Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisations (SACCOs) and Microfinance Institutions are at the heart of last-mile financial institutions as these serve the unserved and underserved. However, many of these continue to depend on paper and cash-based systems that are prone to misuse, time-wasting, and thus inconvenience all the parties involved.
But technology is addressing most of these issues with innovators developing solutions that enable such institutions to transition from traditional to digital systems. Among the platforms that are leading the digitization of SACCOs and microfinance institutions is Zimba Technologies.
Zimba Technologies is a platform that builds core banking solutions and systems for financial institutions with a primary focus on SACCOs and microfinance institutions.
“I can’t explain the origins of Zimba without telling my personal story. I come from Eastern Uganda, just outside Mbale. When I was young, my family had so many struggles. I lost both my parents by the age of seven and my uncle was responsible for providing for my siblings and myself. He was unable to access capital to expand our family farm. Fortunately, things worked out and we were adopted by American missionaries, and that is how I ended up in the USA,” explained Isaac Were, Zimba Technologies Founder and CEO, adding;
“But I never forgot those experiences as a child. So, when I came back to visit for the first time, after twelve years, I hoped to start a business but the same problem – limited access to capital – was still persistent. So, when I decided that I wanted to come back to settle in Uganda, I said I would start a business to address the problem of capital and access to finance. I knew that Saccos and microfinances play an important role for the people at the bottom of the pyramid as they enable them access to capital. But I believe that they can do better with the help of technology. That is how Zimba technologies came about.”
Mr. Were highlighted that before launching Zimba Technologies, they did comprehensive research and found the gaps in the market and thus started to design solutions to address those specific problems.
“We have developed an end-to-end solution that allows institutions to handle all their operations from managing clients and their data, loans, deposits and to keeping track of all their books. We have also developed a mobile APP specifically for the end-users. The APP allows them to have access to their financial information, view their statements, and apply for loans. We also have a blockchain-based wallet that handles all the cashless transactions. It allows both mobile money and bank transactions,” he said.
“We started building the product in 2021 and officially launched in November 2023. We currently have seventeen institutions that are using the platform. These serve over 80,000 end-users.”
Zimba Technologies has featured on Day 16 of 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Season 5.
Run under HiPipo’s Include Everyone program that also encompasses other initiatives such as FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit & Incubator, and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit and Digital Impact Awards Africa; the #40Days40FinTechs platform aptly provides a setting for the various players and stakeholders involved in digital and financial technology to exhibit their products and services. It also gives players a platform to share their ideas on how the unserved and underserved by the present financial systems can be brought into the fold.
With over 150 participants in the last four years, #40Days40FinTechs continues to be the world’s premier showcase event for innovations that are enabling underserved populations to join the digital economy space. We know that this can only get better owing to the inspiration and collaboration of our partners; Level One Project, Mojaloop Foundation, INFITX, Cyberplc Academy, Ideation Corner, and Crosslake Technologies. Most importantly, the initiative owes its continued success to the generous support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.