Mukuru Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

17Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Is cash dead? If your answer is yes you’re missing the point… and millions of customers

By Cat Denoon-Stevens, Head of Product Incubation at Mukuru Is cash truly dead? With the rapid rise of fintech innovations and digital payment solutions, one might think so. Yet, despite the digital revolution sweeping across African societies, cash remains very much alive—and for millions, it is still the preferred way to transact. With the massive influx of fintech companies constantly innovating to bring accessible products and services to the underserved and unbanked in African societies, one might be tempted to declare that cash is dead, or that if it isn’t dead yet, it is on its very last legs. However, fintechs that are well-embedded in Africa and other emerging markets will be well aware that cash is, in fact, alive and well. In many instances, it is the primary form of tender....

13Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech

Fintechs need to overcome regulatory barriers that limit access to financial services for underserved communities

Nikki Kettles, Executive: Licences and Payments Regulation at Mukuru Genuine financial inclusion is vital if we are to bring millions of unbanked and underserved communities in Africa into the mainstream economy. This doesn’t just benefit the communities, it has a knock-on effect for economies, regions and the continent. Financial services are tightly regulated and this presents a challenge for fintechs — how do you innovate while working effectively within differing regulatory frameworks on the continent? While these frameworks may differ substantially, there are common barriers fintechs need to overcome. Before we get there, it is important to start at the beginning. Not many people understand what financial inclusion actually means. There is a misconception that financial inclusion me...

Fintech’s transformative potential: Empower customers through self-education

9Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, Malawi News, South Africa News

Fintech’s transformative potential: Empower customers through self-education

The most powerful thing a fintech can do is enable its customers to educate themselves, says Mukuru CEO, Andy Jury. He says formalised financial education obviously plays a crucial role in a fintech’s business, but customers that trust and repeatedly use a new product or service, such as a digital store of money, go through a natural learning process and are then more comfortable being exposed to more sophisticated products. Mukuru, which is a next-generation financial services provider, started out as a remittance company and has evolved into a platform with a suite of different financial products and services. Jury says that by empowering its customers to teach themselves, Mukuru has enabled many thousands of unbanked and underserved people to access products and services from which th...

8Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech

Fintechs are aiding financial inclusion across sub-Saharan Africa

By Nikki Kettles, Executive of Licences and Payments Regulation at Mukuru As the Southern African Development Community sees growth in fintech operators, it will become easier and safer for people to send money back home, writes Nikki Kettles, Executive of Licences and Payments Regulation at Mukuru. With half of Africans migrating to other countries on the continent to work, and then having to send money home, fintech is playing a leading role in driving financial inclusion, while offering a safe solution at a reasonable cost; and dominating the provision of cross-border remittances. Many migrants living in South Africa trying to send money home have historically experienced several challenges, including unreasonable costs. Other aspects that impacted the historical experience were the ...

21Feb

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech

In the race to digital wallets, don’t forget cash

Success in the digital payment space will hinge on the ability of new players and incumbents to converge the physical and digital experience into a seamless continuum for the customer. Extending the digital solution to a cash-based customer requires a “phygital” approach, writes Juan Seco, Chief Growth Officer at Mukuru. Digital wallet use, especially in Africa, makes sense when so many people live in rural areas where there isn’t easy access to another way of accessing money, such as through ATMs. Bank of America predicts that by 2026, digital wallets will be used by more than 5.3-billion people, which is more than 50% of the world’s population. Other estimates suggest this number may even be as high as two-thirds of the world’s population, growth that is being driven by emerging market...

Tough economic headwinds provide exciting opportunities for agile, customer-centric fintechs

6Dec

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Tough economic headwinds provide exciting opportunities for agile, customer-centric fintechs

By Andy Jury, CEO at Mukuru At this time of the year there is usually a flurry of articles attempting to lay out trends to look out for in various industries over the coming months. This is a good exercise as it gets one thinking about industries broadly and technology specifically. However, it would be remiss to embark on this exercise without first taking stock of where we are now. The fintech ecosystem is currently in a period of stress, less so for incumbents but noticeably for newcomers. This stress is a direct result of macroeconomic pressures piling up to generate headwinds for new market entrants. As we all know, when the macro picture is less than rosy it affects play out on the ground. In summary, there is less money floating around – less money from investors and most notably,...

Bridging the gap: Using a multi-faceted approach to combatting financial inequality

3Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Bridging the gap: Using a multi-faceted approach to combatting financial inequality

By Andy Jury, CEO, Mukuru Formal financial and economic inclusion remain pivotal in addressing the rampant inequality in many African economies today. In 2022, as South Africa grappled with scheduled and unscheduled power outages, businesses were put under tremendous strain as revealed in the FinMark Trust 2022 report. With an estimated 50% of financial transactions in Africa occurring in an informal, over-the-counter, cash-to-cash, unregulated setting, there is significant potential to adopt digital solutions designed to bring about financial inclusion. But more than the technology, driving financial inclusion comes down to using a customer-centric approach to financial services. For any business, this is a logical thing to do. For fintechs, it shows an understanding of the importance a...

7Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech

Harnessing the power of data to drive financial and economic inclusion

By Sandy Rheeder, CIO at Mukuru The modern world has moved towards digitisation, yet a significant gap remains in terms of financial and economic inclusion, particularly in Africa. Despite this, there is a substantial opportunity to harness the power of data to bridge this gap and further the cause of economic and financial inclusion. The FinMark Trust 2022 report reveals that despite strides in digital financial services, many workers are still paid in cash, community merchants rarely accept digital payments, and access to banking or ATM facilities is often limited and costly. These factors are a stark reminder of the disconnect that remains between the formal economy and large sections of the population. This disconnect is amplified by several barriers to formalisation. For instance, ...