Ten Southern African startups have received awards for their solutions to bridge the gap in financial access for underserved communities as part of a challenge supported by the World Bank.
The Fintech Challenge was part of the ecosystem development initiatives under the Southern Africa Innovation Bridge Portal supported by the World Bank to crowd-source new and impactful ways to utilize fintech innovations.
The initiative aims to provide low-cost and appropriate savings and de-risking products for the low- and middle-income market and lending solutions for SMEs.
“The region’s most innovative and impactful fintech companies unveiled their solutions to enable greater financial access to the poor, after an eight-week investment readiness program which included masterclasses and mentoring,” said Marie Francoise Marie-Nellie, World Bank Country Director for Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. “Of the 15 participating startups, 10 were awarded financing. These businesses are investment ready and now eager to engage further with interested investors.”
In all, 10 Southern African startups were each awarded US$5,000 to get their businesses investment-ready at a recent awards event.
South Africa was home to six of the winning startups, namely;
Abela, a mobile payments company building an ecosystem enabling people to digitally send, receive, use, and save money, creating access to the most basic financial services. Our platform is cost-effective and easy to use, providing our customers with the financial autonomy and security they deserve.
Bento Technologies, a company that does business designs and develops software solutions. The Company provides a financial services platform that helps small businesses to manage and control expenses.
Fintr is an organization that specializes in financial innovation, technology, events, and publication services.
Moya Money, A customized and easy-to-use interface that simplifies freelancer-related processes for operational efficiency – at scale & in one place.
Sum1 Investments, which provides short-term investments for Stokvels and Savings Groups. They invest in income-generating assets based predominantly in township and rural markets across South Africa through the Sum1 Stokvel Fund. They believe in the power of the collective to create wealth and improve our communities.
And Thumeza, a start-up that provides working capital financing for those who power the movement of goods across Africa.
Two of the start-ups are from Lesotho, which are:
Chaperone, a mobile money platform that encapsulates several payment services for individual users and businesses. A platform where businesses can integrate with the payment gateway for quick secure payments from their customers, for e-commerce, or use a merchant portal. Individuals can also use it for sending and receiving payments, paying bills, and merchant payments.
And Prime Capital, a platform where access to financial resources is put in the hands of those needing them the most.
There was also one from Botswana, Ipachi Capital, a financial services startup that incorporates cutting-edge technologies to inspire Africa’s small businesses
And one from Namibia FundRoof, a company with a multinational vision and technical expertise in the area of financing, strategic consulting, business planning, and marketing.