iZyane InovSolutions is innovating for last-mile financial inclusion and cross border transactions.  #40Days40FinTechs Zambia and Malawi edition, Day 15

For financial inclusion to be achieved, the people at bottom of the pyramid must be give special focus as they are not only the majority but also dearly need to access digital financial services to transform their lives.

In Zambia, one of the companies that is contributing to last-mile financial inclusion is iZyane InovSolutions; a FinTech start-up that has built and deployed solutions for service aggregation companies, mobile financial services, banks, micro-finance, and insurance companies in areas such as mobile banking, merchant payment platforms, digital cash management, and cash collections platforms.

“We have developed solutions that enable point of sale terminals to not only accept card payments but also accept mobile money wallets. We consider this as a key financial inclusion activity because when you go to remote areas of Zambia and Malawi, you will find that most people don’t have bank cards but have mobile money wallets. As such we have been able to include them in the digital payment ecosystem and they are now able to transact on these points of sale using their mobile money wallets,” Ackim Chisha, the of Co-Founder – iZyane InovSolutions said.

He added: “Apart from that, we are supporting the COMESA Regional Digital Retail Payments Platform. We are a system integrator for COMESA Business Council and currently doing the integration for all the financial institutions between Malawi and Zambia and later on we shall integrate other countries. On completion, this platform will do several things such as merchant payments and cross border money transfers.”

Chisha identified underdeveloped infrastructure, poor connectivity, low digital & financial literacy, language barrier and long waits before licenses are issued as some of the main challenges ailing the FinTech industry.  

“One of the major things I have seen in Africa is that for you to get a license, it takes more than six months. You can imagine as a FinTech, you have done your work and your solution is ready but then you are subjected to a process that calls for proper organization structures and credible board members among other requirements; surely this process takes quite some time. Well as I understand why these processes are in place, I believe they can be improved, accelerated for the benefit of all stakeholders,” he said.

Chisha acknowledged that the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative is timely and should actually continue and expand to other regions as it will onboard and support more FinTechs.

iZyane InovSolutions was featured on Day 15 of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative; Zambia and Malawi edition. The roll-out of the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative in Zambia and Malawi followed its success in East Africa. Over the past 5 years, the 40 Days 40 FinTechs initiative has featured over 200 FinTech stories from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Rwanda. This initiative has also engaged hundreds of end-users and shared their stories with millions worldwide.

The primary objective of this initiative is to support and showcase innovative FinTech giants and start-ups from across Africa, with a focus on promoting financial inclusion and economic growth, in addition to giving start-ups access to the resources they need to develop new and innovative financial solutions that can benefit underserved populations. Such resources include but are not limited to Level One Project guidelines, Mojaloop Open Source Software and Inclusive Finance systems, etc.