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<p>In the past, African economic growth has been mainly driven by public infrastructure investment and the expansion of services to a largely underserviced population. However, FinTech is increasingly receiving attention from both private and public sector, facilitating innovation in other sectors of the economy and allowing African nations to leapfrog more traditional infrastructure. Joining CNBC Africa for a look into Africa&#8217;s growth is NKC African Economics Chief Economist Cobus De Hart.</p>


The key drivers to Africa’s economic growth

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<p>We have witnessed the rise and fall of cryptocurrency since 2017, but could there be gold at the end of the rainbow. According to the CEO and co-Founder of Luno, Marcus Swanepoel there is potential for this market to grow and it may be achieved through the introduction of smaller fintech and tech companies entering the space via partnerships with existing cryptocurrency companies. He joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Why this crypto boss thinks bubble hasn’t burst

<p>Yen Nee Lee</p>
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/11/imf-world-bank-annual-meetings-regulators-at-bali-fintech-agenda-.html">Fintech won&#8217;t drain money away from banks, regulators say</a></p>
<ul>
<li>The rise of financial technology — more commonly known as fintech — won&#8217;t threaten the existence of banks, policymakers and regulators said at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings on Thursday.</li>
<li>It&#8217;s the responsibility of authorities to make sure that traditional banks are prepared for changes in their industry, they added.</li>
</ul>
<p>The rise of financial technology — more commonly known as fintech — won&#8217;t threaten the existence of banks and it&#8217;s the responsibility of authorities to make sure that traditional lenders are prepared for changes in their industry, policymakers and regulators said in a CNBC-moderated panel Thursday.</p>
<p>The comments were made in Bali, Indonesia where the<br />
International Monetary Fund<br />
 and the<br />
World Bank<br />
 are holding their annual meetings. The two organizations on Thursday jointly launched a paper, the<br />
Bali Fintech Agenda<br />
, to help policymakers around the world strike a balance between encouraging financial innovation and safeguarding the stability of the system.</p>
<p>CNBC&#8217;s Geoff Cutmore moderated a panel discussion in Bali to discuss the contents of the paper. He asked the panelists whether it&#8217;s a good idea to allow fintech firms to &#8220;cherry pick&#8221; profitable segments of the banking industry to operate in — therefore taking money away from a legacy system that&#8217;s built up over decades and has weathered financial crises.</p>
<p>That question, according to Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, is akin to asking &#8220;whether it&#8217;s a good idea to protect the banks from serving consumers better?&#8221;</p>
<p>Carney, who was one of the panelists at the event, said many small and medium-sized enterprises in the United Kingdom face high costs in tapping the formal banking system for funds. Therefore, reaching those businesses through fintech is &#8220;not taking liquidity away, that&#8217;s providing new liquidity&#8221; into the financial system, he said.</p>
<p>The key is to ensure that technological transformation in the financial industry can bring about the maximum benefit and at a minimum costs, which is a &#8220;classical problem&#8221; that many policymakers face, said Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia&#8217;s finance minister who was also a panelist.</p>
<p>The Indonesian government&#8217;s stance, she added, is that technology can not only help to improve existing ways of doing things but also to pressure the incumbents to improve their business models.</p>
<p>&#8220;For the existing business model, like banking, can they do innovation just as agile and innovative? It could be that some of them could come up with a totally different idea and that&#8217;s good,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>As the financial industry increases its technology adoption, the crop of regulators — too — need be refreshed, noted Lesetja Kganyago, governor of the South Africa Reserve Bank.</p>
<p>&#8220;Regulators are usually lawyers and accountants, but we need people who understand data science and technology,&#8221; he said during the panel discussion.</p>


Fintech won’t drain money away from banks, regulators say

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<p>Fintech start up Mines secured a 13 million-dollar Series A funding to invest in talent acquisition and expand in Africa, South America, and South-East Asia; Adia Sowho, Mines, Managing Director for Nigeria joins CNBC Africa to share more details on this development.</p>


Nigerian Fintech start-up secures $13mn Series A to expand across Africa

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<p><em>After spending 10 years working as a Private Equity investor in the United States at HarvourVest Partners and the Middle-East at the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), Issam Cheuh is convinced that </em>fintech<em> is the next big thing in financial services in Francophone Africa.</em></p>
<p><em>In 2014, 2015 and 2016, Forbes Magazine listed Chleuh as one of Africa’s 30 most promising young entrepreneurs. After his intervention at the 2018 MIT Africa Innovate Conference 2018 “Digitization for Inclusive Growth”, Chleuh shared with us in an interview the reason his team is so bullish on </em>fintech<em>.</em></p>
<p><strong>By Issam Chleuh</strong></p>
<p>Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a crucial role in Francophone Africa, accounting for around 50% of jobs created (source: <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2016/11/30/new-evidence-shows-way-forward-for-sme-growth-and-job-creation">World Bank</a>).</p>
<p>Francophone Africa is the youngest and fastest-growing sub-region in the world, with Mali and Senegal median age at 16 and 18, respectively. By 2030, there will be 375 million young people looking for jobs in Africa, exceeding the rest of the world combined. (source: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-28/africa-s-labor-force-newcomers-to-exceed-world-by-2035-imf-says">IMF</a>); Most of these job seekers will come from Francophone Africa.</p>
<p>A significant gap between the number of young people seeking work and the limited employment opportunities available to them means that they will face challenges finding formal employment and a pathway out of poverty. Boosting SME productivity and growth in the region could result automatically into more employment, higher earnings and a solution to the increasing concern about instability, population pressure, migration and chronic food insecurity in West Africa.</p>
<h4>Numerous challenges for SMEs in Francophone Africa</h4>
<p>Unfortunately, SMEs still face a number of challenges in Francophone Africa.  The biggest roadblock facing SMEs in the region is access to finance. Without capital, SMEs cannot grow. Without growth, SMEs cannot tackle unemployment properly.</p>
<p>The banking penetration rates in Francophone African countries are among the lowest in the world, particularly in the CFA franc monetary zone. According to the Bank of France, the proportion of adults that have a bank account with a formal institution is only 12.6%. This is considerably lower than the rest of Africa, where around 30% of adults have access to bank accounts (World Bank).</p>
<p>Francophone Africa is lagging behind Anglophone Africa. This is a fact. Francophone Africa accounts for only 19% of sub-Saharan Africa’s average GDP while Anglophone Africa (excluding <a href="https://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/category/countries/south-africa/">South Africa</a>) accounts for 47%. When we look at the World Bank’s <em>Doing Business</em> report, the English countries always rank more favorably than the French ones: it is easier to start a business or obtain payment from debtors, for instance.</p>
<p>Moreover, Francophone African countries are lagging behind in terms of basic banking infrastructure and points of access to banking services (low density of ATMs, not enough branches).  The banking system in the region is made up of constrained banks that focus primarily on deposits. This can be explained by the small size of national markets, a lack of financial literacy, low-income levels, political instability and weak judicial systems.</p>
<h4>Riskier and costlier to do business in the region</h4>
<p>Since the business environment is less healthy, it becomes riskier and costlier to engage in business transactions in the region. This in turns will raise the cost of borrowing and less SMEs would be able to access financing. A cost of borrowing could impact considerably SMEs bottom lines and impair their growth. It is a vicious circle. We need to crack access to financing at the Missing Middle level.</p>
<p>Globally, the FinTech market is projected to grow at 25% from $3,300 billion to 5,082 billion in 2019 (Fintrek, 2017). This boom in fintech emerged from a significant gap globally in the traditional banking and financial services infrastructure.</p>
<p>Africa has shown numerous times it can leapfrog its way out of lack of infrastructure and pioneer disruptive innovations. One of the major challenges facing the entrepreneurs and SMEs in francophone Africa is lack of capital. Bank credit accounts for only 10% of total MSME financing in francophone Africa, with most of the financing coming from informal sources.</p>
<p>When we look at this low rate of financial inclusion in the region fintech emerges as the obvious solutions to this challenge. Prior to the infiltration, diffusion, and widespread adoption of ICT and mobile phone technology in Africa, the success of fintech was inconceivable due to the continent’s lack of communication infrastructure.</p>
<h4>Africa jumped various steps in the development curve</h4>
<p>The penetration of ICT, technology and mobile phones on the continent offered Africa’s countries opportunities to jump various steps in the development curve. Africa is already circumventing traditional means with technologies such as wireless and mobile technologies that require lower physical infrastructure and investments.</p>
<p>In the absence of landline-based infrastructure, Africa has leapfrogged what was considered the traditional standard evolutionary adoption path of telecommunication technology: the mobile phone. In the absence of enough bank branches and ATMs, Africa has leapfrogged traditional banking to pioneering mobile banking globally.</p>
<p>Additional infrastructure gaps in the Banking sector still persists and hinders the growth of the industry. These infrastructure gaps include the lack of credit history, weak legal system and low financial literacy, among others. Mobile money has been able to address the lack of banking branches and ATMs. Fintech solutions are cracking solutions to the other issues facing, including lack of collateral.</p>
<p>But much of the growth is being driven not by banks but by fintech firms. Old-fashioned “factoring” to turn invoices into cash was time-consuming, laden with paperwork and an expensive form of credit—the resort to which was sometimes seen as a sign of financial stress.</p>
<p>Fintech firms offer new technologies that make early payments possible at the click of a button. They can quickly set suppliers up on their platform. Banks’ early-payment programmes have also typically been reserved for the largest suppliers. But fintechs have made supply-chain finance available to the tiddlers, too.  The market was also ripe for innovation in other ways. Globalisation has made supply chains longer and more complex.</p>
<p><strong>Issam Chleuh</strong><strong> is the 31-year-old Malian cofounder and Managing Director of the Suguba, a West Africa-focused platform providing access to capacity building and access to financial services for entrepreneurs, start-ups and SMEs led by youth and women.</strong></p>


Op-Ed: Why Fintech is vital for SMEs in Francophone Africa

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<p>South African FinTech player Capital Appreciation plans to grow through acquisitions &#8211; it revealed in its full year results. It is looking for opportunities for the expansion and technology transfer of its business models into new markets.</p>


CAPPREC on prowl for FinTech acquisitions

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<p>Any time people talk about fintech in Africa, a whole lot is said about East Africa, but a lot is happening in Nigeria. That&#8217;s according to Uche Osuji,GM Network Performance, MTN Nigeria. CNBC Africa&#8217;s Esther Awoniyi caught up with him on the side-lines of the Diamond Bank press event about their technology festival in May for a discussion about MTN&#8217;s involvement with Techfest.st.</p>


MTN’s role at Diamond Bank’s Tech Fest explained

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<p>Initially focused on building a differentiated processing platform to enable banks and distributors to create more flexible products, NEC Payments has transitioned into a well-rounded company, certified third party processor and leader in the Fintech</p>


NEC Payments CEO explains strategy shift

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<p>Financial institutions across Africa are slowly emerging as powerhouses within fintech, an industry projected to grow to $3 billion by 2020. Dr. Edward George, Head of Research at Ecobank, joins CNBC Africa to for more.</p>


African fintech market to grow to $3bn by 2020

<p><strong>Statement by The South African Reserve Bank</strong></p>
<p>The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has a responsibility to promote a sound and effectively regulated financial system. The SARB therefore takes a balanced approach to technological innovations, considering the potential benefits and risks of each innovation. It is against this background that the SARB recently established the Financial Technology (FinTech) Programme to strategically assess the emergence of FinTech in a structured and organised manner, and to consider its regulatory implications.</p>
<p>The main goal of the programme is to track and analyse FinTech developments and to assist policymakers in formulating frameworks in response to these emerging innovations.</p>
<p>The FinTech Programme will focus on three primary objectives:</p>
<ul>
<li>The first objective is to review the SARB’s position on private cryptocurrencies to inform an appropriate policy framework and regulatory regime. This review will address regulatory issues such as clearing and settlement risks, exchange control impacts, monetary policy and financial stability, and other matters such as cybersecurity considerations. Through collaboration with the other regulatory bodies, matters such as tax implications, consumer and investor protection, and money laundering activities will also be addressed. The SARB expects to complete the review in the second half of 2018.</li>
<li>The second objective is to investigate and decide on the applicability of innovation facilitators for the SARB. ‘Innovation facilitators’ is a collective term for innovation hubs, regulatory sandboxes and accelerators. The SARB hopes to have concluded its assessment of the appropriateness of innovation facilitators by the third quarter of 2018. Clear and transparent eligibility and participation criteria will be developed to assist in the consideration of applicants into a regulatory sandbox.</li>
<li>The third objective is to launch Project Khokha which will experiment with distributed ledger technologies (DLTs). The aim of this project is to gain a practical understanding of DLTs through the development of a proof of concept (POC) in collaboration with the banking industry. The objective of the POC is to replicate interbank clearing and settlement on a DLT which will allow the SARB and industry to jointly assess the potential benefits and risks of DLTs. The POC involves the processing of wholesale payments using Quorum, an Ethereum enterprise DLT. The SARB is aware of multiple DLTs being experimented with globally.</li>
</ul>
<p>ConsenSys (a world-leading expert on Quorum) is the technology partner that will assist the SARB in the design, setup of infrastructure and running of the POC. This does not imply a radical move to DLT for the country’s national payments infrastructure, but rather a structured approach to understand the implication of using a tokenised asset on DLT technology to transfer value. A public report will be released to explain all the findings, risks and benefits of the associated project during the second quarter of 2018.</p>
<p>These initiatives aim to assist in the formulation of appropriate policy frameworks for the possible regulation of FinTech.</p>
<p><strong><u>Editors’ notes</u></strong></p>
<p>The SARB describes FinTech as technologies applied to financial services with the potential to disrupt current business models, applications, processes or products. In order to evaluate the regulatory implications of these innovations, a framework is used to assess the impact of these developments in terms of the underlying economic function or activity performed (e.g. deposit taking, payments, lending and investments) as opposed to the specific entity or technology being used.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


South African Reserve Bank plans to regulate cryptocurrencies, possibly FinTech

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<p>The South African Reserve Bank recently established the Financial Technology Programme and one of the main objectives is to look into its position on cryptocurrencies to develop an appropriate policy framework and regulatory regime.</p>


SARB joins global choir looking to regulate cryptocurrencies

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<p>How can Nigeria&#8217;s traditional banking industry beat the Fintech threat? Robert Aderinmola, Consumer insight and analytics, Diamond Bank joins CNBC Africa to discuss this.</p>


How Nigeria’s banks can beat the fintech threat

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<p>Fintech experts in Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania earn the highest salaries in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a recent report by Digital Frontiers Institute.</p>


Revealed:The countries that pay the highest salaries for Fintech experts in Africa

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<p>As the evolving technology ecosystem continues to disrupt traditional business operations what is the impact of technology on retail banking? And how is it adjusting to this shift particularly with the rise in financial technology or Fintech?</p>


Is digital disruption a threat or an opportunity for Nigeria’s banks?

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<p><strong>By Mary-Jean Nleya </strong></p>
<p>The financial services industry in Africa is ever expanding with fintech startups finding particularly innovative ways to service the 80% unbanked adults in Africa. <a href="http://disrupt-africa.com/about/">Disrupt Africa</a>, a portal with information relating to Africa’s startup scene, released a <a href="http://disrupt-africa.com/finnovating-for-africa/">report</a> which found that of the <a href="http://disrupt-africa.com/finnovating-for-africa/">301 fintech startups</a>, 125 of the startups place their efforts on <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2017/06/15/payment-startups-lead-way-in-africas-booming-fintech-scene/#5268d9cd24d1">easing the process</a> of sending and receiving money.</p>
<p>Mobile money technology has gained significant traction on the continent, especially among those who lack basic financial services from traditional financial providers.  While many think of Kenya’s M-Pesa when mobile payment technology is mentioned; there is another mobile money technology startup that is making a name in the financial inclusion space since its founding in 2009, it is known as Zoona. Founded by two brothers from Kitwe, a city in Zambia. Zoona currently operates in <a href="https://ilovezoona.com/about-us/">three markets</a>: Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique and is looking to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzsLV_cvCm8">expand</a> into the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p>
<h4>Relationship building</h4>
<p>In Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital the trademark bright lime green boxes are found in almost every busy street, with more than one in many others. The Managing Director of Zoona Malawi, Ms. Killy Kanjo explained that Zoona’s main vision “is to make communities thrive”. As the first Managing Director for Zoona Malawi, she explained that her role in the company was and currently is to build relationships with the relevant stakeholders in Malawi and most importantly to “make people understand that what Zoona does is both economic and social”.</p>
<p>Kanjo also worked directly with Malawi’s regulators at the early inception of Zoona’s operations in Malawi. “The regulators provided us with guidelines and also gave us the necessary latitude we needed to grow”. When asked about the <a href="https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21720624-startup-takes-banks-and-mobile-operators-different-approach-mobile">US$15 million</a> that Zoona raised from investors in 2016, Kanjo explained that “Zoona has a deliberate strategy of creating more jobs for the youth as well as empower women and that is what it will continue to do”.</p>
<p>Lucy Zuze, a 20 year old young woman working as a Zoona teller, operating at one of Zoona’s many outlets in the city of Lilongwe said she had started working for Zoona in January 2017, prior to this she had been unemployed and had found it difficult to secure a job. Zuze explained, “I am able to do what I want because I have my own finances that I get from being a teller at this outlet”. She went on to say, “I hope to one day rise to become a Zoona agent and employ tellers like myself in the future”.</p>
<h4>Partnering with youth and women</h4>
<p>“Many youth have nowhere to go, Zoona wants to partner with the youth and women and see how we can work together”, Kanjo said. Since 2009, when Zoona was founded, over <a href="https://ilovezoona.com/about-us/">US$2 billion</a> in transactions have been processed by Zoona – in response to this fact Kanjo said, “this figure is humbling”. Given that Zoona’s target market is the unbanked and underserved communities in its countries of operation, “there is clearly a lot of money out there that people are not aware of – underserved communities simply need a platform that cater to their needs that they can transact their monies through and I think Zoona is moving Africa in that right direction,” Kanjo said.</p>
<p>Zoona’s <a href="https://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Skoll_Centre/Docs/Zoona-Case-A.pdf">business model</a> and its mode of operations is centred on its small business agents, its franchisees, who in turn (may employ tellers or may themselves) process transactions for the customers at the Zoona lime green booths. The network of agents are strategically dispersed and they themselves earn a commission on the number of transactions made and Zoona in turn charges a fee to each sender making use of its system.</p>
<p>In Lilongwe, particularly, Zoona outlets are near large supermarkets, at transport hubs, near schools and so on. The top-performing agents are at liberty to have more than one outlet as well as pick a location for the outlet to be situated; whereas the newer agents are guided as to where to place their initial Zoona outlet. “Giving the power to the Zoona agents makes the business grow better, they are on the ground and they best understand their customers and what their customers need”, Kanjo said. “We offer the initial training and the ongoing guidance to our agents, but we do not restrict them”. There are 500 agents in Zoona Malawi’s operations and these 500 agents have created over 750 jobs, as Zoona tellers.</p>
<h4>Malawi is a cash-driven society</h4>
<p>Malawi, similar to Zambia (where Zoona began operations), is a cash-driven society. “Zoona’s biggest competitive advantage is liquidity. We aim to ensure that no customer bounces from the green box because there was no money”, Kanjo said. Having large heaps of cash, while it may be a competitive advantage may pose a security challenge for Zoona outlets. “Zoona agents and tellers are mindful of security issues and they know how to balance having physical cash and electronic money”, Kanjo elucidated.</p>
<p>While Africa is home to numerous fintech startups, “It is important to offer a service that people need”, Kanjo said. “Our commodity is money; we don’t sell SIM cards, data bundles or anything else. We move money and move money quickly – that is what people here needed and Zoona resonated with a lot of people here in Malawi”. Access to relevant and affordable financial services and products enables society to move towards financial inclusion and this is especially imperative for Africa.</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>


Op-Ed: Making money while doing good in Malawi

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<p>A new fintech start-up co-founded by former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan is blazing a trail in the fintech.Michael Jordaan, co-founder of NMRQL joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Active fund managers: Shape up or ship out – Disruptor Michael Jordaan

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<p>NMRQL Research recently launched a unit trust fund that uses machine learning to drive research, analysis and stock selection. NMRQL SCI Balanced Fund, is administered by the Sanlam Collective Investments platform.</p>


Fintech

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Fintech won’t drain money away from banks, regulators say

Nigerian Fintech start-up secures $13mn Series A to expand across Africa

Op-Ed: Why Fintech is vital for SMEs in Francophone Africa

CAPPREC on prowl for FinTech acquisitions

MTN’s role at Diamond Bank’s Tech Fest explained

NEC Payments CEO explains strategy shift

African fintech market to grow to $3bn by 2020

South African Reserve Bank plans to regulate cryptocurrencies, possibly FinTech

SARB joins global choir looking to regulate cryptocurrencies

How Nigeria’s banks can beat the fintech threat

Revealed:The countries that pay the highest salaries for Fintech experts in Africa

Is digital disruption a threat or an opportunity for Nigeria’s banks?

Op-Ed: Making money while doing good in Malawi

Active fund managers: Shape up or ship out – Disruptor Michael Jordaan

Why serial entrepreneur Michael Jordaan is a crypto bull

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Why serial entrepreneur Michael Jordaan is a crypto bull

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