Championing digital innovation and interoperable IIPS in

Описание: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has transformed the financial infrastructure worldwide. For example, Africa and other Emerging Markets have utilised ICT-based financial services to enable the delivery of innovative, inclusive, affordable and instant financial products to the poor and vulnerable groups. Digital financial services have helped to bridge gaps in physical banking infrastructure. For traditional financial services and the nascent financial technology i.e. FinTechs, the digital infrastructure has enabled the establishment of closer relationships with customers and the creation of tailored offerings. Customers have benefited from more personalised, secure and affordable financial services. In addition, governments are developing universal financial systems that are vital to sustainable and inclusive growth.

HiPipo is a long-established champion of digital innovation and financial inclusion activities. For example, we delivered a successful Season Two of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative, a premier financial inclusion event. The 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative offers participants useful tools, such as Mojaloop, and guidance from Level One Project foundational material. The skills gained at the event cover Level One Project Principles, Instant and Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), inclusive finance and FinTech in general. Season Two of 40 Days 40 FinTechs covered topics such as Robo-advisor, Payments, RegTech, InsurTech, lending, crowd funding, neo-banking, cryptography, cryptocurrency, Interledger, Blockchain, cross-border payments, remittances, retirement schemes and new ways of operating bonds. Furthermore, the event discussed interoperability, big data, artificial intelligence, deep and thin learning, automated Customer Relationship Management, technology for cash management, lending platforms (formal banking or peer-to-peer), super apps, financial literacy, distributed ledger technology, payment aggregation, amongst others. All are contributing to the goal of a globe that’s fully financially inclusive.

From the start, promoting and advocating for digital innovation was at the center of all our actualisations. We cannot forget the more than 2 million email-to-SMS communications that we enabled through www.HiPipo.com. And this was to over 89 destinations worldwide. This worked especially for those that could not afford a direct SMS every day, like students, labourers and informal traders. By 2009, these innovations had already made so many get attached to the inclusion story we are so proud of today.

We have developed a sustainability lifecycle that we use to assess FinTech solutions. We continue to remind innovators to ensure that their systems will work when and as expected and also guard their user data against accidental and deliberate modification, interruption and leaks.

Importantly, DFSPs, and FinTechs in particular, urgently need interoperability and open-source frameworks, like Mojaloop. Of course, guiding frameworks such as the Level One Project Principles are valuable for solutions that seek to create a sustainable financial inclusion impact. Bettering the lives and livelihoods of the underserved groups, especially women, is a clear roadmap to financial inclusion and independence.
We are working with partners to assist in the development of affordable national and/or regional payment hubs given their value in lowering online real-time transactions. Therefore, stakeholders such as DFSPs, donors, banks, non-banks, FinTechs and regulators should play an active role. We have already seen this implemented successfully in a few economies, and we must not remain behind.

We are grateful for the generous support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Special thanks go to Miller Abel (Deputy Director, Principal Technologist) and Kosta Peric (Deputy Director, Financial Services for the Poor); their insight, mentorship and ever enthusiastic support are invaluable resources we know we can always call on. I am thus delighted to present to you over 40 prime African innovations that are transforming millions of lives using financial technology.

Read more: https://www.digital-impact-awards.com...

Innocent Kawooya,
CEO, HiPipo