Since time immemorial, many people have been investing in tangible assets mainly, land, houses, automotives, and animals. But with technology, investment options have expanded with Treasury Bills, Bonds, Equity and Shares among others added to a list of areas of investment.
Among the companies that are providing technology supported investment in Uganda is XENO.
“We are a licensed Fund Manager that is helping over 120,000 individuals, groups and institutions to plan, save and invest for future expenses. We are using technology to help anyone who has a future goal to start saving from as low as UGX 10,000. We have a mobile APP, available on web and available on the MTN MoMo USSD,” said Arthur Nakkaka, a Product Manager XENO Uganda.
He added: “We are at the intersection of Fund Management and Technology. As a Fund Manager, we are a run four regulated funds. Bond Fund, Money Market Fund and Two Equity Funds. On the other side, we are a technology company that is using technology to offer a service that was once only available to a niche audience. We are distributing this service at scale to anyone who is able to save.”
He noted that XENO supports its customers to come up with a saving plan, design a portfolio and execute it, with continuous tracking through a mobile APP and guidance.
“For any saver, we need to understand why they are saving. There are very many modes of investment but the one we believe is the most effective is the goal-based investment. We always ask our clients what goal they want to achieve, we then ask them, the period they want to achieve this. After aligning on this, a customer goes on the XENO APP or the MTN MoMo USSD and get started. We also need to understand your attitude towards risk as this will determine where we will invest your money. So, what you save per day or month plus the returns you get from the investment is what will enable you achieve your goal,” he said.
He highlighted that they welcome customers as individuals, partners, and groups which can be formal or informal groups. The other customers they serve are institutional customers. He revealed that the most popular goals on the XENO platform are building wealth, education, building a home, retirement and income drawdown.
In Uganda, XENO Investment Management Limited is licensed and regulated as a Fund Manager by Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority and by the Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority.
XENO has featured on Day 37 of the annual 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.