With a population of close to 1.5 billion people, Africa is a continent of endless opportunities. However, due to poor infrastructure, high illiteracy rates and low technology adoption among others, most of these opportunities remain untapped.
For instance, the majority of Africans are financially excluded because of the absence of equitable financial products and services. Further, over 500 million Africans are either unbanked or underbanked not because they don’t wish to be banked; but because they either don’t have access to banking services or the banking propositions available are unaffordable, unreachable and somewhat don’t serve their core needs.
Nonetheless, innovators are using technology to try and fix these issues. Thanks to mobile money, millions of Africans have in the past decade joined the financial inclusion ranks as they are now able to not only send and receive money but also pay bills, save and get loans.
And now, more players continue to ride on this financial technology revolution to reach both the under and unserved sectors. A good example is Tanzanian-based FinTech, A-Trader which is using technology to democratize Investment Opportunities for Africans.
A-Trader is an AI-powered platform that is digitizing African Capital Markets, by enabling users to access trading and investment options using internet-enabled mobile devices. The platform allows middle-income earners to buy and sell shares in the Dar Es Salaam and other African Stock Exchanges through on digitized platform.
“At A-Trader, we are digitizing investment opportunities for middle-income earners. Across Africa right now, there are about 500 million financially underserved people. This means that they don’t have access to essential financial services. As a result of this, it means that they can’t make their lives better. In Tanzania, we have a large population of people using mobile money services but also a large population of unbanked people. As a result of being unbanked, they can’t access several services including being able to invest on the stock exchange,” Andrew Tesha, the Founder and CEO of A-Trader said.
He added: “So we are looking at this large population of people a lot of whom have some money they want to save and invest. Our service doesn’t discriminate. Whether you have a bank account or not, we shall be able to help you. As A-Trader, we are part of an infrastructure that is regulated. We are in partnership with a broker who is registered and regulated by the Capital Markets Authority. When you sign up, we take you through a KYC process after which you can trade. We have started with allowing people to invest through the Dar es Salaam stock exchange digitally and then eventually going to the rest of Africa.”
Tesha highlighted poor awareness, low technology adoption and limited skilled resources and regulation as the key challenges the industry is facing. He nonetheless noted that the Tanzania Technology industry, though young, has a lot of potential which if well utilized will transform the country.
We interacted with A-Trader on Day 33 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for Tanzania. First implemented in Uganda, 40 Days 40 FinTechs is an annual FinTech Innovation initiative presented by HiPipo to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations who are making significant strides in promoting financial inclusivity through the use of technology.
It is aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration among FinTechs in Africa. The initiative is designed to provide FinTechs and startups with mentorship, training, exposure, and networking opportunities to help them grow and scale their businesses.
“One of the biggest complaints we have had in Tanzania is that we don’t hear enough about success stories. We don’t hear about what is happening on the ground. There was a time when a lot of investors were asking about what was happening in our market because there was no information out there. The 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative is one of the avenues that tells our stories and lets the world know what is happening in the innovation space. This initiative is helping us tell our fellow Tanzanians, Africans and the rest of the world what we are doing. We are doing very special things in the financial technology things and this platform is showcasing them,” Andrew Tesha explained.
40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Tanzania is part of HiPipo’s broader Include EveryOne Program that is generously supported by the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with Level One Project, ICTC Tanzania, Ideation Corner, Cyber PLC Academy, INFITX, Crosslake Technologies, NG Films, Founders Academy and Mojaloop Foundation.
The Include EveryOne program is a beacon of acceleration of FinTech Innovation, empowerment for Women in FinTech and a catalyst for investment and development in the ICT sector. Minus 40 Days 40 FinTechs, other initiatives under the Include EveryOne Program are the FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit and Incubator, Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit.
HiPipo is recognized as a premier advocate of digital Innovation and financial inclusion champion, a fervent proponent of the #LevelOneProject. HiPipo has been at the forefront, actively promoting digital innovation, Instant, Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), and DFS across Africa. With a legacy of advising, mobilizing, and facilitating the adoption of inclusive financial services, HiPipo’s efforts have been nothing short of transformative! For almost two decades, HiPipo has successfully facilitated the inclusive adoption of these crucial services.
