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Nomanini, the Game Changer for Micro and Small African Businesses – #Part II

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  • IMPACT

What business impact does the solution have on the end customer/client ?

Trader Solutions provides access to new lines of business, credit and savings services for millions of informal merchants across 14 African countries – all without having to set foot in a bank branch or leave their points of sale.

For the traders using this service, this means a boost to ongoing trade, increased return customers and the sale of additional goods and services. Traders using the platform typically see an increase of around 30% in activity rates.

We have already demonstrated the sustainable provision of working credit advances in real-time through the platform. For traders who take out loans through the platform, nearly 80% of sales are funded by credit. This frees up the working capital that would be otherwise tied up in stock, allowing traders to redirect finances for other purposes.

Traders report that they value two things: (1) being treated like a business for the first time – accessing financial services such as credit through their business instead of having to use their personal services to finance business activities (which typically attract much higher interest rates) and (2) not having to close their business to go to a bank or other financial service provider – that financial services are brought to them at their business premises.

Additionally, access to sufficient working capital ensures retailers can stock the widest and best quality range of products needed to provide their communities with access to the everyday essentials taken for granted in many parts of the world.

What are your key KPIs/results?

The short term target is to reach one hundred thousand retail traders. As each trader reaches hundreds of consumers each month, translating into a positive ripple effect to tens of millions of consumers.

Nomanini also track the number of loans taken out, optimise for the lowest default rate possible (less than 1%), the number of sales made under loan and the activity rates of merchants before and after taking loans.

Long term, the key result is launching Trader Solutions in 14 countries within Standard Banks African footprint. Nomanini are currently live in 2 and have 6 more planned for 2021.

  • WOW FACTOR

How does this collaboration differentiate you in the market?

While there are many bank + fintech collaborations, Nomanini believes this partnership is one of the first large scale partnerships in Africa and the only pan-African collaboration bringing MSME banking to the informal retail trade.

Nomanini and Standard Bank and uniquely placed to deliver this solution and to reengineer the rails, and rewrite the rules of informal retail trade in Africa so the informal traders can thrive rather than just survive.

According to Nomanini, the partnership is a culmination of shared vision for a prosperous Africa.

If you want to read the Part 1 click here !

INVYO

Nomanini, the Game Changer for Micro and Small African Businesses – #Part I

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Nomanini unlocks the potential of Africa’s informal markets.

Nomanini, south african fintech startup, dedicated to payment, is the pioneering fintech platform that connects global distributors and​​​​​​​ service providers to local merchants in informal markets across the continent.

  • ORIGINALITY

How disruptive/innovative is the solution offered through your collaboration?

Nomanini connects banks and distributors ​​​​​​​to Africa’s informal merchants. Unique proprietary technology evolved over a decade and in-depth, pragmatic market know-how, means Nomanini is the first and only fintech company that can unite the fragmented African retail economy.

By collaborating with Africa’s biggest bank, hundreds of thousands of informal traders across Africa gain access to formal financial services for their businesses for the first time.

  • BUSINESS POTENTIAL

What is the business problem the collaboration is tackling?

More than 180 million micro and small merchants operate across the developing world, transacting over $6.5 trillion per year and serving more than 4.5 billion customers every day. Because these merchants typically have thin margins, low-income customers, and small transaction values, and operate in cash-based ecosystems, little has been done to integrate them into the cashless economy and they are often largely ignored within the sphere of retail.

Additionally, in the informal retail trade, cash remains the primary form of payment between consumers, retailers and distributors. Critically, operating on a cash-based basis doesn’t allow retailers to create a digital footprint, excluding them from accessing modern financial services such as credit to invest in products and services that will grow their business. As a result, informal retailers sometimes struggle to keep their stores stocked or resort to selling substandard products which may not be safe or healthy for their communities.

Nomanini is working to improve the businesses of ubiquitous informal traders across Africa so that they may thrive, rather than just survive. The main challenge Nomanini addresses is the fragmented and suboptimal informal retail ecosystem in Africa, centred around the needs of the trader.

For banks wanting to reach rural, peri-urban customers in informal markets, the costly and complex route to market, lost sales and low margins in a lean economic model remain challenges. Banking institutions are especially looking to the unbanked given how their high-cost models, transaction fees, and complicated paper processes keep off large low-income segments of the population. As such, Africa’s retail-banking penetration stands at half the global average for emerging markets at 38% of the gross domestic product, according to management consulting firm McKinsey.

For FMCG’s (Fast-moving consumer goods) some of the main challenges of operating in the informal trade (which often constitutes the majority of their market) is the high reliance on cash, lean and complex distribution, lost sales, and lack of market intelligence.

Nomanini’s platform connects merchants, distributors and service providers (banks) to overcome fragmentation, optimise digital distribution, and scale Africa’s informal retail ecosystem. In particular, Trader Solutions provides informal traders with access to credit advances in real-time, as well as access to other financial services such as savings and insurance tailored to the needs of informal retail MSMEs.

How does collaborating make the solution scalable?

Standard Bank Group is the largest African banking group by assets and has an on-the-ground presence in 20 countries. Nomanini has, in turn, served several thousand merchants by working with a dozen partners and distributors across six countries including Namibia, Kenya, Mozambique, and Ghana.

Standard Bank offers the Trader Solutions mobile application that provides credit to customers in 14 countries – Mozambique, Uganda, Malawi, Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania eSwatini, Lesotho and Botswana. By tapping into Nomanini’s data and client lists, Standard Bank can assess the micro-merchants’ creditworthiness more accurately, and as a result, offers sustainable working capital loans for the first time, and therefore expand its customer base, and boost its branchless banking services.

The partnership with the bank enables Nomanini to add merchant financing to its existing services and scale quickly into new markets with a trusted financial service provider. Additionally, Nomanini can expand its portfolio of financial services to offer remittances, insurance and other products.

You can follow the Part II by clicking here !

INVYO

Case study: Orange Money, story of a success in Africa

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Orange Money, Orange’s mobile money solution, celebrates a decade of financial innovation in Africa and confirms its position as a major mobile money player.

Launched initially in Côte d’Ivoire in 2008, the service now has 40 million customers and is available in 17 countries, reaching €26 billion in transactions in 2017, and making it one of Orange’s leading growth drivers.

Mastering the basics of mobile payment

The success of this mobile payment solution for unbanked is based on the accessible, universal nature of the service, which makes it possible for millions of people to perform instant, secure and reliable financial transactions using their mobile phone. In some countries, the service gives close to 50% of users access to banking services in areas with low levels of bank usage.

Over the past decade, Orange Money also added new services like international transfers, bill payment, and wage payment services. A good exemple is the “Bank to Wallet” service launched in 2015, to enable transfers between bank accounts and Orange Money accounts.

According to Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA):

“Orange Money makes real contributions to economic and social development in Africa and is a part of our strategy as a multiservice operator and digital transformation partner in Africa and the Middle East”.

Orange Money’s success is also due to its efforts to collaborate with regulators such as the Central Bank in seven African countries or the Abidjan-based CECOM to comply with mobile money activities and thus launch new services more rapidly.

Expanding to new services

Orange is now expanding its product range with lending and savings services available directly by mobile phone. These services, which are available through partners, are already offered to Orange customers in Mali and Madagascar since early 2018 as part of the initial launch.

International transfers, another strong area of development for Orange Money, aim to strengthen ties between people living outside their home countries and their loved ones.

Finally, as smartphones become increasingly widespread and uses change rapidly, the Orange Money services are evolving with the development of an application for easier interactions and transactions.


 

African Fintech Mapping Week #8: LipaPlus, WayaWaya, Mookh and M-Changa

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Every week, Techfoliance highlights four promising Fintech start-ups across Africa in various verticals: Digital Banking, Payments, InsurTech or Investment. In this weekly FinTech mapping we have LipaPlus, WayaWaya, Mookh and M-Changa.

[divider]Fintech Mapping[/divider]

LipaPlus

LipaPlus is a Kenya-based Fintech that was launched by Kenswipe and that developed a mobile POS terminal which enables merchants to receive card payments directly on their mobile phones.

Discover here: https://www.lipaplus.com/

WayaWaya

WayaWaya is a Kenya-based FinTech that has developed a portfolio of solutions to enable users to send and receive money instantaneously, securely from and to their local accounts (Mobile Wallet, Card or Cardless ATM withdrawals). It also enables merchants to accept card payments using Token, QR and NFC requirements.

Discover here: http://wayawaya.co.ke/

Mookh

Mookh is a Kenya-based Fintech that has developed a multi-channel payment gateway that allows merchants to sell products, tickets, digital content and collect donations from their social media pages.

Discover here: https://mookh.com/

M-Changa

M-Changa is a Kenya-based Fintech that allows people to manage a fundraiser right from their mobile phone. From collecting payments via Mobile Money and Credit Card channels, to inviting anyone globally to support their cause, M-Changa helps people Changa faster, smarter, with less stress.

Discover here: http://changa.co.ke/


 

ALAT, the digital-only bank by Nigeria-based Wema bank

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Nigerian bank Wema announced the launch of a fully functional digital bank called ALAT to address the challenges of financial inclusion in the region.

With ALAT, customers can now do all their banking transactions without being physically present at a bank, avoiding long waiting time at ATMs and switching paperwork hassle.

ALAT by Wema bank

Among available features, clients can open an account directly from their phone with their BVN and phone number, convert naira to dollars and pay online with a virtual card, get short-term loans, create savings plan automatically and even get discounts from local partners.

In a recent interview delivered to World Finance, Ademola Adebise, Deputy Managing Director at Wema bank said:

“As the convergence unfolds at Wema Bank, a far-reaching strategy for transforming the entirety of the Nigerian banking experience is slowly crystallising”.

The success of ALAT’s digital offering is here with a continuing growth in the number of monthly active users, especially among millennials. In just one year, the bank has acquired more than 250,000 customers who deposited more than NGN 1.6bn ($4.48m).

As explained by Ademola:

“The evolution of Wema Bank from simply the oldest indigenous bank in Nigeria into a nimble financial institution with its own fintech spinoff is well underway, and it is quite a sight to behold. We believe that our work now will come to shape the future of the entire Nigerian banking industry.”


See also: Standard Chartered unveils first digital-only bank in Ivory Coast

Binkabi to pilot tokenized commodity trading in Nigeria

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Binkabi, a blockchain-based commodity trading network, is coming to Lagos on July 5th for a meetup at Zone Tech Park that will teach participants how to make money by trading commodity-backed tokens.

Binkabi’s CEO Quan Le and Chief Economist Dr. Andrew S. Nevin will discuss how to turn real commodities into blockchain tokens and how to employ profitable trading strategies.

At the meetup they will also announce their Emerging Commodity Trader Programme, which is a pilot for Binkabi’s Commodity Tokenisation Protocol. This pilot will involve real users, real commodities and real monies. This is in connection with the eventual set up of a commodities exchange focusing on agriculture (soft) commodities, in partnership with an agribusiness conglomerate in Nigeria.

Binkabi Team

As part of this exercise, Binkabi will tokenise grains like maize, paddy rice, and soybean and have them traded on BinkabiDEX, Binkabi’s decentralised exchange. The commodity-backed tokens will then be redeemed for commodities from accredited warehouses. The pilot will also seek to confirm the unique role of BKBi, the Binkabi token, in creating liquidity that underpins the success of commodity marketplaces.

Participants, known as Emerging Commodity Traders, will trade these tokens and be awarded bounties for successful trading strategies. In doing so they will become the first traders of tokenized agriculture commodities in the world, and by extension will help shape a new technology designed to return more profits to African farmers through removing frictions and middlemen, unlocking liquidity, and reducing FX conversion costs.

From a crypto investment universe’s point of view these commodity-backed tokens will be an ideal inclusion in crypto portfolios. This is because they are backed by some of the world’s most traded resources and are not correlated to movements in the rest of the crypto space.

Dr. Andrew S. Nevin | Binkabi

​This marks a major development for Africa, where a number of countries have tried but largely failed to set up these commodities exchanges. Working with Binkabi, these commodity exchange initiatives can tap into cutting-edge technology and a common liquidity pool. The costs of setting up and operating a commodity exchange will be reduced while its chance of success will increase due to ready liquidity.

Binkabi’s vision is to improve the lives of farmers in emerging markets by using blockchain technology to create a fairer and more profitable commodity trading network.  Their meetup on July 5 will be from 5:30-8:30pm at the Zone Tech Park, Gbagada Industrial Scheme in Lagos.


Sign up now to reserve your seat

(The event is free)


 

Standard Chartered unveils first digital-only bank in Ivory Coast

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A man walks past a logo of the Standard Chartered Kenya bank in their main office in Nairobi, Kenya September 29, 2017. Picture taken September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

Standard Chartered is actively contributing to better serve the unbanked, especially in Ivory Coast where it recently launched the first digital-only bank.

The potential of Africa in the banking industry is endless, with high mobile penetration rate that can today balance the very low branch rate, averaging only five branches per 100,000 adults.

With the new digital bank, Standard Chartered’s Ivorian customers can open an account in less than 15 minutes and manage all their banking activities at a click of a button.

According to Sunil Kaushal, Standard Chartered’s Regional CEO, Africa and Middle East:

“We have been steadily investing in expanding our footprint in Africa over the years, and this will continue to be a priority moving forward. Digitising Africa remains at the heart of our business strategy for the region”.

Along Standard Chartered, many banks are moving forward to integrate digital banking at the core of their growth startegy on the continent, such as Lloyds, Kenyan lender CBA’s M-Shwari or Togo-based Ecobank.

In a recent study published by consulting firm McKinsey, the number of Africans with bank accounts grew from 170 million in 2012 to nearly 300 million last year, and could rise to 450 million in the next five years. The same report shows that 40% of all African banking customers preferred digital channels for transactions.


This article was first published in Reuters

FinTech start-ups allow Nigerian SMBs accept payments online

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Disadvantages for African small businesses (SMBs) are very often the numerous obstacles they face to enter the market, from simple tasks like registering a business to more vital issues such as accessing credit. Nigeria is no exception, and many tech companies are trying to change that.

One challenge that some Nigerian tech start-ups are trying to tackle is to let SMBs receive online payments. Konga and Jumia are good examples of e-commerce platforms which created new models for merchants to accept payments online.

Another example is Paystack, a Lagos-based FinTech that has developed a modern infrastructure to let Nigerian businesses accept Mastercard, Visa and Verve cards from anyone, anywhere in the world. The start-up is simplifying drastically the process by just verifying phone numbers through Truecaller’s verification system, checking personal bank details and national ID.

In a recent study, IMF showed that cash is still king in Nigeria, with the informal sector representing up to 65% of the economy:

“The informal sector provides employment and income to many people who might otherwise be unemployed in the absence of sufficient opportunities in the formal sector”.

Another company called VoguePay also contribute to allow SMBs accept payments online. In a recent interview delivered to Quartz, Wole Ogunlade, Head of digital strategy at VoguePay, said:

“We are deliberate about letting users understand the benefit of having registered businesses”.

The Nigerian government is encouraging businesses to be fully registered. To do so, it has set a limit on the number of bank cards that can be accepted on the platforms like VoguePay and Paystack.


This article was first published on Quartz

Mapping Fintech Egypt 2018

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Building on insights gathered through discussions with various digital finance providers in Egypt, this report will give you access to the most up-to-date mapping of Fintech players in Egypt.

The report will also provide you with an historical look at the way digital finance is ‘reversing the pyramid’ to financially include the poor in one of the world’s oldest societies.


DATA PROVIDED BY INVYO ANALYTICS

Access your own dashboard now


The most complete Egyptian Fintech mapping

Download PDF

The report provides a detailed overview of 40+ players in the Egypt’s Fintech sector, ranging from Fintech start-ups, Banks, MNOs, Universities, Investors, Accelerators to Microfinance institutions and Regulators.

You will receive market trends from the best local professionals and entrepreneurs in Fintech in Egypt.

The report is brought to you in partnership with Chloé Gueguen, a Fintech specialist and a relentless advocate of leveraging advances in digital and mobile technology to create meaningful financial solutions for low-income people.

Key takeaways

? In Egypt, 52% of the population is below 25 years old and 86% of them still have no access to formal financial services ;

? The country accounts only 8-9 million mobile money accounts and cash remains king ;

? The Egyptian Fintech ‘history’ started roughly 10 years ago, with the inception of Fawry in 2007 ;

? In March 2010, the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) issued regulations on mobile payments and transfers and allowed banks to issue electronic money units ;


>> Access the report and the mapping by following this link


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