Meet the insurtech startup which wants to revolutionise SA’s insurance industry
YuLife, a UK-based insurtech startup, has launched its operations in South Africa. YuLife’s product offerings include a wellbeing app which harnesses the latest trends in behavioural science and game mechanics to encourage employees to make proactive lifestyle changes, while prioritising prevention by de-risking individuals through healthy activities. The YuLife app enables employees to complete everyday wellness activities such as walking, meditation, and cycling, in order to earn YuCoin, YuLife’s virtual wellbeing currency. Members can then use their YuCoin to buy vouchers for groceries, data, fuel, clothing and more from leading brands, or to improve the world through donating meals, planting trees, or cleaning the ocean. By incentivising healthy living, YuLife claims to provide employers with a way to simultaneously boost retention rates, improve employees’ standard of living, and safeguard their financial future. TechCabal caught up with the co-founders of YuLife, Josh Hart and Jaco Oosthuizen, to talk about the insurtech startup’s arrival in South Africa, their $120 million fundraising, how they plan to traverse the competitive SA insurance landscape, and much more. TechCabal: Please tell us more about YuLife and the problem you are trying to solve with your product offering. Jaco Oosthuizen: Before I joined YuLife, I worked for a South African insurance company for 20 years. I think one of the big issues with insurance is that it is not a product that people want to buy. You don’t wake up in the morning and say, “I would love to buy insurance” and I think that is one of the things that we want to change with YuLife because you really want people to love their insurance company. Our mission is to inspire life into life insurance because normally life insurance companies only really engage with the client when there’s something bad happening. We want to change that and actually make insurance a product that people engage with on a day-to-day basis. The other big thing we want to address is the issue of protection gap. There’s a lot of people that need life insurance, but they don’t have life insurance, because they don’t really understand it, and they don’t really engage their insurance company. South Africa has the second highest insurance penetration globally, making it a perfect market for YuLife to expand into and showcase its innovative approach to insurance. Josh Hart: So we are trying to solve all these issues through our app. We’ve been very successful in the UK. Over the last five years, we have sold insurance protection to large corporations together with our app. We have managed to reach over 650,000 lives in the UK. Our 2,000 employer groups include the likes of Tesco and Co Op, which are very large companies in the UK. Last year, we raised $120 million and on the back of that, we decided to also expand out to other countries. We launched in the US last quarter and now we are coming to South Africa. The YuLife app (Image source: Provided) TC: There is currently a significant amount of competition in the insurance space in South Africa. How does YuLife plan on setting itself apart? JO: I’d say SA has a lot of insurance companies and a lot of those companies offer a bit of a commoditized product. Some of the companies are really looking at how to make you engage with your health every day, to mitigate the risk of you needing to claim because then that’s a win-win, right? You don’t need to claim because you’re healthier. Everyone wins. The challenge with some of these apps is that they’re quite elitist and not for everyone. They’re basically for the wealthy. YuLife, on the other hand, is about changing the lives of everybody. Everybody gets rewarded. Everybody is unlocking their potential every day when it comes to their health either mentally, physically and financially. And I think that’s what makes us truly unique. JH: I think just to add there, the UK market is as competitive if not more than South Africa and we found that we landed extremely well there. Within a three-year period, we got over 1,000 employee groups buying into our proposition because there hadn’t been innovation in the Employee Benefits space in a long time and people were ready to embrace the innovation. We’ve been talking to a lot of brokers and clients in South Africa and people are extremely excited and interested in our proposition. TC: What challenges do you foresee in your operations in South Africa and how do you intend to traverse those unique challenges? JO: One of the challenges we’ve been asked about is mobile phone penetration in the country because people need a smartphone to use our app. Over the last few years, that has improved significantly and smartphone penetration is now above 90%, which is amazing, actually in this country. The other challenge is the cost of data in the country particularly in the lower and middle income groups. To address that, we have a currency called YuCoin. As customers earn more YuCoin, they will be able to buy data with that as well. So I think we will be helping everyone to engage with our app as well as giving them data to use the app. TC: YuLife raised $120 million in funding last year. To start with, do you believe that the fact that you guys were able to raise that much in a downturn is a stamp of approval on the viability of your model? Additionally, to what extent do you think the funding will help YuLife establish a presence in the South African insurance industry? JO: The venture capital market has definitely changed. I’ve personally seen quite a lot of good ideas and businesses that just can’t raise capital in this market. We were very, very fortunate to be able to raise what we did. I think we succeeded because YuLife is a great idea which addresses a global problem. The capital has been incredibly useful in our expansion to South
Read MoreMeet the insurtech startup which wants to revolutionise SA’s insurance industry
YuLife, a UK-based insurtech startup, has launched its operations in South Africa. YuLife’s product offerings include a wellbeing app which harnesses the latest trends in behavioural science and game mechanics to encourage employees to make proactive lifestyle changes, while prioritising prevention by de-risking individuals through healthy activities. The YuLife app enables employees to complete everyday wellness activities such as walking, meditation, and cycling, in order to earn YuCoin, YuLife’s virtual wellbeing currency. Members can then use their YuCoin to buy vouchers for groceries, data, fuel, clothing and more from leading brands, or to improve the world through donating meals, planting trees, or cleaning the ocean. By incentivising healthy living, YuLife claims to provide employers with a way to simultaneously boost retention rates, improve employees’ standard of living, and safeguard their financial future. TechCabal caught up with the co-founders of YuLife, Josh Hart and Jaco Oosthuizen, to talk about the insurtech startup’s arrival in South Africa, their $120 million fundraising, how they plan to traverse the competitive SA insurance landscape, and much more. TechCabal: Please tell us more about YuLife and the problem you are trying to solve with your product offering. Jaco Oosthuizen: Before I joined YuLife, I worked for a South African insurance company for 20 years. I think one of the big issues with insurance is that it is not a product that people want to buy. You don’t wake up in the morning and say, “I would love to buy insurance” and I think that is one of the things that we want to change with YuLife because you really want people to love their insurance company. Our mission is to inspire life into life insurance because normally life insurance companies only really engage with the client when there’s something bad happening. We want to change that and actually make insurance a product that people engage with on a day-to-day basis. The other big thing we want to address is the issue of protection gap. There’s a lot of people that need life insurance, but they don’t have life insurance, because they don’t really understand it, and they don’t really engage their insurance company. South Africa has the second highest insurance penetration globally, making it a perfect market for YuLife to expand into and showcase its innovative approach to insurance. Josh Hart: So we are trying to solve all these issues through our app. We’ve been very successful in the UK. Over the last five years, we have sold insurance protection to large corporations together with our app. We have managed to reach over 650,000 lives in the UK. Our 2,000 employer groups include the likes of Tesco and Co Op, which are very large companies in the UK. Last year, we raised $120 million and on the back of that, we decided to also expand out to other countries. We launched in the US last quarter and now we are coming to South Africa. The YuLife app (Image source: Provided) TC: There is currently a significant amount of competition in the insurance space in South Africa. How does YuLife plan on setting itself apart? JO: I’d say SA has a lot of insurance companies and a lot of those companies offer a bit of a commoditized product. Some of the companies are really looking at how to make you engage with your health every day, to mitigate the risk of you needing to claim because then that’s a win-win, right? You don’t need to claim because you’re healthier. Everyone wins. The challenge with some of these apps is that they’re quite elitist and not for everyone. They’re basically for the wealthy. YuLife, on the other hand, is about changing the lives of everybody. Everybody gets rewarded. Everybody is unlocking their potential every day when it comes to their health either mentally, physically and financially. And I think that’s what makes us truly unique. JH: I think just to add there, the UK market is as competitive if not more than South Africa and we found that we landed extremely well there. Within a three-year period, we got over 1,000 employee groups buying into our proposition because there hadn’t been innovation in the Employee Benefits space in a long time and people were ready to embrace the innovation. We’ve been talking to a lot of brokers and clients in South Africa and people are extremely excited and interested in our proposition. TC: What challenges do you foresee in your operations in South Africa and how do you intend to traverse those unique challenges? JO: One of the challenges we’ve been asked about is mobile phone penetration in the country because people need a smartphone to use our app. Over the last few years, that has improved significantly and smartphone penetration is now above 90%, which is amazing, actually in this country. The other challenge is the cost of data in the country particularly in the lower and middle income groups. To address that, we have a currency called YuCoin. As customers earn more YuCoin, they will be able to buy data with that as well. So I think we will be helping everyone to engage with our app as well as giving them data to use the app. TC: YuLife raised $120 million in funding last year. To start with, do you believe that the fact that you guys were able to raise that much in a downturn is a stamp of approval on the viability of your model? Additionally, to what extent do you think the funding will help YuLife establish a presence in the South African insurance industry? JO: The venture capital market has definitely changed. I’ve personally seen quite a lot of good ideas and businesses that just can’t raise capital in this market. We were very, very fortunate to be able to raise what we did. I think we succeeded because YuLife is a great idea which addresses a global problem. The capital has been incredibly useful in our expansion to South
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15 founders building solutions to look out for in 2023
According to this report by the United Nations, Africa’s sustainable growth is heavily dependent on how well Africans can use tools like technology to fight multidimensional vulnerabilities. People all across the continent are taking their experience, skills, and network, and using them to build purpose-driven solutions for the continent. From Aisha Husseini, who is making digital tools more accessible, to Nomsa Makgabenyana, who is helping marketers better understand the African market. In the past years, the African startup scene has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of founders using technology to innovate and profer solutions to African problems. This list features fifteen founders creating impactful solutions across the continent that you should pay attention to. 1. Marie-Reine Seshie Marie is the CEO/co-founder of Kola Market. She has over a decade of experience on the continent, driving results for SMEs and startups. She has over five years of experience in the banking sector and has also worked as a management consultant for SMEs. Marie’s startup, Kola Market helps SMEs grow well. They are a B2B platform that leverages data science methods and other digital tools to provide consistent sales, smart inventory insights and blended finance to SMEs across Africa. Their goal is simple: help SMEs sell out their inventory and grow their income. For Marie, SMEs are the key to unlocking the immense potential of Africa. She sees an Africa where small businesses are growing rapidly and profitably, driving employment and growing the GDP of African economies. Instead of taking loans that end up killing their businesses, they’re able to grow sustainably, cost-effectively, and profitably. 2. Aisha Husseini (Nigeria) Aisha Hussaini has over seven years of experience in consumer lending and trade in the African technology ecosystem. She is a 2x founder, having previously led the startup, Mobile Waiter, and worked at Cars45 and Autochek Africa. Aisha’s startup, Keza Africa is a smartphone financing platform that allows people to buy smartphones and pay in instalments. They want to make digital work tools more affordable for people, by enabling Africans to pay in monthly instalments for their devices. 3. Olusola Amusan (Nigeria) Olusola Amusan Olusola, who has a background in software engineering is the co-founder and CEO of Vesti. He is a two-time founder and has experience designing learning curriculums for top banks and universities. Vesti is a finance and legal software platform that provides financial payments and settlement of migration-related fees, enabling users to move from one place to another and transfer money. With Vesti, anyone who wants to migrate can find information & financial services like government payments, savings & health insurance. Users can also create virtual cards and pay hundreds of migration merchants. 4. Nomsa Makgabenyana (Botswana) Nomsa Makgabenyana is an MPhil (Inclusive Innovation) candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town and founder of Seriti Insights. Seriti Insights is a marketing technology that addresses the fact that Africans don’t always express themselves in perfect English. They mix languages, create “sayings” thatare constantly changing, and share our experiences with brands, products, and services, especially on social media platforms. Their product: The Seipone.ai SaaS is able togive marketers, brand builders, and product owners, true insights and sentiments of theAfrican consumers in real-time, regardless of the language they express themselves in. Seriti is currently looking to raise a pre-seed round to enable them to scale into East Africa. 5. Chineye Ochem (Nigeria) Chineye is the co-founder and COO of Tyms Africa. She’s a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner, with over six years of experience in accounting and finance. Chineye’s startup, Tyms Africa, helps businesses with cash flow management and short-term cash flow financing. They have a product, Tyms Book, which is an automated bookkeeping and accounting platform that makes it easy and seamless for businesses to keep adequate financial records and generate financial reports. Chineye is passionate about using her skills and experience to solve financial problems for businesses because she believes this is a way to contribute towards improving the standard of living of Nigerians and Africans. 6. Naledi Magowe (Botswana) Naledi Magowe Naledi is the co-founder of Brastorne. She has an unwavering commitment to closing the digital divide for rural African communities and her startup Brastorne has transformed the lives of over two million Africans through mobile solutions that empower the rural poor in Africa with knowledge, resources, and connectivity. With extensive experience in T4D projects, strategy, and communications, Naledi has been recognised as a thought leader on the global stage, inspiring audiences and winning numerous awards for her remarkable achievements. Her startup, Brastorne, connect the unconnected to the world by providing the rural poor in Africa with equitable access to the internet, markets, information and community without smartphones or data bundles. 7. Ope Onaboye (Nigeria) Ope is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Renda. He has 10 years of experience spanning different sectors and is also the founder of Incite Enterprises Group of companies. Renda is an online platform that makes it easy for e-commerce businesses to operate and access logistics services. They don’t just help you find a dispatch rider, they focus on all of the other bulk logistics services like procurement, warehousing, inventory management, freight and so much more. They have built a network of over 300 drivers, and 90+ warehouses and are currently available in 10 cities. 8. Blandine Umuziranenge (Rwanda) Blandine Umuziranenge Blandine is the founder and CEO of Kosmotive, a social enterprise that focuses on improving menstrual, maternal and child health in Rwanda and throughout Africa. She has twelve years of experience combining IT, Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Business Modeling with an ambition to pave menstrual freedom for girls and women in Africa. Kosmotive provides access to menstrual, maternal and child health information through their eHealth platform and Helpline, as well as manufacturing and distributing women’s hygiene products, mainly KosmoPads reusable sanitary pads for investing in girls’ education, women’s health and the planet; one pad at a time. 9. Jennat El Guennouni (Morocco) Jennat is
Read More15 founders building solutions to look out for in 2023
According to this report by the United Nations, Africa’s sustainable growth is heavily dependent on how well Africans can use tools like technology to fight multidimensional vulnerabilities. People all across the continent are taking their experience, skills, and network, and using them to build purpose-driven solutions for the continent. From Aisha Husseini, who is making digital tools more accessible, to Nomsa Makgabenyana, who is helping marketers better understand the African market. In the past years, the African startup scene has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of founders using technology to innovate and profer solutions to African problems. This list features fifteen founders creating impactful solutions across the continent that you should pay attention to. 1. Marie-Reine Seshie Marie is the CEO/co-founder of Kola Market. She has over a decade of experience on the continent, driving results for SMEs and startups. She has over five years of experience in the banking sector and has also worked as a management consultant for SMEs. Marie’s startup, Kola Market helps SMEs grow well. They are a B2B platform that leverages data science methods and other digital tools to provide consistent sales, smart inventory insights and blended finance to SMEs across Africa. Their goal is simple: help SMEs sell out their inventory and grow their income. For Marie, SMEs are the key to unlocking the immense potential of Africa. She sees an Africa where small businesses are growing rapidly and profitably, driving employment and growing the GDP of African economies. Instead of taking loans that end up killing their businesses, they’re able to grow sustainably, cost-effectively, and profitably. 2. Aisha Husseini (Nigeria) Aisha Hussaini has over seven years of experience in consumer lending and trade in the African technology ecosystem. She is a 2x founder, having previously led the startup, Mobile Waiter, and worked at Cars45 and Autochek Africa. Aisha’s startup, Keza Africa is a smartphone financing platform that allows people to buy smartphones and pay in instalments. They want to make digital work tools more affordable for people, by enabling Africans to pay in monthly instalments for their devices. 3. Olusola Amusan (Nigeria) Olusola Amusan Olusola, who has a background in software engineering is the co-founder and CEO of Vesti. He is a two-time founder and has experience designing learning curriculums for top banks and universities. Vesti is a finance and legal software platform that provides financial payments and settlement of migration-related fees, enabling users to move from one place to another and transfer money. With Vesti, anyone who wants to migrate can find information & financial services like government payments, savings & health insurance. Users can also create virtual cards and pay hundreds of migration merchants. 4. Nomsa Makgabenyana (Botswana) Nomsa Makgabenyana is an MPhil (Inclusive Innovation) candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town and founder of Seriti Insights. Seriti Insights is a marketing technology that addresses the fact that Africans don’t always express themselves in perfect English. They mix languages, create “sayings” thatare constantly changing, and share our experiences with brands, products, and services, especially on social media platforms. Their product: The Seipone.ai SaaS is able togive marketers, brand builders, and product owners, true insights and sentiments of theAfrican consumers in real-time, regardless of the language they express themselves in. Seriti is currently looking to raise a pre-seed round to enable them to scale into East Africa. 5. Chineye Ochem (Nigeria) Chineye is the co-founder and COO of Tyms Africa. She’s a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner, with over six years of experience in accounting and finance. Chineye’s startup, Tyms Africa, helps businesses with cash flow management and short-term cash flow financing. They have a product, Tyms Book, which is an automated bookkeeping and accounting platform that makes it easy and seamless for businesses to keep adequate financial records and generate financial reports. Chineye is passionate about using her skills and experience to solve financial problems for businesses because she believes this is a way to contribute towards improving the standard of living of Nigerians and Africans. 6. Naledi Magowe (Botswana) Naledi Magowe Naledi is the co-founder of Brastorne. She has an unwavering commitment to closing the digital divide for rural African communities and her startup Brastorne has transformed the lives of over two million Africans through mobile solutions that empower the rural poor in Africa with knowledge, resources, and connectivity. With extensive experience in T4D projects, strategy, and communications, Naledi has been recognised as a thought leader on the global stage, inspiring audiences and winning numerous awards for her remarkable achievements. Her startup, Brastorne, connect the unconnected to the world by providing the rural poor in Africa with equitable access to the internet, markets, information and community without smartphones or data bundles. 7. Ope Onaboye (Nigeria) Ope is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Renda. He has 10 years of experience spanning different sectors and is also the founder of Incite Enterprises Group of companies. Renda is an online platform that makes it easy for e-commerce businesses to operate and access logistics services. They don’t just help you find a dispatch rider, they focus on all of the other bulk logistics services like procurement, warehousing, inventory management, freight and so much more. They have built a network of over 300 drivers, and 90+ warehouses and are currently available in 10 cities. 8. Blandine Umuziranenge (Rwanda) Blandine Umuziranenge Blandine is the founder and CEO of Kosmotive, a social enterprise that focuses on improving menstrual, maternal and child health in Rwanda and throughout Africa. She has twelve years of experience combining IT, Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Business Modeling with an ambition to pave menstrual freedom for girls and women in Africa. Kosmotive provides access to menstrual, maternal and child health information through their eHealth platform and Helpline, as well as manufacturing and distributing women’s hygiene products, mainly KosmoPads reusable sanitary pads for investing in girls’ education, women’s health and the planet; one pad at a time. 9. Jennat El Guennouni (Morocco) Jennat is
Read More15 founders building solutions to look out for in 2023
According to this report by the United Nations, Africa’s sustainable growth is heavily dependent on how well Africans can use tools like technology to fight multidimensional vulnerabilities. People all across the continent are taking their experience, skills, and network, and using them to build purpose-driven solutions for the continent. From Aisha Husseini, who is making digital tools more accessible, to Nomsa Makgabenyana, who is helping marketers better understand the African market. In the past years, the African startup scene has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of founders using technology to innovate and profer solutions to African problems. This list features fifteen founders creating impactful solutions across the continent that you should pay attention to. 1. Marie-Reine Seshie Marie is the CEO/co-founder of Kola Market. She has over a decade of experience on the continent, driving results for SMEs and startups. She has over five years of experience in the banking sector and has also worked as a management consultant for SMEs. Marie’s startup, Kola Market helps SMEs grow well. They are a B2B platform that leverages data science methods and other digital tools to provide consistent sales, smart inventory insights and blended finance to SMEs across Africa. Their goal is simple: help SMEs sell out their inventory and grow their income. For Marie, SMEs are the key to unlocking the immense potential of Africa. She sees an Africa where small businesses are growing rapidly and profitably, driving employment and growing the GDP of African economies. Instead of taking loans that end up killing their businesses, they’re able to grow sustainably, cost-effectively, and profitably. 2. Aisha Husseini (Nigeria) Aisha Hussaini has over seven years of experience in consumer lending and trade in the African technology ecosystem. She is a 2x founder, having previously led the startup, Mobile Waiter, and worked at Cars45 and Autochek Africa. Aisha’s startup, Keza Africa is a smartphone financing platform that allows people to buy smartphones and pay in instalments. They want to make digital work tools more affordable for people, by enabling Africans to pay in monthly instalments for their devices. 3. Olusola Amusan (Nigeria) Olusola Amusan Olusola, who has a background in software engineering is the co-founder and CEO of Vesti. He is a two-time founder and has experience designing learning curriculums for top banks and universities. Vesti is a finance and legal software platform that provides financial payments and settlement of migration-related fees, enabling users to move from one place to another and transfer money. With Vesti, anyone who wants to migrate can find information & financial services like government payments, savings & health insurance. Users can also create virtual cards and pay hundreds of migration merchants. 4. Nomsa Makgabenyana (Botswana) Nomsa Makgabenyana is an MPhil (Inclusive Innovation) candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town and founder of Seriti Insights. Seriti Insights is a marketing technology that addresses the fact that Africans don’t always express themselves in perfect English. They mix languages, create “sayings” thatare constantly changing, and share our experiences with brands, products, and services, especially on social media platforms. Their product: The Seipone.ai SaaS is able togive marketers, brand builders, and product owners, true insights and sentiments of theAfrican consumers in real-time, regardless of the language they express themselves in. Seriti is currently looking to raise a pre-seed round to enable them to scale into East Africa. 5. Chineye Ochem (Nigeria) Chineye is the co-founder and COO of Tyms Africa. She’s a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner, with over six years of experience in accounting and finance. Chineye’s startup, Tyms Africa, helps businesses with cash flow management and short-term cash flow financing. They have a product, Tyms Book, which is an automated bookkeeping and accounting platform that makes it easy and seamless for businesses to keep adequate financial records and generate financial reports. Chineye is passionate about using her skills and experience to solve financial problems for businesses because she believes this is a way to contribute towards improving the standard of living of Nigerians and Africans. 6. Naledi Magowe (Botswana) Naledi Magowe Naledi is the co-founder of Brastorne. She has an unwavering commitment to closing the digital divide for rural African communities and her startup Brastorne has transformed the lives of over two million Africans through mobile solutions that empower the rural poor in Africa with knowledge, resources, and connectivity. With extensive experience in T4D projects, strategy, and communications, Naledi has been recognised as a thought leader on the global stage, inspiring audiences and winning numerous awards for her remarkable achievements. Her startup, Brastorne, connect the unconnected to the world by providing the rural poor in Africa with equitable access to the internet, markets, information and community without smartphones or data bundles. 7. Ope Onaboye (Nigeria) Ope is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Renda. He has 10 years of experience spanning different sectors and is also the founder of Incite Enterprises Group of companies. Renda is an online platform that makes it easy for e-commerce businesses to operate and access logistics services. They don’t just help you find a dispatch rider, they focus on all of the other bulk logistics services like procurement, warehousing, inventory management, freight and so much more. They have built a network of over 300 drivers, and 90+ warehouses and are currently available in 10 cities. 8. Blandine Umuziranenge (Rwanda) Blandine Umuziranenge Blandine is the founder and CEO of Kosmotive, a social enterprise that focuses on improving menstrual, maternal and child health in Rwanda and throughout Africa. She has twelve years of experience combining IT, Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Business Modeling with an ambition to pave menstrual freedom for girls and women in Africa. Kosmotive provides access to menstrual, maternal and child health information through their eHealth platform and Helpline, as well as manufacturing and distributing women’s hygiene products, mainly KosmoPads reusable sanitary pads for investing in girls’ education, women’s health and the planet; one pad at a time. 9. Jennat El Guennouni (Morocco) Jennat is
Read More15 founders building solutions to look out for in 2023
According to this report by the United Nations, Africa’s sustainable growth is heavily dependent on how well Africans can use tools like technology to fight multidimensional vulnerabilities. People all across the continent are taking their experience, skills, and network, and using them to build purpose-driven solutions for the continent. From Aisha Husseini, who is making digital tools more accessible, to Nomsa Makgabenyana, who is helping marketers better understand the African market. In the past years, the African startup scene has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of founders using technology to innovate and profer solutions to African problems. This list features fifteen founders creating impactful solutions across the continent that you should pay attention to. 1. Marie-Reine Seshie Marie is the CEO/co-founder of Kola Market. She has over a decade of experience on the continent, driving results for SMEs and startups. She has over five years of experience in the banking sector and has also worked as a management consultant for SMEs. Marie’s startup, Kola Market helps SMEs grow well. They are a B2B platform that leverages data science methods and other digital tools to provide consistent sales, smart inventory insights and blended finance to SMEs across Africa. Their goal is simple: help SMEs sell out their inventory and grow their income. For Marie, SMEs are the key to unlocking the immense potential of Africa. She sees an Africa where small businesses are growing rapidly and profitably, driving employment and growing the GDP of African economies. Instead of taking loans that end up killing their businesses, they’re able to grow sustainably, cost-effectively, and profitably. 2. Aisha Husseini (Nigeria) Aisha Hussaini has over seven years of experience in consumer lending and trade in the African technology ecosystem. She is a 2x founder, having previously led the startup, Mobile Waiter, and worked at Cars45 and Autochek Africa. Aisha’s startup, Keza Africa is a smartphone financing platform that allows people to buy smartphones and pay in instalments. They want to make digital work tools more affordable for people, by enabling Africans to pay in monthly instalments for their devices. 3. Olusola Amusan (Nigeria) Olusola Amusan Olusola, who has a background in software engineering is the co-founder and CEO of Vesti. He is a two-time founder and has experience designing learning curriculums for top banks and universities. Vesti is a finance and legal software platform that provides financial payments and settlement of migration-related fees, enabling users to move from one place to another and transfer money. With Vesti, anyone who wants to migrate can find information & financial services like government payments, savings & health insurance. Users can also create virtual cards and pay hundreds of migration merchants. 4. Nomsa Makgabenyana (Botswana) Nomsa Makgabenyana is an MPhil (Inclusive Innovation) candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town and founder of Seriti Insights. Seriti Insights is a marketing technology that addresses the fact that Africans don’t always express themselves in perfect English. They mix languages, create “sayings” thatare constantly changing, and share our experiences with brands, products, and services, especially on social media platforms. Their product: The Seipone.ai SaaS is able togive marketers, brand builders, and product owners, true insights and sentiments of theAfrican consumers in real-time, regardless of the language they express themselves in. Seriti is currently looking to raise a pre-seed round to enable them to scale into East Africa. 5. Chineye Ochem (Nigeria) Chineye is the co-founder and COO of Tyms Africa. She’s a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner, with over six years of experience in accounting and finance. Chineye’s startup, Tyms Africa, helps businesses with cash flow management and short-term cash flow financing. They have a product, Tyms Book, which is an automated bookkeeping and accounting platform that makes it easy and seamless for businesses to keep adequate financial records and generate financial reports. Chineye is passionate about using her skills and experience to solve financial problems for businesses because she believes this is a way to contribute towards improving the standard of living of Nigerians and Africans. 6. Naledi Magowe (Botswana) Naledi Magowe Naledi is the co-founder of Brastorne. She has an unwavering commitment to closing the digital divide for rural African communities and her startup Brastorne has transformed the lives of over two million Africans through mobile solutions that empower the rural poor in Africa with knowledge, resources, and connectivity. With extensive experience in T4D projects, strategy, and communications, Naledi has been recognised as a thought leader on the global stage, inspiring audiences and winning numerous awards for her remarkable achievements. Her startup, Brastorne, connect the unconnected to the world by providing the rural poor in Africa with equitable access to the internet, markets, information and community without smartphones or data bundles. 7. Ope Onaboye (Nigeria) Ope is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Renda. He has 10 years of experience spanning different sectors and is also the founder of Incite Enterprises Group of companies. Renda is an online platform that makes it easy for e-commerce businesses to operate and access logistics services. They don’t just help you find a dispatch rider, they focus on all of the other bulk logistics services like procurement, warehousing, inventory management, freight and so much more. They have built a network of over 300 drivers, and 90+ warehouses and are currently available in 10 cities. 8. Blandine Umuziranenge (Rwanda) Blandine Umuziranenge Blandine is the founder and CEO of Kosmotive, a social enterprise that focuses on improving menstrual, maternal and child health in Rwanda and throughout Africa. She has twelve years of experience combining IT, Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Business Modeling with an ambition to pave menstrual freedom for girls and women in Africa. Kosmotive provides access to menstrual, maternal and child health information through their eHealth platform and Helpline, as well as manufacturing and distributing women’s hygiene products, mainly KosmoPads reusable sanitary pads for investing in girls’ education, women’s health and the planet; one pad at a time. 9. Jennat El Guennouni (Morocco) Jennat is
Read More15 founders building solutions to look out for in 2023
According to this report by the United Nations, Africa’s sustainable growth is heavily dependent on how well Africans can use tools like technology to fight multidimensional vulnerabilities. People all across the continent are taking their experience, skills, and network, and using them to build purpose-driven solutions for the continent. From Aisha Husseini, who is making digital tools more accessible, to Nomsa Makgabenyana, who is helping marketers better understand the African market. In the past years, the African startup scene has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of founders using technology to innovate and profer solutions to African problems. This list features fifteen founders creating impactful solutions across the continent that you should pay attention to. 1. Marie-Reine Seshie Marie is the CEO/co-founder of Kola Market. She has over a decade of experience on the continent, driving results for SMEs and startups. She has over five years of experience in the banking sector and has also worked as a management consultant for SMEs. Marie’s startup, Kola Market helps SMEs grow well. They are a B2B platform that leverages data science methods and other digital tools to provide consistent sales, smart inventory insights and blended finance to SMEs across Africa. Their goal is simple: help SMEs sell out their inventory and grow their income. For Marie, SMEs are the key to unlocking the immense potential of Africa. She sees an Africa where small businesses are growing rapidly and profitably, driving employment and growing the GDP of African economies. Instead of taking loans that end up killing their businesses, they’re able to grow sustainably, cost-effectively, and profitably. 2. Aisha Husseini (Nigeria) Aisha Hussaini has over seven years of experience in consumer lending and trade in the African technology ecosystem. She is a 2x founder, having previously led the startup, Mobile Waiter, and worked at Cars45 and Autochek Africa. Aisha’s startup, Keza Africa is a smartphone financing platform that allows people to buy smartphones and pay in instalments. They want to make digital work tools more affordable for people, by enabling Africans to pay in monthly instalments for their devices. 3. Olusola Amusan (Nigeria) Olusola Amusan Olusola, who has a background in software engineering is the co-founder and CEO of Vesti. He is a two-time founder and has experience designing learning curriculums for top banks and universities. Vesti is a finance and legal software platform that provides financial payments and settlement of migration-related fees, enabling users to move from one place to another and transfer money. With Vesti, anyone who wants to migrate can find information & financial services like government payments, savings & health insurance. Users can also create virtual cards and pay hundreds of migration merchants. 4. Nomsa Makgabenyana (Botswana) Nomsa Makgabenyana is an MPhil (Inclusive Innovation) candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town and founder of Seriti Insights. Seriti Insights is a marketing technology that addresses the fact that Africans don’t always express themselves in perfect English. They mix languages, create “sayings” thatare constantly changing, and share our experiences with brands, products, and services, especially on social media platforms. Their product: The Seipone.ai SaaS is able togive marketers, brand builders, and product owners, true insights and sentiments of theAfrican consumers in real-time, regardless of the language they express themselves in. Seriti is currently looking to raise a pre-seed round to enable them to scale into East Africa. 5. Chineye Ochem (Nigeria) Chineye is the co-founder and COO of Tyms Africa. She’s a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner, with over six years of experience in accounting and finance. Chineye’s startup, Tyms Africa, helps businesses with cash flow management and short-term cash flow financing. They have a product, Tyms Book, which is an automated bookkeeping and accounting platform that makes it easy and seamless for businesses to keep adequate financial records and generate financial reports. Chineye is passionate about using her skills and experience to solve financial problems for businesses because she believes this is a way to contribute towards improving the standard of living of Nigerians and Africans. 6. Naledi Magowe (Botswana) Naledi Magowe Naledi is the co-founder of Brastorne. She has an unwavering commitment to closing the digital divide for rural African communities and her startup Brastorne has transformed the lives of over two million Africans through mobile solutions that empower the rural poor in Africa with knowledge, resources, and connectivity. With extensive experience in T4D projects, strategy, and communications, Naledi has been recognised as a thought leader on the global stage, inspiring audiences and winning numerous awards for her remarkable achievements. Her startup, Brastorne, connect the unconnected to the world by providing the rural poor in Africa with equitable access to the internet, markets, information and community without smartphones or data bundles. 7. Ope Onaboye (Nigeria) Ope is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Renda. He has 10 years of experience spanning different sectors and is also the founder of Incite Enterprises Group of companies. Renda is an online platform that makes it easy for e-commerce businesses to operate and access logistics services. They don’t just help you find a dispatch rider, they focus on all of the other bulk logistics services like procurement, warehousing, inventory management, freight and so much more. They have built a network of over 300 drivers, and 90+ warehouses and are currently available in 10 cities. 8. Blandine Umuziranenge (Rwanda) Blandine Umuziranenge Blandine is the founder and CEO of Kosmotive, a social enterprise that focuses on improving menstrual, maternal and child health in Rwanda and throughout Africa. She has twelve years of experience combining IT, Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Business Modeling with an ambition to pave menstrual freedom for girls and women in Africa. Kosmotive provides access to menstrual, maternal and child health information through their eHealth platform and Helpline, as well as manufacturing and distributing women’s hygiene products, mainly KosmoPads reusable sanitary pads for investing in girls’ education, women’s health and the planet; one pad at a time. 9. Jennat El Guennouni (Morocco) Jennat is
Read More15 founders building solutions to look out for in 2023
According to this report by the United Nations, Africa’s sustainable growth is heavily dependent on how well Africans can use tools like technology to fight multidimensional vulnerabilities. People all across the continent are taking their experience, skills, and network, and using them to build purpose-driven solutions for the continent. From Aisha Husseini, who is making digital tools more accessible, to Nomsa Makgabenyana, who is helping marketers better understand the African market. In the past years, the African startup scene has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of founders using technology to innovate and profer solutions to African problems. This list features fifteen founders creating impactful solutions across the continent that you should pay attention to. 1. Marie-Reine Seshie Marie is the CEO/co-founder of Kola Market. She has over a decade of experience on the continent, driving results for SMEs and startups. She has over five years of experience in the banking sector and has also worked as a management consultant for SMEs. Marie’s startup, Kola Market helps SMEs grow well. They are a B2B platform that leverages data science methods and other digital tools to provide consistent sales, smart inventory insights and blended finance to SMEs across Africa. Their goal is simple: help SMEs sell out their inventory and grow their income. For Marie, SMEs are the key to unlocking the immense potential of Africa. She sees an Africa where small businesses are growing rapidly and profitably, driving employment and growing the GDP of African economies. Instead of taking loans that end up killing their businesses, they’re able to grow sustainably, cost-effectively, and profitably. 2. Aisha Husseini (Nigeria) Aisha Hussaini has over seven years of experience in consumer lending and trade in the African technology ecosystem. She is a 2x founder, having previously led the startup, Mobile Waiter, and worked at Cars45 and Autochek Africa. Aisha’s startup, Keza Africa is a smartphone financing platform that allows people to buy smartphones and pay in instalments. They want to make digital work tools more affordable for people, by enabling Africans to pay in monthly instalments for their devices. 3. Olusola Amusan (Nigeria) Olusola Amusan Olusola, who has a background in software engineering is the co-founder and CEO of Vesti. He is a two-time founder and has experience designing learning curriculums for top banks and universities. Vesti is a finance and legal software platform that provides financial payments and settlement of migration-related fees, enabling users to move from one place to another and transfer money. With Vesti, anyone who wants to migrate can find information & financial services like government payments, savings & health insurance. Users can also create virtual cards and pay hundreds of migration merchants. 4. Nomsa Makgabenyana (Botswana) Nomsa Makgabenyana is an MPhil (Inclusive Innovation) candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town and founder of Seriti Insights. Seriti Insights is a marketing technology that addresses the fact that Africans don’t always express themselves in perfect English. They mix languages, create “sayings” thatare constantly changing, and share our experiences with brands, products, and services, especially on social media platforms. Their product: The Seipone.ai SaaS is able togive marketers, brand builders, and product owners, true insights and sentiments of theAfrican consumers in real-time, regardless of the language they express themselves in. Seriti is currently looking to raise a pre-seed round to enable them to scale into East Africa. 5. Chineye Ochem (Nigeria) Chineye is the co-founder and COO of Tyms Africa. She’s a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner, with over six years of experience in accounting and finance. Chineye’s startup, Tyms Africa, helps businesses with cash flow management and short-term cash flow financing. They have a product, Tyms Book, which is an automated bookkeeping and accounting platform that makes it easy and seamless for businesses to keep adequate financial records and generate financial reports. Chineye is passionate about using her skills and experience to solve financial problems for businesses because she believes this is a way to contribute towards improving the standard of living of Nigerians and Africans. 6. Naledi Magowe (Botswana) Naledi Magowe Naledi is the co-founder of Brastorne. She has an unwavering commitment to closing the digital divide for rural African communities and her startup Brastorne has transformed the lives of over two million Africans through mobile solutions that empower the rural poor in Africa with knowledge, resources, and connectivity. With extensive experience in T4D projects, strategy, and communications, Naledi has been recognised as a thought leader on the global stage, inspiring audiences and winning numerous awards for her remarkable achievements. Her startup, Brastorne, connect the unconnected to the world by providing the rural poor in Africa with equitable access to the internet, markets, information and community without smartphones or data bundles. 7. Ope Onaboye (Nigeria) Ope is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Renda. He has 10 years of experience spanning different sectors and is also the founder of Incite Enterprises Group of companies. Renda is an online platform that makes it easy for e-commerce businesses to operate and access logistics services. They don’t just help you find a dispatch rider, they focus on all of the other bulk logistics services like procurement, warehousing, inventory management, freight and so much more. They have built a network of over 300 drivers, and 90+ warehouses and are currently available in 10 cities. 8. Blandine Umuziranenge (Rwanda) Blandine Umuziranenge Blandine is the founder and CEO of Kosmotive, a social enterprise that focuses on improving menstrual, maternal and child health in Rwanda and throughout Africa. She has twelve years of experience combining IT, Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Business Modeling with an ambition to pave menstrual freedom for girls and women in Africa. Kosmotive provides access to menstrual, maternal and child health information through their eHealth platform and Helpline, as well as manufacturing and distributing women’s hygiene products, mainly KosmoPads reusable sanitary pads for investing in girls’ education, women’s health and the planet; one pad at a time. 9. Jennat El Guennouni (Morocco) Jennat is
Read More15 founders building solutions to look out for in 2023
According to this report by the United Nations, Africa’s sustainable growth is heavily dependent on how well Africans can use tools like technology to fight multidimensional vulnerabilities. People all across the continent are taking their experience, skills, and network, and using them to build purpose-driven solutions for the continent. From Aisha Husseini, who is making digital tools more accessible, to Nomsa Makgabenyana, who is helping marketers better understand the African market. In the past years, the African startup scene has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of founders using technology to innovate and profer solutions to African problems. This list features fifteen founders creating impactful solutions across the continent that you should pay attention to. 1. Marie-Reine Seshie Marie is the CEO/co-founder of Kola Market. She has over a decade of experience on the continent, driving results for SMEs and startups. She has over five years of experience in the banking sector and has also worked as a management consultant for SMEs. Marie’s startup, Kola Market helps SMEs grow well. They are a B2B platform that leverages data science methods and other digital tools to provide consistent sales, smart inventory insights and blended finance to SMEs across Africa. Their goal is simple: help SMEs sell out their inventory and grow their income. For Marie, SMEs are the key to unlocking the immense potential of Africa. She sees an Africa where small businesses are growing rapidly and profitably, driving employment and growing the GDP of African economies. Instead of taking loans that end up killing their businesses, they’re able to grow sustainably, cost-effectively, and profitably. 2. Aisha Husseini (Nigeria) Aisha Hussaini has over seven years of experience in consumer lending and trade in the African technology ecosystem. She is a 2x founder, having previously led the startup, Mobile Waiter, and worked at Cars45 and Autochek Africa. Aisha’s startup, Keza Africa is a smartphone financing platform that allows people to buy smartphones and pay in instalments. They want to make digital work tools more affordable for people, by enabling Africans to pay in monthly instalments for their devices. 3. Olusola Amusan (Nigeria) Olusola Amusan Olusola, who has a background in software engineering is the co-founder and CEO of Vesti. He is a two-time founder and has experience designing learning curriculums for top banks and universities. Vesti is a finance and legal software platform that provides financial payments and settlement of migration-related fees, enabling users to move from one place to another and transfer money. With Vesti, anyone who wants to migrate can find information & financial services like government payments, savings & health insurance. Users can also create virtual cards and pay hundreds of migration merchants. 4. Nomsa Makgabenyana (Botswana) Nomsa Makgabenyana is an MPhil (Inclusive Innovation) candidate at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town and founder of Seriti Insights. Seriti Insights is a marketing technology that addresses the fact that Africans don’t always express themselves in perfect English. They mix languages, create “sayings” thatare constantly changing, and share our experiences with brands, products, and services, especially on social media platforms. Their product: The Seipone.ai SaaS is able togive marketers, brand builders, and product owners, true insights and sentiments of theAfrican consumers in real-time, regardless of the language they express themselves in. Seriti is currently looking to raise a pre-seed round to enable them to scale into East Africa. 5. Chineye Ochem (Nigeria) Chineye is the co-founder and COO of Tyms Africa. She’s a Chartered Accountant and a Certified Fraud Examiner, with over six years of experience in accounting and finance. Chineye’s startup, Tyms Africa, helps businesses with cash flow management and short-term cash flow financing. They have a product, Tyms Book, which is an automated bookkeeping and accounting platform that makes it easy and seamless for businesses to keep adequate financial records and generate financial reports. Chineye is passionate about using her skills and experience to solve financial problems for businesses because she believes this is a way to contribute towards improving the standard of living of Nigerians and Africans. 6. Naledi Magowe (Botswana) Naledi Magowe Naledi is the co-founder of Brastorne. She has an unwavering commitment to closing the digital divide for rural African communities and her startup Brastorne has transformed the lives of over two million Africans through mobile solutions that empower the rural poor in Africa with knowledge, resources, and connectivity. With extensive experience in T4D projects, strategy, and communications, Naledi has been recognised as a thought leader on the global stage, inspiring audiences and winning numerous awards for her remarkable achievements. Her startup, Brastorne, connect the unconnected to the world by providing the rural poor in Africa with equitable access to the internet, markets, information and community without smartphones or data bundles. 7. Ope Onaboye (Nigeria) Ope is a serial entrepreneur and the CEO of Renda. He has 10 years of experience spanning different sectors and is also the founder of Incite Enterprises Group of companies. Renda is an online platform that makes it easy for e-commerce businesses to operate and access logistics services. They don’t just help you find a dispatch rider, they focus on all of the other bulk logistics services like procurement, warehousing, inventory management, freight and so much more. They have built a network of over 300 drivers, and 90+ warehouses and are currently available in 10 cities. 8. Blandine Umuziranenge (Rwanda) Blandine Umuziranenge Blandine is the founder and CEO of Kosmotive, a social enterprise that focuses on improving menstrual, maternal and child health in Rwanda and throughout Africa. She has twelve years of experience combining IT, Social Entrepreneurship and Circular Business Modeling with an ambition to pave menstrual freedom for girls and women in Africa. Kosmotive provides access to menstrual, maternal and child health information through their eHealth platform and Helpline, as well as manufacturing and distributing women’s hygiene products, mainly KosmoPads reusable sanitary pads for investing in girls’ education, women’s health and the planet; one pad at a time. 9. Jennat El Guennouni (Morocco) Jennat is
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Teaming up to fight fraud is not a new idea. What’s stopping Nigerian fintechs?
Data protection rules are one reason prior attempts at forming an anti-fraud posse failed. But everyone knows the real reason is that leaders of fintech firms simply don’t trust each other. After an ₦11 billion fraud case hit eTranzact in 2018, several senior leaders of the online payments company—one of Nigeria’s oldest—elected to resign. eTranzact’s managing director, Valentine Obi, chief technology officer, Richard Omoniyi and head of operations, Kehinde Segun stepped down from their roles alongside two executive directors. The eTranzact affair—which was perpetrated by the chief executive of a client firm—bears little resemblance to the numerous fraud attempts payments companies in Nigeria face today. Instead, the significance of the news in 2018, to anyone paying attention, was that tech-enabled financial services fraud could be very costly. ₦11 billion in 2018 was the equivalent of almost $31 million. It also highlighted the fact that fintech firms could not be too vigilant. Between 2020 and 2021, fraudulent activity recorded by deposit banks in Nigeria rose to 211,713 —a 44.8% jump, according to data from the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Scheme (NDIC). According to Smile Identity, a KYC provider, fraud attempts increased by 50% between the second half of 2020 and the first half of 2022. The first half of 2022 alone recorded a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2021. In the first nine months of 2020, cybercriminals had an astounding 91% success rate from over 46,000 attempts. The growing complexity of cyber fraud Cyberfraud risks are a constant headache as more people use digital channels for transactions. In June 2022, MTN’s mobile money service sued 18 Nigerian banks after it lost ₦22.3 billion ($53.7 million) to mobile money fraud. MTN’s loss dwarfs what eTranzact lost in 2018 and involved more people—MTN says the amount was transferred in error to 8,000 accounts—a pointer to the growing scale and complexity of cyber fraud. Last year, Union54, a Zambian fintech was forced to halt operations over an attempted $1.2 billion chargeback, TechCrunch reports. More recently, Flutterwave lost N2.9 billion ($6.3 million) and another N550 million ($1.2 million) per reporting from Techpoint Africa and TechCabal. The company says it only discovered unusual trends in several user accounts during a routine check of its transaction monitoring system, but claimed it did not lose any funds. However, it asked banks to block hundreds of bank accounts amidst legal action to recover an undisclosed amount from the affected accounts. The Flutterwave incident is at least the equivalent of a generous seed round, or two — in today’s sour venture market. Now Flutterwave and 12 other firms that receive or process payments online are reportedly creating a data-sharing initiative to prevent fraud incidents by sharing data. Project Radar, Semafor reports, will “enable companies to pool details, including banking and government identity data, of individuals and groups that have attempted or made fraudulent transactions.” Will data sharing among fintechs stop fraud? Esigie Aguele chief executive of VerifyMe, a KYC software provider is emphatic, “Absolutely, yes! The way to solve it, even if you look at developed ecosystems [is that] private sector creates federated environments for fraud reporting,” he says when asked if he believes if fraud networks can help prevent fintech fraud. “The definitive answer to the question is yes, and it literally is the only way. The question now is what type of network? What is the infrastructure of the network? How is it built? What is the regulation under it?” he adds. Sharing data to stop fraud has been discussed since at least 2018, possibly earlier, with little to show for it. “When financial service providers (FSPs) share data, they are positioned to better identify patterns that suggest transaction fraud, leading to fewer false positives in the detection of financial crime,” says Jacqueline Jumah, Director of Advocacy and Capacity Development at AfricaNenda, a digital payments-focused research and advocacy group. While the benefits of sharing fraud detection data is clear, Ademola Adekunbi, a data protection lawyer and compliance professional says fintechs “are reluctant to share [fraud data] because of data privacy concerns,“ but also because they do not want their peers to discover the true state of fraud attacks they face. Payment companies are also wary about data sharing initiatives because they do not want to expose their fraud detection methods, Adekunbi adds. Nigeria’s fintech space is intensely competitive as a result. “It is not in the interest of fintech firms to share data that might potentially expose their fraud detection system to their competitors,” says Adekunbi, and Jumah agrees. “A majority of FSPs are not comfortable with disclosing valuable competitive intelligence on their customer transactions, nor creating tensions with data privacy regulations.” “Nigeria’s new open banking rules will allow anyone to build fraud prevention solutions,” Omoniyi Kolade, founder and chief executive of SeerBit, a payments software company tells TechCabal. SeerBit’s CEO, however, wants the push for fraud data sharing to come from a regulating body. But it is not clear if the rules which allow customers to give third parties access to their banking information extend to allowing financial services institutions to trade data on cyber fraud. Service providers will also have to contend with Nigeria’s data privacy laws. Institutionalising data sharing to prevent fraud According to Semafor, Project Radar is currently in talks with the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) and commercial banks in Nigeria to track and report fraudulent bank transactions in the country. But there are pitfalls to be aware of. For example, a transaction can be suspicious without being fraudulent. There is also the risk that fraud and defaulting on digital loans may both be treated as cybercrimes. As a result, users who default on loans could, in theory, be locked out of digital financial services, especially if these anti-fraud lists are shared by credit providers and payment companies. Unlike seeking to fraudulently pilfer funds from unsuspecting users or financial firms, failing to pay back a loan is not a criminal activity. But financial services practitioners point out that serial defaulting
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