Financial technology, or fintech, refers to innovations aimed at new ways of delivering financial services. With the goal of changing lives, fintech startups in Africa are moving people forward on a digital route. Fortunately, such firms have no lack of funding.
According to a recent report from Disrupt Africa, the overall funding from venture capitalists jumped by 51 percent to $195 million from 2016 to 2017, with fintech funding accounting for one-third of the funds. The regions that were considered as the top three investment destinations were South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
Over the past several months, the African tech scene has trended in a positive direction as consumers turn to more digitally driven services in the region. After the success of MPesa in Kenya, many fintech startups in Africa are aiming to bridge the digital gap across other unreached communities in the region.
Here are three leading fintech startups in Africa that are rethinking ways to digitalize communities in Africa.
Flutterwave
Flutterwave was founded in 2016 and provides payment technologies and infrastructure to the continent’s largest financial institutions. With the aim of disrupting the traditional banking style in Africa, its instant rise captures the current tech scene of Africa.
The company currently operates in more than 36 countries and has partnered with 10 bank partners in Africa. With as much as 34 percent of adults in sub-Saharan Africa with bank accounts, Flutterwave has a practically untapped market to reach.
Founded by ex-bankers, entrepreneurs and engineers, the technology aims to make banking simple for its customers. With 10 million transactions processed, Flutterwave has processed $1.2 billion in payments and receives the backing from venture capitalists like Y-Combinator, Ventures and Social Capital. The company provides solutions for banks, enterprise and entrepreneurs, with no upfront, annual or special project fees.
According to a World Bank report, roughly $20 billion a year is sent to Nigeria alone, and foreign remittances made up the second-largest source of foreign exchange receipts in Africa’s biggest economy after oil revenues. Flutterwave aims to target the digital payment gap, enabling users to transfer money into different bank accounts. Such fintech initiatives will allow the communities and families in Africa to receive digital payments from family members and business relatives from across countries and, in turn, will spur growth in the developing region.
Pezesha
Launched in Kenya, Pezesha aims to become Africa’s largest peer to business microlending marketplace by including Africa’s low-income borrowers in the financial system. As one of the leading fintech startups in Africa, Pezesha is driven by the core values of integrity, security, reliability, excellence in teamwork, accountability, responsibility and innovation.
Instant loans can be availed by borrowers on the peer-to-peer lending platform via SMS, provided the minimum criteria is met. Such services allow low-income borrowers in Africa to generate credit scores using data analytics. Pezesha also extends funding for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which could indirectly benefit jobs and employment in the small business sector.
SMEs create 80 percent of the region’s employment and fuel demand for new goods and services. But according to The World Bank, an estimated 50 percent of SMEs have no credit access and are less likely to secure loans when compared to larger firms. By providing microcredit access, small businesses will get funding support and allow entrepreneurs to design bankable projects.
Pezesha was recently selected to participate in the BlackBox Connect 20 accelerator programme, powered by sponsors like Google, IBM, Stripe and Silicon Valley Bank.
Riby
Riby has become one of the best 50 emerging fintech startups in the world, according to the recent annual Fintech 100 report by KPMG and H2 Ventures. Based in Nigeria, Riby offers a mobile app-based service for a range of financial management features including the digitization of collaborative saving, lending and investments.
Riby acts as a platform for groups, employees, individuals, associations and financial development institutions and remotely helps them controls their financial activities.
The app includes features like personal savings, cooperative savings and loan management, peer-to-peer lending, agent management and personal and group investment management. Through the digitization of collaborative saving, lending and investments, Riby aims to increase financial literacy amongst individual members of the groups.
A major reason for the fintech rise is the usage of mobile phones in Africa, which has increased from five percent in 2003 to 73 percent in 2014. With 650 million mobile phone owners in the continent (more than in the U.S. and Europe combined), the 3G mobile network is also growing rapidly.
According to Disrupt Africa, more than 300 fintech startups are active across the African continent. It is evident that fintech startups in Africa are attracting the attention of banks and investors, but more importantly, they are helping the lives of many unbanked customers in Africa and indirectly improving the economic condition of the country.
For the African economy, the tech wave has just started. The untapped market could provide a wealth of opportunities for many fintech startups, equipping customers with more sophisticated digital tools.
– Deena Zaidi
Photo: Flickr
Solar Power to Help Eliminate Poverty in Developing Countries
By using solar power to help eliminate poverty, developing countries inch closer to a sustainable solution. By expanding the number of people who have access to power, fewer cases of water deprivation, disease outbreaks and even education deprivation would result.
Refrigerators in South Sudan
South Sudan, the least electrified country in the world, has endured constant conflict and disease outbreaks for more than four years, according to UNICEF. With rampant malnutrition and a lack of immunizations in the war-torn nation, diseases like measles, polio and tetanus have contributed to about one in 17 children dying from a preventable cause before their first birthday.
UNICEF has begun to use solar power to help eliminate poverty through its distribution of solar-powered refrigerators. Manufactured in Germany and transported via airlift, the refrigerators are used to keep vaccines at a safe temperature while being transported to isolated locations. The funding for the transportation and installation of the solar-powered refrigerators was provided by organizations like ECHO, the World Bank, GAVI and CERF.
By using solar power to maintain vaccines, UNICEF began immunizing South Sudanese who previously had no access to electricity. According to UNICEF, approximately 1.7 million children were vaccinated for measles.
Water Pump in Malawi
A scarcity of clean drinking water in Malawi villages impacts all aspects of everyday life for Malawi villagers. According to UNICEF, 13-year-old Lucy Chalire has been affected by the lack of clean water in multiple areas of her life. Chalire often suffered from diarrhea because of dirty drinking water. She also walked about five kilometers to collect the nearest water, leaving her exhausted and creating another roadblock to her education.
“I had diarrhea so many times. I would stay at home for around two weeks until I got better,” Chalire told UNICEF. “I missed a lot of lessons, but I always tried to catch up by copying notes from my friends.”
After installing a solar-powered water pump in Chalire’s village, people were able to access nearby water that hand-powered pumps could not reach. The solar power alternative not only increases the amount of clean water available, it provides water during the drought season, allowing farmers to increase their crop yield.
UNICEF Malawi’s Chief of Water Sanitation and Hygiene Paulos Workneh said, “It’s low maintenance and should last for at least 10 years. And solar power is cheaper, environment-friendly and more sustainable than relying on expensive diesel generators.”
By using solar power to help eliminate poverty, Malawi is taking steps toward a sustainable future.
Education in the Solomon Islands
The Solar Power Pilot Project in the Solomon Islands aimed to improve the current situation in the average classroom, which has led to only about 17 percent of adults being literate. Today, students in the Solomon Islands lack lights, air conditioning and even fans. With classrooms reaching high temperatures, students’ ability to learn can be hindered, according to UNICEF.
The Solar Power Pilot Project supplied classrooms with fans, and electric lights by installing solar panels in schools. In UNICEF’s review of the project, it was decided that a more effective way to use solar power is the installation at the homes of students. Since students live far from their school, afterschool activities are nonexistent and solar energy is not used to its full potential.
Using solar power to help eliminate poverty around the world is a reliable and renewable option that grants people never before seen resources.
– Austin Stoltzfus
Photo: Flickr
The Top 10 Facts About Poverty in Pakistan
While Pakistan is one of the richest countries in Asia, poverty in Pakistan is a fact of life for most of its people. The main cause of Pakistan’s poverty rate is the fact that many Pakistanis lack basic human rights. Many Pakistanis, often women and children, are begging in the streets throughout their country.
These are the top 10 facts about poverty in Pakistan:
USAID, LG&RDD and other entities will continue making efforts to financially help Pakistan’s impoverished citizens. However, the country’s divide between poor and rich citizens remains the main contributor to poverty in Pakistan. Further work will continue to ensure that all Pakistanis can live financially secure lives.
– Rhondjé Singh Tanwar
Photo: Flickr
Bollywood’s ‘Padman’ Tackles Issues of Women’s Health in India
The film is more than just a story about someone with a good idea; it is also challenging the stigma that surrounds menstruation and women’s health in India. “Period Poverty” is a global phenomenon that describes a woman’s inability to buy proper feminine hygiene products. In India in particular, the effects of period poverty hinder many girls’ abilities to stay in school. In India, one in four girls miss one day or more of school due to menstruation.
In lower and middle income countries, poor sanitation facilities are one thing that keep girls from attending school while on their period. Many schools in lower income countries also do not have the puberty education necessary to educate girls about menstruation. A recent study found that 71 percent of girls in India have no knowledge about menstruation prior to their first period.
Most cultures around the world also have a major stigma surrounding menstruation. In India in particular, a lot of taboo surrounds the topic of periods and women’s health in general. Restrictions for women on their period include not being able to enter religious shrines or come into contact with food, further keeping girls from school. Many girls are nervous about asking for help in the event of stained clothing due to improper feminine hygiene care.
Another thing keeping women from proper feminine hygiene care is cost. Until recently, 70 percent of Indian women could not afford to buy pads for their family. Instead, families resorted to using and reusing rags which quickly become unsanitary as breeding grounds for disease. In rural areas, materials other than rags were often used like sawdust or ash.
There are currently many NGOs operating around the world with the goal of creating affordable solutions for women suffering from period poverty. Many of these organizations are dedicated to solving issues of women’s health in India.
Innovator Arunachalam Muruganantham has created a machine that makes sanitary pads that are sold mostly to NGOs along with women’s self-help groups. The machine comes in two different types, a manual version and a semi-automated version. Each machine can make 200 to 250 pads a day and is designed to be user-friendly for women living in rural areas.
The pads sell for about 2.5 rupees, almost half of what it would be to buy them commercially. This system not only provides proper sanitary products for women, but also creates jobs for women living in rural areas as they learn how to use and operate the machine. Muruganatham has expanded his efforts well beyond India and is now working in 106 countries around the world.
An organization created in 2008 called Days for Girls is dedicated to improving women’s health around the world. The organization aims to provide girls with invaluable health education and provide its recipients with a Days for Girls kit. Each kit contains sanitary napkins, washcloths, soap, a menstrual chart and underwear. This is just one example of the many organizations fighting to end the stigma surrounding periods.
India is the largest film market in the world, with 2.2 billion movie tickets sold in 2016. Hopefully, the recent film, “Padman,” will reach a wide variety of audiences and bring more attention to issue of women’s health in India.
– Sonja Flancher
Photo: Flickr
New Road Material Reducing Plastic Pollution in Indonesia
Four of Indonesia’s rivers, Brantas, Solo, Serayu and Progo, rank among the top 20 most polluted rivers in the world. Even though Indonesia possesses about 6 percent of the world’s fresh water, its public water is contaminated with E. coli, fecal matter and other harmful pathogens. The water supply has become undrinkable due to this contamination. Approximately 80 percent of the Indonesian population lacks access to water from pipes, therefore depending on river water for drinking, cleaning and bathing.
Lack of government investment in water pipes has caused the majority of the country to be dependent on water bottles or boiled river water for their consumption. Many Indonesian frequently use disposable plastics in forms of bags, cups, bottles and utensils, making plastic use a common part of their daily routine.
In order to halt plastic pollution in Indonesia, it is important to alter the country’s land-based waste management system. The government has committed to allocating $1 billion a year to drastically reduce the amount of plastic and waste products contaminating the country’s water sources. Indonesian Coordinating Minister Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan made the declaration at the 2017 World Oceans Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali.
Pandjaitan notified representatives at the summit that Indonesia would reduce its marine waste by 70 percent within eight years. A few measures proposed to contribute to this reduction are the development of industries that use biodegradable materials to make plastic substitutes, widespread taxing of plastic bags and initiating a sustainable public education campaign.
In addition to public education campaigns and charges for plastic bags, the government is also initiating a new land-based waste management tactic: turning scraps into road materials.
These plastic roads, which are made of shredded, melted plastic waste mixed with road tar, are being promoted as an inexpensive and more durable surface than standard roadways. It is also an alternative to discarding the tons of plastic waste that sit in landfills and clog waterways.
On July 29, 2017, Indonesia laid out its first plastic road test, stretching 700 meters, at Udayana University in Bali. Officials now plan to use the dump mix on roads in the cities of Jakarta, Bekasi and Surabaya.
Plastic pollution in Indonesia is believed to approach 9.52 million tons by the year 2019, which is about 14 percent of the country’s waste. If each kilometer of road requires 2.5 to five tons of plastic waste, it could be used to pave 190,000 kilometers of roadway. This is a perfect illustration of the idiom “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, and the new roads can contribute greatly to converting that waste into a useful material.
– Zainab Adebayo
Photo: Flickr
Improving the Economy: Three Fintech Startups in Africa
According to a recent report from Disrupt Africa, the overall funding from venture capitalists jumped by 51 percent to $195 million from 2016 to 2017, with fintech funding accounting for one-third of the funds. The regions that were considered as the top three investment destinations were South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya.
Over the past several months, the African tech scene has trended in a positive direction as consumers turn to more digitally driven services in the region. After the success of MPesa in Kenya, many fintech startups in Africa are aiming to bridge the digital gap across other unreached communities in the region.
Here are three leading fintech startups in Africa that are rethinking ways to digitalize communities in Africa.
Flutterwave
Flutterwave was founded in 2016 and provides payment technologies and infrastructure to the continent’s largest financial institutions. With the aim of disrupting the traditional banking style in Africa, its instant rise captures the current tech scene of Africa.
The company currently operates in more than 36 countries and has partnered with 10 bank partners in Africa. With as much as 34 percent of adults in sub-Saharan Africa with bank accounts, Flutterwave has a practically untapped market to reach.
Founded by ex-bankers, entrepreneurs and engineers, the technology aims to make banking simple for its customers. With 10 million transactions processed, Flutterwave has processed $1.2 billion in payments and receives the backing from venture capitalists like Y-Combinator, Ventures and Social Capital. The company provides solutions for banks, enterprise and entrepreneurs, with no upfront, annual or special project fees.
According to a World Bank report, roughly $20 billion a year is sent to Nigeria alone, and foreign remittances made up the second-largest source of foreign exchange receipts in Africa’s biggest economy after oil revenues. Flutterwave aims to target the digital payment gap, enabling users to transfer money into different bank accounts. Such fintech initiatives will allow the communities and families in Africa to receive digital payments from family members and business relatives from across countries and, in turn, will spur growth in the developing region.
Pezesha
Launched in Kenya, Pezesha aims to become Africa’s largest peer to business microlending marketplace by including Africa’s low-income borrowers in the financial system. As one of the leading fintech startups in Africa, Pezesha is driven by the core values of integrity, security, reliability, excellence in teamwork, accountability, responsibility and innovation.
Instant loans can be availed by borrowers on the peer-to-peer lending platform via SMS, provided the minimum criteria is met. Such services allow low-income borrowers in Africa to generate credit scores using data analytics. Pezesha also extends funding for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which could indirectly benefit jobs and employment in the small business sector.
SMEs create 80 percent of the region’s employment and fuel demand for new goods and services. But according to The World Bank, an estimated 50 percent of SMEs have no credit access and are less likely to secure loans when compared to larger firms. By providing microcredit access, small businesses will get funding support and allow entrepreneurs to design bankable projects.
Pezesha was recently selected to participate in the BlackBox Connect 20 accelerator programme, powered by sponsors like Google, IBM, Stripe and Silicon Valley Bank.
Riby
Riby has become one of the best 50 emerging fintech startups in the world, according to the recent annual Fintech 100 report by KPMG and H2 Ventures. Based in Nigeria, Riby offers a mobile app-based service for a range of financial management features including the digitization of collaborative saving, lending and investments.
Riby acts as a platform for groups, employees, individuals, associations and financial development institutions and remotely helps them controls their financial activities.
The app includes features like personal savings, cooperative savings and loan management, peer-to-peer lending, agent management and personal and group investment management. Through the digitization of collaborative saving, lending and investments, Riby aims to increase financial literacy amongst individual members of the groups.
A major reason for the fintech rise is the usage of mobile phones in Africa, which has increased from five percent in 2003 to 73 percent in 2014. With 650 million mobile phone owners in the continent (more than in the U.S. and Europe combined), the 3G mobile network is also growing rapidly.
According to Disrupt Africa, more than 300 fintech startups are active across the African continent. It is evident that fintech startups in Africa are attracting the attention of banks and investors, but more importantly, they are helping the lives of many unbanked customers in Africa and indirectly improving the economic condition of the country.
For the African economy, the tech wave has just started. The untapped market could provide a wealth of opportunities for many fintech startups, equipping customers with more sophisticated digital tools.
– Deena Zaidi
Photo: Flickr
Facts About Poverty in Morocco
Morocco’s low labor costs and proximity to Europe have allowed the nation to move toward a diverse market-oriented economy. Despite its economic progress, as of 2022, 19% of those in Morocco remain in poverty and live on less than $4 a day. Poverty in Morocco remains an issue. Recognizing the poverty crisis in Morocco is essential to alleviating it; this feat is possible by providing the public with facts about poverty in Morocco.
Future Steps in Morocco
Several nonprofits are actively working to reduce poverty in Morocco. Notably, the High Atlas Foundation (HAF), an NGO founded in 2000, has established organic fruit tree nurseries across seven provinces in Morocco, helping farmers gain agricultural skills. Additionally, HAF offers women literacy courses and professional training and links marginalized communities to governmental and international agencies.
Another organization working to reduce poverty in Morocco is the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), which focuses on improving the incomes and living conditions of impoverished rural people. Since its inception in the country, IFAD has impacted 727,045 households and implemented 16 projects. With the aid of these nonprofits and government efforts, the lives of those in Morocco will significantly improve.
– Carolyn Gibson
Photo: Pixabay
Updated: May 27, 2024
The Success Levels of Humanitarian Aid to Kazakhstan
A Middle Income Country
According to the European Commission (EC), Kazakhstan is now considered a middle-income country, which means that it is self-sufficient enough to maintain a stable economy. However, this also means that the rest of the world has less influence and can offer less assistance to the Kazakh people. The EC worked from 1991 to 2014 to help turn Kazakhstan into a less corrupt state through an increase in their judicial efficiency, healthcare reform, more inclusive education and public administration.
Decreased Poverty, Increased Gender Equality
Despite the continuation of growth and economic prosperity in Kazakhstan, there is still need in the region; many countries still attempt to eradicate poverty completely and increase gender equality. Norway is one of those countries. According to the Norwegian government, it is working to stop the influx of illicit and criminal actions, as well as building on existing maternal health in the area.
Until poverty is eradicated (hopefully by 2030), and maternal death rates fall, Norway will not be satisfied with the success of humanitarian aid to Kazakhstan.
Success of Humanitarian Aid to Kazakhstan
Now that Kazakhstan is growing into a strong and independent country, it is time for the success of humanitarian aid to Kazakhstan to be translated into humanitarian aid for others. According to an article by the Astana Times, Kazakhstan, with its strong history of ethnic and religious diversity, provided humanitarian support to Syrians ravaged by civil war.
Kazakhstan is also known to support many other countries, such as Myanmar, Ukraine and parts of the Caribbean. Kazakhstan contains many natural resources, such as oil, mineral and metal reserves, and now with the help and success of humanitarian aid to Kazakhstan, the country has the potential to spread its stability to others.
– Molly Atchison
Photo: Flickr
A Need for Change: Top 10 Facts About Poverty in India
India is a South Asian country with one of the fastest growing economies and yet still a large number of inhabitants living in poverty.
The Top 10 Facts About Poverty in India
Sooner Rather than Later
With poverty continually taking such a toll on India, it is important to understand that it is a country in need of assistance. Allowing people the ability to see their harsh living conditions is one way to ensure that these top 10 facts about poverty in India improve over time.
– McCall Robinson
Photo: Pixabay
3 Major Projects Toward Sustainable Agriculture in Timor-Leste
Timor-Leste is a small, agrarian country that largely depends on its struggling agriculture sector for financial and economic security. Nearly 80 percent of Timor-Leste’s population is smallholder, local farmers who depend on the annual crop yields for their subsistence. Unfortunately, crop yields are often low or lost post-harvest, leaving many areas of the country below the poverty line.
In some districts, like Manufahi, approximately 85 percent of the population survives on $0.88 a day. Developing sustainable agriculture in Timor-Leste has been a focal point for the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries since 2003, but still requires significant financial backing and guidance from other government agencies and global aid societies.
Multiple projects have been proposed and implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the government of Timor-Leste in conjunction with the Global Agriculture and Food Security Trust Fund and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The sole purpose of these projects is to give Timor-Leste’s agriculture sector the chance to successfully become a competitor in burgeoning world markets via modernizing farming techniques and educating the smallholder farmers.
Here are a few of the projects implemented for the development of sustainable agriculture in Timor-Leste:
The Timor-Leste Agricultural Rehabilitation, Economic Growth and Sustainable Natural Resource Management Project
The sole purpose of this project, instituted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in 2003, was to increase farm and crop productivity. To accomplish this, farmers were taught new and advanced techniques for increasing crop yields and reducing the number of crops lost after harvest. This, in turn, would raise the annual income of the farmers and create more jobs. This project saw moderate success, but Timor-Leste still faces the same challenges.
Crops are constantly lost due to inefficient farming practices, which in turn creates harsh and unsustainable environments for future crops. Educating farmers on appropriate farming techniques crop survival in the country’s environment remains one of the main objectives of most projects geared for sustainable agriculture in Timor-Leste.
The Developing Agricultural Communities (DAC) Project
This project aims to connect smallholder farmers with large-scale retailers and train them in the technologies and horticultural practices necessary for expanding into vast markets. In conjunction with ConocoPhillips, an American energy company, and K’manek and Dilimart, two of the largest local supermarkets in Timor-Leste, USAID hope to connect local farmers with the farm-to-market chain to improve their economic and social positions.
The Sustainable Agriculture Productivity Improvement Project (SAPIP)
This six-year project, agreed upon by the World Bank and the government of Timor-Leste in 2016, received $21 million from the Global Agriculture and Food Security Trust Fund. It aims to revitalize and improve the productivity of crops in selected areas so as to boost their status in the world market. Timor-Leste has dealt with malnutrition as a result of the loss of staple foods and the insecurity of food production caused by poor soil and water management.
This project aims to create secure food production through smallholder farmers by improving multiple watersheds in different geographical locations. These watersheds will prevent contaminants from entering the crop soil while simultaneously increasing the amount of water that reaches the crops. The sheds will be monitored and evaluated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and the continued support of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Trust Fund.
Future Steps for Timor-Leste
Sustainable agriculture in Timor-Leste is well on its way, but still requires additional funding for the vast number of projects planned for continued success in their agriculture sector. Timor-Leste still needs to establish a reliable and stable economy through their marketability, and through continued support from its government and global aid campaigns, the nation can achieve that goal.
– Kayla Rafkin
Photo: Flickr
Credit Access in Suriname Continues to Grow Every Day
While small, the South American country of Suriname has a booming mining economy. With a recent rise in oil prices, Suriname has worked to overcome a recent dip in economic growth and currency inflation. Credit access in Suriname is also on the rise, and there have been several advancements in credit access and its reporting in recent years.
International Finance Corporation
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) reported that in 2013, Suriname created a new credit reporting system that increased the access businesses have to information about credit processes. This has been built and implemented to help build better business strategies and manage risky lending strategies, measures that then save small businesses from dangerous credit choices.
Systems like these encourage lending growth and healthy business strategy in small countries. Although Suriname has little to no record of credit histories before 2013, the IFC’s new credit reporting system is a step toward healthier credit access in Suriname.
Female Investors and the U.N.
Suriname is in the process of an economic reboot after economic growth statistics dropped from five percent in 2012 to -10.4 percent in 2016. At a 2012 presentation to the U.N., a representative for Suriname spoke on behalf of the female population of Suriname and presented a proposal for a new national gender policy; the plan delineated how the nation would prevent further discrimination of Surinamese women in business practice.
One of the areas in which women have been hurt by discrimination is in the credit access market. By implementing this new policy-based on the Beijing Plan for Action, Suriname hopes to alleviate the added stress of gender discrimination on its credit market.
Growth of Credit Access
Although only two of many new policies offer a solution for credit access growth, Suriname has a strong and constantly increasing economy that helps to grow credit access within its borders.
– Molly Atchison
Photo: Wikimedia Commons