Pocket Budgeting is promoting prudent Financial Management. 40 Days 40 FinTechs Tanzania Day 41

Earning money is very hard but spending needs no rocket science. For instance, it is not news that someone can have TSh. 1,000,000 in the morning and by evening, s/he has used up all the money. This may be due to unnecessary spending, extravagance or poor planning.

Nonetheless, Innovators are using technology to develop tools and platforms that can cure such ills. On Day 41 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative for Tanzania, we interacted with Ronald Mwanyika, the Founder of Pocket Budgeting. Here is the story of how Pocket Budgeting is helping its customers manage their money by spending rightly and setting priorities.

HiPipo: What is Pocket Budgeting?

Ronald Mwanyika: Pocket budgeting is a platform that allows people to master their money and make better financial choices or decisions. What we do is we allow people to spend their money in the right areas or the areas that matter; giving them the ability to better understand how their money comes and how their money goes.

HiPipo: Why should customers be interested in Pocket Budgeting?

Ronald Mwanyika: One of the major reasons why a person should sign up with Pocket is for the person who needs or wants to better master their money and attain that financial freedom, they should sign up with Pocket because it is a platform that will give them tools to better manage their money and also a platform that will give them the knowledge they need to better make their money grow and make their money worth something.

HiPipo: How does one get started on Pocket Budgeting?

Ronald Mwanyika: First and foremost, you must have the application on your phone. And after creating an account, you will be able to add your income. Now, we call it net worth, because according to us, net worth is the money that you have after you have removed all the expenses. So, you add your income, and there are several envelopes, such as spending, there is to pay. That’s an envelope where the people that you have to pay, you also have an envelope of people that have to pay you. And there is an envelope for investing and savings. There is an envelope for expenses. So, once you have added your income, you distribute that money into the respective envelope so that you can know how much money is left. One thing that we believe in is you have to pay yourself first. So, after you remove all the expenses, that net worth that remains is the money that you have that has no use. So, it is like the money that you have paid yourself from the income you have gained. Once you start budgeting your money, you start to see how much money you don’t have, instead of just seeing that, oh, I have this certain amount of money that you don’t know where the money goes.

One of the things that we have tried to address is trying to teach our customers how to best allocate their money. We help them prioritize and make good choices.

HiPipo: What are some of the challenges you have so far faced in this business?

Ronald Mwanyika: One of the major challenges we have so far is the issue that comes with people trusting what you are trying to do because when it comes to money, most people are sensitive about that subject. When I was researching to see if people would be interested in such a platform, most people were saying they were interested, but when it came to transacting money through the platform, it was an issue for them, it was a very sensitive subject.

HiPipo: What are your views about partnerships for start-ups in regards to start-up growth?

Ronald Mwanyika: Partnerships are something that helps the company to grow because a startup has competitors in the market that already know the terrains and most of the things about how the business goes. So, for a startup, partnerships are one thing that helps it to grow and catch up to with who are already in the market. So, I believe also in pocket, as we are growing into the market, we will be able to see the companies that we can best partner with us to be able to fulfil the goals that we set out to fulfil.

HiPipo: What are your views about 40 Days 40 FinTechs?

Ronald Mwanyika: Platforms such as 40 Days 40 FinTechs help FinTechs to best show what they can do. They also help to show the regulators the potential of FinTechs and what they need to thrive. And in a way that if the regulators can best see the values and know how the FinTechs operate, they can then set regulations and rules that best suit the industry, regulations that are pro-start-ups and facilitate FinTech companies.

Include EveryOne Program.

First implemented in Uganda, 40 Days 40 FinTechs is an annual FinTech Innovation initiative presented by HiPipo to recognize and celebrate individuals and organizations who are making significant strides in promoting financial inclusivity through the use of technology.

It is aimed at promoting innovation and collaboration among FinTechs in Africa. The initiative is designed to provide FinTechs and startups with mentorship, training, exposure, and networking opportunities to help them grow and scale their businesses.

40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative Tanzania is part of HiPipo’s broader Include EveryOne Program that is generously supported by the Gates Foundation and implemented in partnership with Level One Project, ICTC Tanzania, Ideation Corner, Cyber PLC Academy, INFITX, Crosslake Technologies, NG Films, Founders Academy and Mojaloop Foundation.

The Include EveryOne program is a beacon of acceleration of FinTech Innovation, empowerment for Women in FinTech and a catalyst for investment and development in the ICT sector. Minus 40 Days 40 FinTechs, other initiatives under the Include EveryOne Program are the FinTech Landscape Exhibition, Women in FinTech Hackathon, Summit and Incubator, Digital Impact Awards Africa and the Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit.

HiPipo is recognized as a premier advocate of digital Innovation and financial inclusion champion, a fervent proponent of the #LevelOneProject. HiPipo has been at the forefront, actively promoting digital innovation, Instant, Inclusive Payment Systems (IIPS), and DFS across Africa. With a legacy of advising, mobilizing, and facilitating the adoption of inclusive financial services, HiPipo’s efforts have been nothing short of transformative! For almost two decades, HiPipo has successfully facilitated the inclusive adoption of these crucial services.