrowing. It will be nice for Social Lend Africa to develop an interoperable solution that would enable it do lending and borrowing from multiple institutions all brought together on one platform,” Kawooya explains.

Our Reporter.

Over the past few years, distinctions between financial institutions and telecom service providers have been gradually breaking, thanks to the emergence of Financial Technology Companies (FinTechs) that are providing the needed bridge.

FinTechs are transforming lives in Uganda and the entire African region for the better; facilitating payments, boosting financial inclusion and enhancing customer experience.

Among the key FinTechs that has played a great role in this space in Uganda is True African, a mobile and online Financial Services Hub that provides custom tailored software solutions to address specific business needs, payment gateways to banks, collection platforms to utility service providers and individual and corporate mobile and online wallets.

True African, a pioneer Financial Technology Company (FinTech) in region also enables individuals and business enterprises to securely and efficiently transact large volumes of payments on a single platform under one umbrella.

True African ventured into the market 18 years, with the short messaging (SMS) product, giving the firm market visibility, before venturing into mobile banking in 2002, according to the company’s founder and managing director Eric Kamau.

Products.  

As pioneers in the value added services (VAS) industry, True African has over a decade of network connectivity across the country, with a multiple channel software platform that integrates with off-the-shelf SMS and USSD gateways.

It offers a wide range of services including MasterCard QR; a payment solution that harnesses technology to allow consumers pay for goods and services using mobile phones at merchant outlets.

Mastercard QR empowers merchants to easily and securely accept digital payments through a no-cost Point-Of-Sale solution that provides a cash-like experience for merchants and a low-risk investment for the user.

“MasterCard QR is secure, smart and easy; providing a cost-effective alternative to cash payments,” Kamau says.

The other product is Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Code Aggregation that allows high-speed interactive communication between the subscribers and applications across a GSM network.

It offers both dedicated and shared USSD codes. Under the dedicated USSD, a code is aggregated and solely used by the client while the shared USSD code is used by multiple companies or services where each company is allocated an extension off the main code.

Other products are merchant collections, bulk payments, mobile banking, software development and a VSLA Imara platform.

This has put them at the center of the electronic payments industry in the East African region.

True African is one of the FinTechs taking part in the 40-days-40-FinTechs initiative organised by HiPipo, in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation.

The initiative seeks to enable FinTechs to innovate solutions that facilitate cross-network financial transactions at minimal risks to enhance access to financial services.

Running for 40 days, the project will see the participating 40 FinTechs acquire interoperable development skills to improve access to financial services, using the Mojaloop open source software.

Kamau commended HiPipo for the initiative, saying that interoperability discussions are timely and good for the industry.

“I was around when Mojaloop was being founded. We understand that some of these projects we are undertaking need to be hosted somewhere, costs must be managed and all other interoperability issues must be addressed. We are happy to engage with HiPipo and other likeminded partners on how to enhance financial inclusion,” Kamau says.

Tailor-made solutions

To support the financial inclusion journey, Kamau says that it is important to understand the special needs of the people you want to serve, so that you develop products that meet their needs.

“Having technology alone is not enough; you must understand the special needs and requirements for different people,” he notes.

Keen about delivering solutions that meet the diverse needs of their target market, Kamau says the firm is also seeking to devise ways of solving financial management problems in refugee camps.

“We cannot just digitalise people; it is a process. People need to first understand what you are doing before they accept to go digital and do digital financing,” he notes.

Kamanu explains that the firm innovated a saving solution that is currently used by several non-governmental organizations and other entities such as the Central Broadcasting Services (CBS) Powesa Sacco, helping them to manage their funds effectively.

In Eastern Uganda, True African is undertaking a project that offers women crop insurance. Under the project, True African allows members to access farm inputs from registered shops, lends them money and empowers them on agricultural commercialisation.

He says that over 50 women farmers have benefited from the pilot project and they are now planning to expand it and manage it under one application.

The HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya says the 40-days-40 FinTechs initiative seeks to celebrate and shine a light on FinTechs that are transforming millions of lives.

He commended True African, saying it has an inspiring story.

“Part of the HiPipo story was inspired by True African. The True African story and their understanding of the digital-financial inclusion sector is important in this journey. True African has been here, and done so many successful projects. These have been 18 years of developing the digital financial sector,” Kawooya said.

He added: “We are happy that True African has kept going and growing with the industry; the millions of messages you have sent, the solutions you have created have served and saved millions of people.

True African has won several accolades including Top 100 Mid-Sized Company organised by KPMG and Daily Monitor, 2009, Top ICT SMME in Africa, Africa IT Achievers, 2007 and ICT Innovation Awards, UCC 2004.

Our Reporter.

While access to affordable financial services plays a vital role in enabling refugees cope with negative shocks, reduce exposure to risk and stimulate economic activity, it is still a luxury to many.

This is partly because of a mismatch between the financial products available on the market and the cost and financial needs of refugees.

To help serve refugees better, however, Trustfinity; an Information Technology startup in Uganda is seeking to rewrite the story.

Established in 2015 by George Opuch, the IT firm is developing a savings and credit solution that will see more refugees and their host communities have increased access to financial services that will enable them transform their lives. The VSLA (Village Savings and Loans Association groups) mobile app is targeting the thousands of unbanked refugees.

According to Opuch – the founder and team leader at Trustfinity, accessing savings and credit products will enable these people start small businesses to diversify their incomes.

Trustfinity has experts in both Mobile and Web Application development. It won an award in the 2017 MTN APP challenge in the entertainment category with its Kanamo app. It has since then ventured into providing an ‘Edtech’ solution ‘Darasini’ that tries to bridge the gap between rural and urban schools. It has also built several mobile apps over the years including The One dating app.

Opuch said the savings and loans product would be out in a few months, noting that they are still exploring options of partnering with a bank or other financial service providers before rolling out the product.

“Uganda is a hub for a number of refugees and these are usually resettled in different regions and having to start over for them is not so easy. They have resorted to joining small savings groups and they use these small savings to rebuild their lives. With the VSLA App, when they feel the need to go back home, they will be able to access their funds through their mobile phones without having to go through a lot of paperwork processes from wherever they will choose to resettle” Opuch explained.

Motivation

Opuch further said that together with Trustfinity’s co-founder Ambrose Mwaka, they were motivated by childhood experiences of how people in northern Uganda used to suffer because they could not access financial services.

“We come from northern Uganda and we were affected by the prolonged rebel war in that area. I have also seen the challenges refugees go through; it is similar. Access to financial products is a big challenge,” he said.

He added: “Uganda has a lot of refugees, estimated at over 1.4 million in the different internally displaced people’s camps across the country. The refugees and other people affected by the war need to do business. They need capital, borrowing and savings products. They need an organised way of collecting and disbursement of their earnings.”

The product will be accessed using both a smart and feature handset, using an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).

“We know very well these are people in remote areas; it would be unfair to innovate a smartphone app because we know that they don’t have smart phones. That is why our lending and savings product for these people will be USSD based.

Trustfinity is hopeful that latest technologies such as Mojaloop Open Source Software will enhance financial inclusion because they address integration and interoperability issues.

“Mojaloop speeds up go to market by eliminating the need to integrate with MNOs and banks and allows us to focus only on our core products and innovations.”

Change lives

The HiPipo COO (chief operating officer) Nicholas Kalungi applauded Trustfinity, saying that their product will help enhance refugees’ access to credit and savings products. This, he added, will enable them manage their scarce funds better and also enable them venture into small businesses to generate extra income.

“These are young Ugandan developers with great works already in areas education and entertainment.  It is nice to know that they are now working on a saving and lending product for our brothers and sisters in IDP camps,” he said.

He added: “Uganda’s history with refugees is well known. Our country is one of the most welcoming places for brothers and sisters in unstable areas.”

Kalungi added that with the right finance partner, Trustfinity would change thousands of life.

“Trustfinity definitely needs Mojaloop. It is an open source software improving banking, mobile money and merchants’ payments. HiPipo will engage Trustfinity further in their development journey for their lending and saving product,” Kalungi said.

Trustfinity is one of the Financial Technology Companies (FinTechs) participating in the 40-days-40-FinTechs initiatives, organised by HiPipo in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation.

The initiative seeks to enable FinTechs to innovate solutions that facilitate cross-network financial transactions at minimal risks to enhance access to financial services.

Running for 40 days, the project will see the participating 40 FinTechs acquire interoperable development skills to improve access to financial services, using the Mojaloop open source software.

By Our writer

With an increasing number of Ugandans having busy work schedules, it is increasingly getting clear that the future of television is going to be mobile.

A growing number of Ugandans, especially those with smartphones are increasingly using them to watch their favorite television programme at their convenience while on the move.

Watching television on the move has been enabled by the established of content creating and aggregating companies that are investing their time and money in to delivering TV, Radio and Movies on smart phones and tablets.

One of such is YOTV, Uganda’s leading mobile APP video platform. Established in 2015, YOTV has over the years grown its client base to more than 150,000 subscribers and these numbers keep increasing every day.

YOTV is one of the firms participating in the 40-days-40-FinTechs project organised by HiPipo, in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation.

While YOTV is a TV on a mobile phone, its commercialization model is based on financial technology. Its subscription payments are done through mobile money.

It offers hourly, daily, weekly and monthly subscription to its users at Shs500, Shs1,000, Shs2,500 and Shs, 10,000 respectively.

Given that it already has a big platform, the mobile television service provider is now looking at both consolidating its first line business – TV, Radio and Movies and venturing in to a value addition model for the future. This would see the YOTV APP offering addition services such as home shopping, movie tickets, airtime and paying bills.

The YOTV Channels chief executive officer Aggrey Mugisha said the idea to start the mobile television was informed by the desire to address the television and radio availability and affordability challenge that most Ugandans were grappling with.

“Many people have TVs; they pay a lot of money for subscription but never have a chance to watch them because they are busy people always on the move. We thought and decided to enable such people to have TVs and radios on their mobile phones so that they can watch at their convenience,” he explained.

He added: “Imagine having one APP that has TV, Radio, Movies, airtime, paying bills and home shopping all in one place.”

According to Mugisha, all that will be enabled by interoperable integrations, which the Mojaloop open source software provides.

Running for 40 days, the project will see the participating 40 FinTechs acquire interoperable development skills to improve access to financial services, using the Mojaloop open source software.

Mugisha applauded HiPipo and its partners for organizing the 40-days-40-FinTechs initiative, saying that the Mojaloop software would come in handy for YOTV channels’ commercialization model.

Last year, YOTV won the Digital Impact Awards Africa prize for best disruptive innovation.

Mugisha noted that while they are indeed changing the TV industry, they will continue pursuing other opportunities in the digital space.

”The YOTV APP is top notch and can offer value added services in the future.  That is why these discussions on collaborations, Mojaloop and interoperability are timely,” he said.

The HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya said: “It is so exciting to rub shoulders with YOTV channels. Indeed you have had so many challenges and exciting moments. I hope that excitement does not die on the way,” he told YOTV.

Kawooya explained that for Technology in Africa to thrive, the people driving it must keep their feet on the accelerator and keep moving.

He said Uganda has a big and untapped market, with limitless opportunities, which must be explored to improve the communities and grow businesses.

Kawooya added that the 40-days-40-FinTechs initiative is going to change the way financial technology is done anywhere in Africa and the world at large.

He noted that HiPipo is doing a lot research and advocacy for ICT, Finance and Education.

“Our story started in the digital arena and we continue to feature in the story,” he said, adding that the 40-days initiative is meant to shine a light on successful stories like YOTV.

“We are happy to celebrate you, learn from each other and also discussing the development of Africa.”