A critical theme in terms of the development agenda in Africa is financial inclusion, meaning increasing the proportion of poorer people (including those who live in rural areas) who have access to financial services, for example basic savings products, credit and insurance. Persons without access to such services are said to be financially excluded. We identify four key themes driving financial inclusion in Africa: (i) technological change, (ii) adoption of best practice, (iii) the broadening of wholesale funding markets available to the lending institutions on the ground, and (iv) finally, financial inclusion has become a mainstream segment for a broad […]
Perhaps no other continent has witnessed the same excitement in terms of opportunities for renewable power, especially solar as Africa. In East Africa, innovators have used the technology to bring power to off grid locations. South Africa has been better known for utility scale renewable projects and several bid rounds dating back to 1988. However, South Africa has a growing grid-tie market for renewable energy and is making a significant impact on climate change abatement. This is where “on-grid” customers invest in solar technology to supplement grid power, e.g. roof top solar at shopping malls. GreenFin Financial Services, a Cape […]
Access to education by students is a global challenge with a large number of students failing to settle their massive student loan debts after graduating. This has been a consistent problem of the US system. Climb Credit, a US based fintech startup provides small student loans to the American students for short programmes normally less than a year. It originates loans at an average size of USD 10 000. The programmes range from coding to web design, from underwater welding to programming robots for carmakers. Some students have scant formal education; others advanced degrees. The number of loan applications is […]
MyBucks founded in 2011, is a Luxembourg-based fintech company primarily engaged in the consumer lending sector. Through its brands GetBucks, GetBanked and GetSure the company offers unsecured consumer loans, banking solutions as well as insurance products to customers. The company has experienced an exponential growth since its inception and has completed major milestones to date including the listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange with an initial public offering that raised EUR 15.5 M (approx. USD 16.5 M) in 2016. The proceeds assisted the company to complete its Pan-African expansion strategy through the acquisition from Opportunity International (a US-based NGO) of […]
