What is fintech?

Financial technology, still referred to as fintech, is a new form of financial industry that deploys technology to improve financial operations. The term fintech is thus used to designate a company that operates in this field or sector of activity.

FinTechs are generally start-ups which have a good command of information and communication technologies, which try to find a place and try to capture the market shares of large incumbent companies which can sometimes be not very innovative or in delay in the adoption of new technologies.

In which sectors of activity is fintech involved, and its introduction in Africa?

Financial technology has been used to automate insurance, trading and risk management activities. Services may be the result of a collaboration between various independent service providers, at least one of which must be a bank or an authorized insurer. This interconnection was made possible thanks to the emergence of open applications and the openness of the banking system, and it relies on payment services, on capital markets, innovative electronic trading platforms facilitating transactions in line in real time.

What services does it offer?

The types of services commonly found in fintech are among others:

  • Crowdfunding and online jackpots
  • Crypto-currencies
  • Mobile payment
  • Online banking

In this movement of globalization and popularization of fintech, African countries have opened up to the deal in order to make life easier for their compatriots. According to the Global Fintech Index City Ranking 2020, Africa today boasts some of the most dynamic fintech hubs in the world.

Mobile payments, digital credits and cryptocurrency instead of plastic cards and bank branches. This is the choice made by some African countries.

For the past ten years or so, digital finance has gained a good and important place on the continent. With just a few clicks on their phones, urban, rural, rich and modest can pay their bills and make financial transactions, whether or not they have a bank account. Proof of this enthusiasm, in 2018, sub-Saharan Africa was responsible for 45.6% of mobile money movements in the world, for transactions estimated at more than 300 billion dollars.

Thanks to new technologies, some African cities are now competing with the financial centers of advanced countries.

In Africa, the emergence of fintech is shaking up habits. An innovative way to bypass the excessive costs of the famous Cash to Goods and through the use of a mobile phone and an up-to-date ID.

10 promising fintechs in Africa

Several fintechs have stood out in recent years, such as:

1. SOKOWATCH
Launched in 2013, SOKOWATCH increases the availability of everyday consumer goods by allowing small shops to place orders with various multinational suppliers at any time via SMS. Orders are then processed through SOKOWATCH’s system to notify nearby delivery agents, who then deliver orders placed within 24 hours.

2. SKY GARDEN
SKY GARDEN is a Saas (Software as a Service) platform for mobile commerce that is specially designed for African businesses in the early days of online transaction adoption, providing an easy to access marketplace, enabling informal traders , SMEs and established companies to sell their products.

3. INTEL WORLD
Intel World in Uganda has developed a mobile commerce platform called Xente, which allows customers around the world to purchase products from Ugandan merchants, with options for instant, deferred, or installment payments with cards or cards. mobile money.

4. SUN EXCHANGE
SUN EXCHANGE enables users to finance solar projects in Africa using Bitcoin, increasing transparency and reducing the cost of cross-border transactions.

5. TUPUCA
TUPUCA is an Angolan company that has developed a food delivery platform in Angola, allowing users to order from multiple restaurants directly from their smartphones.

The company currently has 120 restaurants registered with the platform.

6. RELEAF
RELEAF powers agricultural product sales with its digital trading marketplace. The concept behind Releaf revolves around building trust between different stakeholders in the agribusiness, allowing registered sellers to bid on verified buyer contracts.

7. CELLUANT
Started as a ringtone business that helped musicians earn a share of the money that music lovers pay to access their favorite songs, today it is focused on payments. It offers two solutions to facilitate payments and a smart platform for blockchain-based contracts, payments and marketplace. Their solutions are particularly useful for unbanked farmers in rural Africa.

8. JUMO
Jumo aims to provide financial services to Africans excluded from access to finance or underserved / underserved by traditional banking institutions.

It is a B2B company that has built a scalable and automated platform based on a micro-services architecture. They are using predictive technology to build a behavioral database, whether for mobile network operators or financial service providers, among others.

9. PAGA
PAGA allows its users to combine the resources of all their accounts and bank cards in one place: the Paga wallet. Fintech thus enables its users to send and receive money digitally.

10. OneFi
Through its Carbon app, OneFi enables its users to take advantage of quick small loans and other financial services, such as bill settling, payments, instant loans, and credit reports. The app targets unbanked or underserved Nigerian individuals, including helping them cover urgent cash needs or unforeseen expenses.

About The Author

CEO AfrikaTech

Comme beaucoup de personnes j’ai connu l’Afrique à travers des stéréotypes : l’Afrique est pauvre, il y a la guerre, famine… Je suis devenu entrepreneur pour briser ces clichés et participer à la construction du continent. J’ai lancé plusieurs entreprises dont Kareea (Formation et développement web), Tutorys (Plate-forme de e-learning), AfrikanFunding (Plate-forme de crowdfunding). Après un échec sur ma startup Tutorys, à cause d’une mauvaise exécution Business, un manque de réseau, pas de mentor, je suis parti 6 mois en immersion dans l’écosystème Tech au Sénégal. J’ai rencontré de nombreux entrepreneurs passionnés, talentueux et déterminés. A mon retour sur Paris je décide de raconter leur histoire en créant le média AfrikaTech. L'objectif est de soutenir les entrepreneurs qui se battent quotidiennement en Afrique en leur offrant la visibilité, les connaissances, le réseautage et les capitaux nécessaires pour réussir. L'Afrique de demain se construit aujourd'hui ensemble. Rejoignez-nous ! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/boubacardiallo

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