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The Voice of Technology and Finance in Africa
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September / October 2013 £3.99
Reaching Out – The Challenges of Banking in Rural Africa Starting Up in Uganda
Learn about JPesa’s mobile money startup journey as part of Uganda’s growing startup scene.
Bushbanking
Gerhard Coetzee talks about ABSA’s approach to rural banking in South Africa.
Networks in the Sky:
How suitable is VSAT as a communications technology for the finance sector?
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FROM THE EDITOR
Welcome to Technology Banker – Where Technology and Finance Collide! Sometimes you have to go a long way to reach those nearest to you and this is very much the case when bringing connectivity to rural areas of Africa. Look up at night and you’ll see the stars but unseen and much closer to home, are fleets of satellites beaming down communications connections that can bring broadband standard connectivity to millions of Africans currently living without quality voice and data connections. In this issue of Technology Banker, we’re looking at the need for financial services providers to reach out to Africa’s rural communities who, due to a lack of infrastructure, are living without the banking services that so many of us enjoy. As a result, these communities also offer a huge economic opportunity for the continent but before that can happen, they need to be reached. We explore the challenges that banks face when they try to take their services into rural communities and we look at some of the technologies helping them do this, particularly satellite networks that can be brought to earth via Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT), enabling banks to link to remote branches and ATMs. As well as looking at VSATs themselves we’ve also reached for the stars and spoken with a satellite network provider, O3b Networks. Currently in the midst of a number of satellite launches, O3b expects to bring serious bandwidth at affordable prices to precisely those people who lay beyond the reach of standard communications networks.
Contact Details: Publisher - Stefan Grossetti stefan.grossetti@technologybanker.com Editor - Kirsten Morel kirsten.morel@technologybanker.com Deputy Editor - John Bennett john.bennett@technologybanker.com Sales & Marketing - Jenny Howard jenny.howard@technologybanker.com Managing Editor - Remi Akinjomo remi.akinjomo@technologybanker.com Head of Operations - Monika Derfinakova monika@technologybanker.com Technology Banker Website www.technologybanker.com Technology Banker is a registered trademark of Technology Banker Group. All rights relating to the content of the publication are reserved to the rightful owners.
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I hope you enjoy this issue of Technology Banker. The team always wants feedback so we can continue to improve and give you the information you need to take your business forward. Please feel free to email me with comments or stories: kirsten.morel@technologybanker.com Kirsten Morel, Editor
The contents of this publication are subject to copyright protection and reproduction in whole or part, whether mechanical or electronic is expressly forbidden without prior written consent of the editor. Views expressed in the publication do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or publisher. We welcome contributions, however, publication is at the discretion of the editor. We also take no responsibility for the return of materials. Whilst every care is taken to ensure accuracy, we cannot be held liable for any inaccuracies. All rights reserved. ©Technology Banker 2013 ISSN 2051-9443
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CONTENTS
18
Bringing Broadband to Billions Steve Collar, CEO, O3b Networks on delivering fast, reliable, satellite broadband
11
NEWS 5 6 7
COVER STORY 11
20
20
Reaching Out – the challenges of banking in rural Africa
FEATURES 8
Reaching Out – The Challenges of Banking in Rural Africa Looking at the issues faced by those seeking to take banking beyond the towns
Banking News Telecom News Technology News
26 29
Bringing Broadband to Billions: Interview with Steve Collar, CEO, O3b Networks Networks in the Sky: A look at VSAT for the finance sector Bushbanking: ABSA’s approach to rural banking Overcoming the Gender Divide - banking for women in rural Africa
INSIGHT 17 24
Starting up in Uganda Securing Your Services: The story of Diebold
Networks in the Sky: a look at VSAT for the finance sector Do satellite networks have a role in the finance industry?
INFOGRAPHIC 18
26
Bushbanking: ABSA’s approach to rural banking The story of one bank taking finance io the bush
4 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
Broadband global area network
ANALYSIS 22
Counting the cost: VSAT financing
32
Events for Your Diary
34
Vendors’ Directory
BANKING NEWS
Jaiz Bank Turns to Mobile to Reach Rural Nigeria Jaiz Bank Plc, the Nigerian non-interest bank, and payment services firm, Teasy Mobile Money, are entering into a partnership that will enable Jaiz clients to make financial transactions via mobile phone. As a result of the deal, Jaiz customers will be able to access a range of banking services from their mobile phones. According to Acting Managing Director of Jaiz, Hassan Usman, the deal highlights the importance of the collaboration as being integral to reaching a critical group in Nigeria that has been excluded from the banking system due to the high cost associated with accessing the service. The strategic partnership between the two companies is expected to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria even further.
FNB will release cashless ATM First National Bank (FNB) in South Africa is trying to help rural customers in the area by providing a cashless ATM. Named ‘the FNB Slimeline machine’, the service is set to double up as an online banking portal and features a touch screen with integrated camera used for authentication, as well as a chip and PIN card reader with a numerical keypad. The service will differ from a standard ATM, as the customer will receive a slip that they need to take to a partnering retailer. Once the retailer gives the money, the account will then be credited by FNB. FNB hopes that the new ATM will help to provide banking services to remote areas of the country and believes that by not stocking cash in the ATMs, the process will be a lot safer and cheaper.
UBA launches Project Alpha The United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), the Pan-African bank with operations in 19 African countries and New York, London and Paris, has announced the launch of Project Alpha, which is a three year route map of key transformation initiatives designed to fully capture the opportunities from Africa’s economic renaissance. The project’s main aims are to transform customer service, expand market share growth, carry out a number of key e-banking initiatives, as well as concentrating on the growth of corporate and trade finance capabilities. Project Alpha plans to focus on UBA Africa, which currently contributes 20% of group performance, while planning to increase to 50% by 2016. To drive this, the Group is reinforcing its senior African leadership by hiring a number of senior executives.
Moody’s gives South Africa’s banking system a negative outlook Moody’s recent September report states that the sizable holdings of sovereign securities in South African banks means that their credit profiles are linked to that of South Africa’s government. The report predicts that this will lead to funding challenges due to reliance on short-term wholesale deposits. Moody’s expects that the poor prospects for exports and private consumption will limit banks’ credit growth and new corporate business opportunities. The report highlights the deceleration in GDP to 2% in Q2 2013, from 3.1% in Q2 2012. It predicts growth of 2.2% in 2013, which is well below the pre-crisis 2004-2008 average of 4.9%. Moody’s expects that South African banks will continue to remain highly dependent on local short-term wholesale deposits, which create large asset-liability mismatches, high funding costs and deposit concentrations. Although implementation is not due until 2013, Moody’s believes that as a result, South African banks will not be able to meet the proposed net stable ratio (NSFR) under the Basel III liquidity framework.
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TELECOM NEWS
Econet to launch cross-border mobile payments Zimbabwe’s largest mobile operator, Econet Wireless, is set to launch a mobile money payment system that will enable remittances between South Africa and Zimbabwe. When available, the system, known as CALL HOME SIM, will cater for transfers of as little as R5 from Zimbabweans living in South Africa wishing to send money back home. The money is sent directly from the handset and, once notification is received, can be collected from any of the nearly 7,000 EcoCash agents countrywide. Chief Executive Officer of Econet Services, Darlington Mandivenga said: ‘Our research suggests that by making it quicker and easier to send small amounts, of as little as R5, at any time, we will see a massive inflow of money, just like we see on EcoCash here at home.’
iSend partners with Africell Payment network, iSend has signed a partnership with Africel Gambia and Africell Sierra Leone, that will enable consumers to purchase mobile airtime for family and friends with instant verification. Customers are not charged for the service beyond the normal price of airtime, making it a convenient way to maintain communications during holidays, major events or emergencies. ‘iSend’s direct arrangement with Africell marks our continuing efforts to partner with dominant carriers worldwide to offer our customers maximum convenience,’ said Dan Lambert, iSend’s Vice President of Carrier Relations. He added: ‘We look forward to working with Africell Gambia and Africell Sierra Leone to create attractive offers for their subscribers.’
North African Telecoms markets continue to challenge A new market research report by Fast Market Research suggests that the North African telecoms markets are continuing to deliver variable growth on various levels. The report says that this is due to a lack of creativity and diversity in the type of services on offer, even in mature markets such as Morocco and Tunisia, where mobile broadband is taking off. The report adds that essential life tools, such as mobile money, are gaining traction and bringing a degree of stability to revenue generation. Price competition for key services and cooling demand for legacy products mean that the potential for profit is contracting. On top of this, the political and business environments remain challenging and prone to sudden collapse.
Connect Africa unveils rural telecoms hook-up Zambia’s rural telecommunications and service solutions company, Connect Africa, is entering into partnership with Zambian engineering and construction firm Likusasa Zambia. The two companies hope to help connect rural communities to existing mobile networks through the deployment of cost-effective base stations that will enable communities to share in the ‘mobile boom’ which is currently sweeping across the continent. The recently formed partnership has enabled Connect Africa to gain the capacity to implement new technologies and business models geared specifically to the rural GSM market across Africa. It is hoped that this will help their overall objective, which is to build a sustainable ICT-driven service business to improve life for rural Africans and their communities.
6 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Microsoft to acquire Nokia’s devices and services business Microsoft and Nokia Corporations have agreed that Microsoft will purchase all of Nokia’s Devices and Services business, as well as license Nokia’s patents and mapping services for a total of EUR 5.44 billion in cash. It will fund this from its overseas cash resources and is expected to happen by the first quarter of 2014. Building on the partnership with Nokia announced in February 2011, and due to the increasing success of Nokia’s Lumia smartphones, Microsoft aims to accelerate growth of its share and profit in mobile devices through faster innovation, increased synergies and unified branding and marketing. Nokia hopes that the transaction will help to boost earnings, strengthen its financial position and provide a solid basis for future investment in its continuing business.
Safaricom boss among Africa’s top 20 influential women in tech A Johannesburg-based technology news website, IT News Africa, celebrated National Women’s Day by playing tribute to 20 women across the continent who have significantly contributed to development in information technology, ranking Mwangi-Thuo as one of them. Having over 16 years’ experience in the telecommunication sector, Mwangi-Thuo has been credited with leading Safaricom’s globally recognised mobile money service M-Pesa. In June 2012, Mwangi-Thuo was featured in MCI (Mobile Communications International) as one of the world’s top 10 women in the mobile sector, after being awarded the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear by then President Mwai Kibaki, in recognition of her contribution to the ICT sector.
Spam levels are maintained as phishing decreases A recent report by Kaspersky Lab shows the percentage of spam in email traffic in July was up only 0.1 percentage points and averaged at 71.2 percent but the level of phishing decreased by more than half compared with June, and averaged 0.0012 percent. However, malicious attachments were found in 2.2 per cent of all emails, an increase of 0.4 percentage points compared to the previous month. In July, Kaspersky Lab continued to record mass mailings in which spammers exploited interest in the big events of the month. For example, the much-anticipated birth of the Royal baby in Britain and the spy scandal involving Edward Snowden did not go unnoticed by the spammers. Attackers kept with tradition by sending out emails with malicious links imitating messages with links to breaking news. In total, the top three spam producing countries (China, United States, South Korea) distributed more than one third of spam globally.
Rise of tablets and smartphones across Africa A recent DHL global technology conference revealed the trends around the changing dynamics of the African technology market, showing that there is set to be a rapid rise in the use of mobile devices over PCs to gain access to the internet. Florence Noblot, DHL’s Technology Sector for Europe, Middle East and Africa, estimated that as much as 60% of all IT growth in the African continent would come from tablets and smartphones this year. ‘The trend is clear in Africa, and according to the GSMA, Africa is now the world’s second largest mobile market by connections after Asia and the fastest growing mobile market in the world,’ said Noblot. ‘Due to the expected economic growth, technology suppliers have the ideal opportunity to penetrate the African market, but should have experienced partners who are able to provide insight and who have experience operating on the Continent.’
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INTERVIEW
Bringing Broadband to Billions Earlier this year, O3b Networks launched the first stage of its satellite constellation whilst promising to bring high bandwidth, low-cost network services to people across the world. Kirsten Morel, spoke to CEO, Steve Collar, about the network’s capabilities and its aspirations for the future. By Kirsten Morel
Few companies are so focused on their customers that they are actually named after them. However, O3b Networks stands apart from other companies and other satellite networks and has done just that. O3b stands for ‘Other 3 billion’, a reference to the three billion people in the world who lack broadband connectivity. In many cases, they lack any form of connectivity whatsoever. O3b launched its first four satellites into a medium Earth orbit in June of this year and by the end of September will have launched a further four, creating a workable global communications network that promises to reduce standard satellite latency times, delivering high quality, affordable broadband services from space for the first time. Born in Africa ‘We’ve taken a very different approach,’ says Steve Collar CEO of
O3b Networks. ‘We thought about it in two ways. One was to think about our network delivering services in an affordable way and the other was to say that we are not ready to accept the limitations of high latency, so we’ve brought the satellites closer to the Earth, reducing latency times from 600 milliseconds to 120 milliseconds.’
the idea for the network was born in Africa back in 2005. O3b’s founder, Greg Wyler was working on the delivery of a national telecoms service in rural Rwanda. Frustrated with trying to build a national telecoms infrastructure using thin, low-speed satellite links, Greg believed that there had to be a better way of doing things.
O3b has done this by putting its satellite constellation into orbit just 8,000km above Earth. Using higher frequencies and this closer orbit, the firm expects to offer speeds measured in gigabits per second (Gbps) rather than megabits. ‘We’re essentially a big fibre broadband service in the sky. Our total network capacity is about 80Gbps and any given link can be in excess of a gigabit,’ explains Steve Collar.
Fast forward to today and O3b, which is preparing for the operational launch of its network in November, has already signed deals with clients in Madagascar, South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo and it certainly doesn’t stop there. According to Steve Collar, ‘North Africa is becoming interested and we’re having conversations in Equatorial Guinea, Liberia, Ethiopia and Angola.’
The company’s shareholders consist of a number of well-known firms including Google, Liberty Global and HSBC that came together after
8 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
O3b has a number of client types in mind. ‘We have four verticals,’ explains Collar. ‘Trunking, mobile
backhaul, energy services such as gas and mining and government services. So far in Africa, we’re working mostly with ISPs but we’re expecting to work with mobile providers in the future.’ High bandwidth, low cost Steve Collar sees the firm’s mobile backhaul services as being key to the network’s growth across Africa and believes O3b can play a key role in the continent’s economic growth. ‘The mobile environment is very important. We can help spur economic growth in Africa by offering mobile network providers the chance to push their networks out into semi-urban and rural areas which in turn, will stimulate growth beyond the urban environment. For different reasons, Africa remains one of our largest opportunities.’ When it comes to the financial services industry, Steve Collar sees the opportunities as initially being limited to ‘larger corporate offices.’ This is because ‘bank networks are mainly thin route,’ however, he believes that ‘this will change.’ ‘The need for banks to connect to high bandwidth services will increase. Even today, some business systems, for example Enterprise Resource Management systems, don’t cope well with high latency. To deal with this, banks have to deploy servers at all offices but O3b could change this, enabling networks to be centralised.’ O3b has come an incredibly long way since the first spark of an idea fired in Greg Wyler’s mind eight years ago but the launch of an operational network is far from being the end of the story. ‘We’ve got four more satellites that we’re launching next year. It’s a fantastically scalable network and we’re building it in an incremental way.’ Steve Collar sees a future when O3b could have hundreds of satellites orbiting our planet, bringing higher bandwidth, lower cost communication services to billions. Today, there may well be three billion who have only limited connectivity but in the not so distant future, they could be some of the best connected people on the planet.
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FEATURE
Reaching Out – The Challenges Of Banking in Rural Africa Recent decades have seen many positive developments and initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa’s financial systems by organisations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Yet hundreds of millions of Africans still lack access to affordable financial services, especially in rural areas. Lauren Copley examines the challenges faced by those seeking to bring banking to rural Africa.
By Lauren Copley
In 2012, 63.2% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa lived in rural rather than urban areas, that’s around 576 million people, according to the World Bank. However, despite a growing demand for banking services in Africa’s lower income strata, World Bank data shows that in 2011, only 21 percent of adults in rural areas had an account at
a formal financial institution. Compared to 38 percent of adults in urban areas, the figures prove that much needs to be done if the financial services industry is to succeed in bringing Africa’s rural populations into the formal financial system.
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Thibault Square – Credit John Hogg / World Bank
...expansion into rural areas therefore has to be rational from a business perspective.
“As commercial banks are driven by profitability, an expansion into rural areas therefore has to be rational from a business perspective,” explained the spokesperson.
Medical Supply Vendor, Nigeria Credit: Arne Hoel / World Bank Barriers While it comes as no surprise that the interest of commercial banks to serve households in rural areas is limited in most Sub-Saharan African countries, the reasons are numerous and complex. According to the World Bank, via a spokesperson, the reasons are mainly related to costs, for example, the high fixed costs associated with operating a branch in sparsely populated areas and the costs related to handling a large number of small transactions, which larger commercial banks are not well equipped to handle.
12 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
Despite rapidly growing demand and assistance from global financial institutions, almost 400 million adults in Sub-Saharan Africa remain outside the formal financial system and the most frequently cited reason, according to the World Bank, is a lack of sufficient money to use a formal account. “Our data indicates that 81 percent of adults without a formal account give this as the main reason, while more than 30 percent of non-account-holders cite cost, distance from banks, and documentation requirements.” Barriers to financial access also vary according to region, with fixed fees and high costs important obstacles in Eastern and Southern Africa. “In Uganda, the annual cost of maintaining a checking account is equivalent to 25 percent of GDP per capita. Not surprisingly, 54 percent of non-account-holders there cite cost as a reason for not having an account.”
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), an independent policy and research centre that promotes financial access for the world’s poor, adds that ‘low population densities, poor transport and limited communications infrastructure contribute to a lack of supply of financial services in extensive regions of the continent.’
...insufficient technology and expertise often restrict their capacity to deliver adequate financial services.
Notwithstanding the fact that banks dominate all financial systems in African countries, insufficient technology and expertise often restrict their capacity to deliver adequate financial services. In addition, many banks are still trying to manage the trade off between promoting more widespread access and limiting potential financial stability risks from innovative technologies. Foreign assistance As the fastest growing continent in the world, Africa has seen a fivefold increase in the rate of foreign investment since 2000, according to the African Development Bank (AfDB). In its recently published Annual Development Effectiveness Review 2013, the AfDB says ‘improved economic governance on the continent and the private sector’ have mainly caused the growth. It adds that Africa’s inadequate infrastructure ‘remains a major constraint’ to economic growth and development, stressing that improvements in such areas as access to finance and infrastructure quality should help boost Africa’s global competitiveness. Prominent financial organisations and individuals have long recognised the need to improve the lack of financial access on the African continent. In August this year, former US President Bill Clinton dispelled the myth that the poor were not bankable. While visiting Dar es Salaam to inspect the projects being carried out as part of the Banking on Change initiative – which is funded by his Clinton Global Initiative foundation – he called on banks to find ways for the financial inclusion of the poor in Tanzania. One solution, according to the AfDB and other development stakeholders, is to expand the continent’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprise sector (SMEs). This sector contributes to more than 45 percent of
Pastoralist, Niger State, Nigeria – Credit: Arne Hoel / World Bank
...“SMEs contribute more than 45% of employment and 33% of GDP in Africa” African Development Bank
employment and 33 percent of GDP on the continent, according to AfDB figures. With more than 70 percent of SMEs having poor access to long-term credit because they often cannot provide the required commercial bank guarantees, the AfDB regards SMEs as ‘crucial for growth in Africa to foster job creation and reduce poverty.’
banking utilises mobile phones to transfer money and access other basic banking services. • SME financing denotes financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises through access to loans, leasing, trade credit and other forms of finance. Improving banking with technology Advances in information and communication technology have ‘opened vistas in the financial sector that could not be imagined a few decades back,’ according to Mr G Padmanabhan, Executive Director of India’s Reserve Bank, More African countries are now using technology to improve day-to-day access to basic financial services. These include transfer of funds, electronic check and credit card processing as well as ATMs, which have been hailed by Paul Volker former President and Chair of the United State Federal Reserve, as ‘the only useful innovation by the financial sector in the last three decades.’
With this in mind, it approved a $125 million (€94.5 million) program in July to boost SME access to long-term financing. The programme will grant technical assistance and credit lines in local currency to targeted financial institutions, particularly in low-income countries of Africa’s five sub-regions.
With banking services being typically more limited in rural areas compared to urban areas; the World Bank says technology such as mobile payments and mobile banking can offer a ‘lower cost alternative for banks to reach rural areas.’
In the same month, the European Investment Bank (IEB) announced plans to invest €9bn in countries of the ACP (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific) region by 2020, in partnership with the Investment Facility ACP. In an Ecofin news agency article, EIB Vice-President Pim van Ballekom said the objective was to ‘support infrastructure investments that are critical to private sector development and improving regional integration.’
Kenya leading the way As one of the continent’s leaders in banking technology, Kenya’s banks have integrated technological platforms into their financial service offerings. The Communications Commission of Kenya stated earlier this year that subscriptions of mobile money had increased by 10.1% to reach 23.2 million at the latest count. It attributed the growth to ‘convenience and the value-added services of facilitating payments for goods and services.’
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) distinguishes between four aspects of access to finance, namely: • Informal finance (lending and savings schemes) are unregulated by central banks or other supervisory authorities. They are very common in Africa and include communal systems such as Rotating Savings and Credit Association (Rosca’s) and Village Savings & Loan Associations (VSLAs). • Microfinance is growing rapidly and encompasses financial services such as savings, loans, insurance and money transfers to low income households. Mobile
14 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
Kenya’s largest mobile-network operator, the M-PESA mobile-money system, was launched by Safaricom in 2007. Channelling around 25% of the country’s gross national product, more than 17million Kenyans (equivalent to more than two-thirds of the adult population) use M-Pesa to transfer cash via their phones. Future prospects In the immediate future, rural households will continue to rely on informal financial cooperatives and microfinance institutions. While banking experts caution against a
one-size fits all approach, there are positive signs that several countries are embracing new ways to access finance, including: • The launch of the new Mvisa mobile banking service in Rwanda by the Bank of Kigali (BK). Designed by Visa, the mobile branchless banking product aims to improve cell phone access to financial services especially in rural areas. (A Finscope report says Rwanda’s current mobile penetration stands at 55 percent, while 1.3 million Rwandans of the 11 million population are currently financially excluded.) • Orange Money unveiled a new mobile phone-based international money transfer service to improve access in the West African region of Mali, Senegal and the Ivory Coast, where only eight percent of the population owns a bank account, according to Jeune Afrique newspaper. • The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently launched a geographic information system (GIS) that maps every bank branch, microfinance bank or ATM in Nigeria under one data set. Developed in collaboration with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the system aims to improve financial inclusion especially in areas with poor financial access, by making it easier to decide where to build new financial facilities. • Tanzania’s government plans to increase mobile banking and access to banking services to cover at least half of its 45 million population by 2015, especially in rural areas. Currently, only 14 percent of the population has access to banking and financial services. Banking data shows that African banks have significant development opportunities when compared with banks in other developing regions. According to the African Development Bank Group’s 2013 Annual Development Effectiveness Review (ADER), growth in the continent’s low-income countries exceeded 4.5 per cent in 2012 and is forecast to remain above 5.5 in the next few years. Yet despite strong economic growth making major inroads into income poverty, the ADER review says there are still substantial disparities, especially in fragile states and isolated rural communities. The challenge will be to find ways to address continuing inequality so that all Africans are able to benefit from this economic growth.
Rural Banking in Figures • There are more than 50 ATMs per 1,000 individuals in Southern Africa compared to fewer than 5 per 1,000 individuals in other African sub-regions (CGAP 2010). • 16% of adults have a debit card in Sub-Saharan Africa. • 64% of bank account holders have a debit card in sub-Saharan Africa • On Average, 24% of adults in subSaharan Africa have an account at a formal financial institution but this ranges from 11% in Central Africa to 51% in Southern Africa. • In several economies including the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), fewer than 5% of adults have a formal account. • Adults with a tertiary education, males and those aged 25–64 are more likely to report having a formal account.
the restricted product range currently offered by microfinance institutions and informal financial cooperatives. They need to be less profit driven and more service-oriented. More banks need to use foreign financial assistance and technological advancement to devise a broader suite of banking services. Only then, will comprehensive access to formal financial services become a reality in Africa.
That means that commercial banks can no longer expect around 576 million rural Africans to simply ‘make do’ with
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INSIGHT
Starting Up in Uganda Uganda is home to a growing tech startup sector but suffers from a lack of the business resources and the funding that young companies need to flourish. Joshua Okello spoke to JPesa, a Ugandan mobile money startup about the challenges it faces and the firm’s plans for the future. By Joshua Okello Arguably the greatest African technology story of the last ten years is mobile technology, particularly the mobile phone. With its high proliferation has come the evolution of the mobile ecosystem, championed primarily by telecommunications companies. In turn, this has given rise to Mobile Banking, mHealth and Mobile Money. With over 84 million mobile subscribers (iHub Research), East Africa has become the poster child for Mobile Money. Kenya, in turn, has been the largest contributor to this statistic. Moreover, increasing internet usage coupled with a large mobile subscriber base has created opportunities for businesses. When you have over 30% of your population accessing the internet (iHub Research) and twenty three million (according to GSMA) not only mobile subscribers but also users of Mobile Money, as in the case of Kenya, the dots start to connect. A need to extend Mobile Money payments online immediately becomes apparent and services like Safaricom’s MPesa, which now averages $1.6 billion every month (GSMA), assume pivotal roles. Although Kenya has had some success in making online Mobile Money payments, Uganda, like the rest of East Africa has fallen a little behind. Whereas PesaPal, one such innovation, was implemented in Kenya in 2009, it took another three
years before a similar solution was developed for the Ugandan market. Meeting a need In 2012, Joseph Abdi and Ronald Bunya, then employees of web hosting company, Jolis, created JPesa to enable online Mobile Money payments. They were encouraged by the over 18 million mobile subscribers in Uganda (iHub), half of whom are registered Mobile Money users and the booming start up scene in the country. Their research left them in no doubt that their target audience would be companies, mostly technology startups, which have ventured into ecommerce, selling goods and services to their clients and customers on the go. JPesa operates on a token-like system with JPesakeys. When a company signs up with JPesa, they can embed the payment functionality into their website via aptly named “Buy Buttons”. When a visitor clicks on the button, they are prompted to send the item’s worth to a number, for which they get a key. It is this key that enables them to complete the purchase. The system keeps track of all transactions as the ecommerce business uses the very same key to redeem their money via cheque or Mobile Money with JPesa charging a small percentage (3% for Mobile Money remittance and 1% for payment using cheque/bank). Although it has been in existence for less than a year and with no
advertising whatsoever, JPesa already has over 300 current users and is averaging ‘30 new users per month’. MyZiki uses the platform to sell Ugandan music on behalf of the artists. Asked what their biggest challenge is, Ronald says that it is the attitude towards online payments. People have ‘not yet embraced’ the concept of electronic payments, particularly those online, preferring ‘physical’ payment because there is still a perception that online payments are ‘insecure’. Like most startups in the region, however, JPesa does not have access to any funding nor strong business resources to help them build a scalable enterprise. The platform is still funded by the two Co-Founders and as for most technology startups in the country, there is little business acumen at their disposal. What results is usually a brilliant idea that never quite gets to see dawn. The next step is to extend the platform’s functionality to include VISA payment options, get funding to accelerate customer acquisition and build critical business units. Approximately $4.4 billion (TeleGeography) was transacted through Mobile Money in Uganda in 2012, more than triple the value of the year before. Regardless of how long it takes to realize their potential, JPesa could greatly increase that value and benefit as much from it.
www.technologybanker.com | 17
Inmarsat Gateway
Multiple IP connections to HQ from the remote branch
BGAN User Terminal
Remote Branch/ATM 18 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
IP/VPN
DP POP
? How It Works
Bank HQ
Broadband Global Area Network Information provided by INMARSAT
www.technologybanker.com | 19
FEATURE
NET WORKS IN THE SKY Connectivity is key to successful banking regardless of where you are in the world. Banks need to provide unified information access to their branches and customers and whilst this is easily achieved in the developed world, the lack of infrastructure in the developing world poses a variety of challenges. Partha Srinivasan takes a look at VSAT as an alternative form of connectivity and analyses its suitability as a technology for the financial services industry.
By Partha Srinivasan
A lack of connectivity is felt nowhere more keenly than in Africa, where mobile and broadband networks can be limited, particularly in rural areas which often have no form of connectivity at all. When looking to overcome the connectivity challenge and reach out to rural customers, banks are increasingly turning to satellite communications in the form of Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSAT). Why VSAT? VSAT technologies are particularly useful when there are no alternatives. Connecting remote ATMs or remote branches that need instant access to customer data and so on, form the main focus of VSAT use across rural Africa. As Patrick Gannon, Sales Engineer at Businesscom Networks, puts it, ‘Broadband satellite services can connect branch offices back to the primary data centre in order to support ATMs, loan applications and a host of other banking and business functions, including ‘real time’ applications such as voice and video.’ Clearly, VSAT can cover a wide range of activities and provide the
necessary backbone to conduct a range of services at remote locations. There are alternatives to VSAT as a connectivity option, principally in the form of Microwave technologies, fibre optic connections or even ADSL over copper, however these technologies are in short supply in rural Africa and so banks such as Banque Centrale des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest or Burkina Faso’s Coris Bank,
20 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
prefer to rely on VSAT as their main form of connectivity to their banking networks. The reason for this is the need for ‘a reliable connection where other types of connection have difficulty reaching,’ says Andrea Caracas, Communications Manager at Afrikanet Oxford Consultech Ltd. VSAT however, is not seen as the only answer to rural connectivity needs. INMARSAT, a company that provides communications services to a range of governments, aid
agencies, media outlets and businesses with a need to communicate in remote regions or where there is no reliable terrestrial network, suggests that there is another technology - the Broadband Global Area Network (BGAN). INMARSAT’s BGAN technology is based on Mobile Satellite Services. The technology is relatively new and is being offered as a viable yet inexpensive alternative to VSAT. Using INMARSATs award-winning fleet of L-band spectrum satellites, BGAN offers a plug & play service which enables an online connection to be established in just a few minutes without the help of an engineer. L-band also has significant tolerance to rain fade, ensuring the broadband connection is maintained even during bad weather. Another advantage of BGAN over VSAT is low power consumption. In fact, BGAN terminals can – and in remote regions often are – powered by solar cells. THE HARDWARE A VSAT setup comprises a hub which provides shared capacity among people or companies using the VSAT technology, serving as the Internet Service Provider to VSAT customers. This connects with satellites orbiting in a geosynchrous orbit around 23,000 miles high. These are fixed satellites and are easier to lock on to for a clear line-of-sight based connection. There are newer Medium Earth Orbit satellites as well but the equipment to track these satellites and maintain a connection is more expensive, however they are accepted as being more reliable.
At the remote location end of a VSAT setup, is a small dish antenna that is pointed to the satellite in question, depending on the band provided by the service provider. A Block Up Converter transmits data to the satellite and a Low Noise Block carries out receiver functions. These constitute the Outdoor Unit or ODU and are connected to a small decoder/modem/router unit indoors via a dual coaxial cable for a two-way connection. The modem/ router is then connected to the local network via Ethernet. Setting up a VSAT connection at a remote location is as simple as pointing the dish in the right direction, ensuring it is installed firmly and cannot be moved - since it needs a continuous line-of-sight to the satellite. It also needs power to run the indoor unit so it can transmit and receive data. Aside from making sure that there are no obstacles to hinder the direct connection, VSATs are generally simple to install. Technical expertise is needed mainly to ensure that the satellite dish is pointed in the right direction at the time of installation or in case it has moved, which is usually caused by high winds or heavy rain. Despite its limitations in terms of costs, banks in Africa are increasingly turning towards VSAT because it provides an inherently reliable method of connection to unconnected regions of the world.
www.technologybanker.com | 21
COUNTING THE COST VSAT is an effective technology for bringing connectivity to rural regions but is it an efficient technology? Partha Srinivasan examines the cost of VSAT.
By Partha Srinivasan
Costs for a VSAT setup cover a number of factors: Initial setup, connectivity and maintenance. Like any infrastructure setup, the initial cost for a remote VSAT network varies from provider to provider. Kamal Arjundas, from United Arab Emirates VSAT provider, WAFA, points out, ‘Compared to a few years ago, when basic Satellite Broadband was termed ‘unaffordable’, with prices dropping around everything, this too has become relatively affordable. Specialised projects that need a MESH setup for WAN arrangements, however are expensive since the equipment involved can get pricey.’ That said, costs upwards of USD $1600 to nearly USD $5000 can be expected for the initial basic VSAT remote setup. In addition, service
costs range from USD $150 per month for a simple 128 Kbps two-way package, up to USD $3000 for a dedicated 1Mbps connection. Of course, as the service providers concede, every connection is based on its own terms of contract and rate plans are calculated according to the type of installation, number of connections and so on. Since the only alternatives to satellite connections are terrestrial options, which are in short supply in the rural parts of Africa, VSAT provides a cost efficient solution for banks seeking to deliver the best service to their customers in these locations. Although it can be said that VSAT has rather high installation costs, which can be a major factor when
22 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
seeking to deliver banking services in sparsely populated regions, a major advantage of VSAT technology is that its OPEX can be reasonable in the long run. On top of this, VSAT is often the only viable option for connecting rural areas. For banks looking to setup remote rural branches, the question of whether the costs of setting up a VSAT network are prohibitive will depend on whether the bank’s decisions are guided purely by profit or a wider-ranging desire to deliver banking services to rural populations. If a financial service provider is guided by the latter motive, then VSAT can provide the right solution. If profit is the only motive, then VSAT becomes a cost which must be factored into the business case.
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INSIGHT
SECURING YOUR SERVICES Technology Banker spoke to Aleksandra Lubavs, Diebold’s Senior Director, Marketing, Strategy & Innovation for the Middle East and Africa to find out more about the company that dedicates itself to securing your services.
For over 150 years, Diebold has been leading the field in financial services security. Today, this $3 billion global company has representatives in over eighty countries and is renowned for enabling the finance industry to lead the way in providing fast, effective self-service solutions such as ATMs and deposit automation.
Aleksandra Lubavs, Diebold’s Senior Director
24 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
At the time of its creation in Cincinnati, Diebold was concerned with making locks and safes of the highest standard. However, as the financial services industry has evolved, so has Diebold and whilst it once created a bank robbery prevention system that deployed tear gas in response to the wrongdoings of famed villain, John Dillinger, today it’s expertise is more likely to be deployed in the form of software that secures your clients’ self-service transactions.
QC
QA
A
A
Relying on proven integrated solutions, we enable customers to maximize their self-service and security capabilities. Diebold employs approximately 16,000 associates in nearly 90 countries worldwide.
For protection against card fraud, Diebold provides multi-layered security solutions, including:
an you tell us about Diebold? What does it do and what is its market?
Aleksandra Lubavs: Diebold is a global leader and provider of integrated self-service delivery, security systems and services.
re such challenges being addressed?
Aleksandra Lubavs: We are addressing card fraud protection technologies - such as anti-skimming solutions, anti-card trapping features, roll out of EMV technology and PCI requirement compliance to protect cardholder data.
We aim to bring the best solutions to our customers by working with approximately 7,000 service professionals in 600 locations, making Diebold one of the financial industry’s biggest service employers.
1. Interchangeable bezel program
While Diebold has two core lines of business: self service delivery and security solutions, Diebold is transforming into a software-led services company, and investments are orientated towards this objective.
3. Embedded card trapping protection device
We have manufacturing facilities in Brazil, China, Hungary, India and the United States.
QH
ow big is your market in Africa?
A
Aleksandra Lubavs: The African market is a very fragmented one.
A recent market survey positioned Diebold as having in the range of 20-25% of total ATM market share in terms of installed bases in Africa. Worldwide, Diebold has a market share of around 20%, with more than 500,000 ATMs installed.
Q
What are the security challenges that ATMs face in Africa?
A
Aleksandra Lubavs: We think one of the most important things is ‘awareness’, and local financial institutions are promoting the relevance of security to consumers. This said, we think security is a long journey and we are here to fully support the banking system to successfully develop a secure infrastructure.
2. Embedded anti-skimming prevention and protection mechanism
4. Full EMV support (card reader and application software) In addition, Diebold provides an advanced function dispenser (embedded cash trapping protection features) and uses surveillance cameras to merge transaction information with recorded images. Diebold’s comprehensive Software Security Protection Suite can close the door on malware, block unauthorized USB devices, shield and protect cardholder data, maximize security of the system leveraging Opteva’s Trusted Platform Technology and implement effective authentication and verification.
QM
obile money is the buzzword in Africa. Do you think there is still a need to deploy more ATMs on the continent? If so, why?
A
Aleksandra Lubavs: Today mobile banking and enhanced ATMs are two complementary channels. It’s all about integration. A more dynamic, multi-channel environment can enable ATM deployers to stay competitive amidst changing consumer demands. Diebold is working on the integration between ATM and mobile devices, allowing consumers to complete secure, card-less transactions. In fact the circulation of banknotes is still increasing: this means that despite the development of new payment systems, cash should remain king in the long term too.
Trust and security are the two pillars to develop electronic payments and consumer acceptance.
www.technologybanker.com | 25
FEATURE
Bushbanking – ABSA’s approach to rural banking Given the challenges of taking financial services to rural areas, every bank will adopt its own approach. Matthew C White, spoke to Gerhard Coetzee of South African bank, ABSA about their approach to rural banking.
By Matthew C White
Africa’s biggest and most sophisticated economy, South Africa, with a GDP last year estimated at £247.5 billion, shares with the rest of the continent the formidable problem of a huge unbanked population, particularly in rural areas. A 2011 study, Banking
Landscape, by multinational consultancy Innovation Agency, reported that only 63% of the population used formal banking products, while 24% used no banking products at all, formal or informal. The main reasons given for not having a bank account are
26 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
obvious: joblessness (53%), no money to save (38%), and irregular income (36%). In addition, said the report, a 2009 study showed that only 26% of South Africans trusted cellphone banking.
Irrigated fields , Nigeria. Photo. Arne Hoel . World Bank
While joblessness, lack of money and irregular income among the rural poor and poorly educated are unlikely to change much in the short-to-medium term, there are signs that technological innovation is starting to break down barriers to trust. For instance, one of the country’s big-four banks, ABSA, a subsidiary of Barclays, processed more than one billion rands (£62 million) in total value via its CashSend money-transfer platform last year — up 73% from 2011. CashSend enables any ABSA account holder to send money to anyone in the country who has a cellphone, with the money redeemable at an ATM without a card. ABSA is a front-runner in addressing a spectrum of challenges to making banking more inclusive. The first issue is cost. “Interest and service charges are only the start,” says
Gerhard Coetzee, who is in charge of developing the bank’s strategy to reach the unbanked. As part of this role, he spends one day a week of the bank’s time running the University of Pretoria’s Centre for Inclusive Banking. ABSA has identified five other costs that weigh heavily on the rural poor. “There is the cost of transport to reach a service point, which is significantly higher in rural areas than in towns; there is the cost of time away from an enterprise or job; there are the costs of an identity document and an address — about 26% of low-income people cannot provide a recognised address for account opening procedures; there are social and cultural costs, for example Muslims may not pay interest, yet there are virtually no Sharia-compliant loans available to the low-income group; and finally the costs of stress and fear of
strange institutions, of technology and of debt itself.” Branchless Banking To address these issues ABSA has developed the concept of branchless banking, to provide services to people where they live and work. “We can now open an account remotely — under a tree, anywhere there is cellphone coverage,” said Coetzee. “It takes typically less than 10 minutes, and the client will be able to transact not just fund transfers but services such as loans and insurance.” Another ABSA innovation is in-store banking. To date it has enrolled more than 1000 independent merchants, some quite small, who will accept banking clients’ deposits and provide funds for withdrawals. Given the importance of remittances in Africa — people working in towns regularly send
www.technologybanker.com | 27
Irrigated fields , Nigeria. Photo. Arne Hoel . World Bank part of their pay to families in rural areas, while rural families often send money to sustain job seekers in towns —it is planned that by early next year, bank clients will also be able to send and receive remittances via this channel. As an extension to its existing moneytransfer services, ABSA has already concluded an arrangement with national retailer PEP, which has more than 1600 stores in towns and villages throughout South Africa, for a service similar to CashSend for the stores’ own customers. Empowering customers These technologies are proving successful in themselves, but Coetzee acknowledges that many potential customers remain wary. “A big issue is how to empower customers with the knowledge of what services are available and how they can use them,” he said. As well as advertising, ABSA is spreading the word through customer training, and tellers have been briefed to advise on the convenience of accessing a range of services via cellphones. Getting clients comfortable with the idea of using cellphones for financial transactions is a key objective for the automatic notification of balances and fund movements. That rural dwellers are increasingly seeing the value of such services is evident in the bank’s experience in
Dreams, Pigs and Upliftment Anna Phosa grew up poor in a rural village in the South African province of Mpumalanga — “the place where the sun rises”. She wanted to be a nurse when she left school, but as her single mother could not afford the training, Anna went to work in the family hardware business. In 2003, she and her husband scraped together enough to buy a smallholding south of Johannesburg and began to grow vegetables for sale. Encouraged by early results, Anna began to network with other farmers, one of whom sold her four piglets for the then substantial sum of R1 000 (about £62). Not long after she bought a boar for £44, and thus began the success story of the award-winning Dreamland Piggery. Their first contract with a major customer alerted Anna to wider possibilities. ‘In 2007,’ she said, ‘I decided to approach possible partners to help us realise our potential and vision.’ Bank help was essential, so Anna went to talk to ABSA, which was receptive to her ideas. With additional pledges from a supermarket chain and the Danish Government, she put her business plan into place and the business has grown from strength to strength. Besides doing well for themselves and their daughter, who is now qualified in animal production and part of the team, their efforts are helping to uplift their community as the piggery now employs 24 people from the area.
the remote Northern Cape, which for good reason is one of the country’s mostly sparsely populated and remote areas of the country. Its heat, dryness and aridity are encapsulated in the name of one of its small towns, Hotazhel, a pun on hot as hell. In this province, 51% of ABSA’s low-income customers use cellphone banking, against a national average of about 40%. Further, about 40% of ABSA’s
28 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
cellphone banking users are now from the lower income base. Coetzee declined to give a figure for the overall value of rural clients, but with 35% of its branches in rural areas and small towns, there can be no doubt that it is significant.
FEATURE
Overcoming the Gender Divide - Banking for Women in Rural Africa Access to financial services is far from equal. Not only is there an urban / rural divide but a clear gender divide as well. Rose Bratch looks at the challenges facing rural women keen to access the formal banking system.
By Rose Bratch
Even in the 21st century, Africa is missing the untapped potential of women entrepreneurs. This means economies across the African continent are losing out on huge investments for financial institutions because women who live in rural areas have limited access to banking facilities. Rural African women have the highest rates of illiteracy in the world, and regrettably, conditions still exist which mean that roughly 1.6 billion women worldwide continue to live in poverty. Throughout her time as former World Bank Vice President for the African Region, Obiageli Ezekwesili was in charge of the bank’s operations in 48 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. During her 2011 speech on International Women’s Day, Ezekwesili discussed ‘the missed opportunities to tackle gender-related obstacles that keep 50 per cent of Africa’s
population out of the most vibrant economic sectors on the continent’, highlighting the need for change across the continent. Despite the call for change being stressed, Oxfam’s 2013 briefing paper examined how women in rural Africa continue to ‘scramble to survive’. The paper states that ‘weak or non-existent rural banking infrastructure means that women cannot generate savings or credit from earnings, and are at the mercy of moneylenders when times are tight’. Not only does this demonstrate how opportunities for women to generate cash are very difficult to come by, but also the lack of potential for women to create businesses, which results in a continuation of the gender divide. Although the poor situation for women in Africa is being exposed to some extent, banking sectors across
the region have yet to give full access to females when it comes to financial matters. Unlike men, many women are unable to access their funds, meaning they lack business opportunities and it is this gender divide which needs to change. Overcoming the obstacles Rural women often live in isolated zones which are beyond the reach of social safety nets and poverty programmes, meaning government policies and investments tend to favour urban areas over rural districts. The first step in overcoming these challenges is helping rural women in Africa to obtain ‘financial literacy’. This means they will be able to get a better idea of how banking can help generate money to improve their quality of life. The end result will generate income into poor rural areas, where 70% of Africa’s
www.technologybanker.com | 29
Chairwoman Rose Peter of the Upendo Women Growers Association. Credit: USAID
underprivileged population live. Fortunately, a growing number of non-governmental organisations are aware of the problems and several establishments are making a visible effort to help women’s banking needs. One example is the World Bank, whose official goal as an international financial institution is to reduce poverty, by providing loans to developing countries. In its 2012 report, the World Bank focused on improving access to economic opportunities for women, by launching an ‘African Gender Innovation Lab’. The aim of this is to promote ‘innovative thinking and flexible business models to help overcome existing barriers to women’s access to credit and to help financial institutions develop a larger female clientele’. Currently, the Gender Innovation Lab is using ‘impact evaluations’ to try to improve the lives of rural women. Their work aims to
increasingly incorporate gender research into all areas of the World Bank’s developments, to help achieve their vital goal. Slow improvement Markus Goldstein, Gender Practice Leader and head of the Lab believes that evidence collected so far highlights the importance of gender development in all aspects of work, such as agriculture, finance, health and social safety nets. ‘Impact evaluations help to document not only what works and what doesn’t to address gender inequality, but also the tangible economic benefits of doing so’, he says. Across rural Africa, women who want to ensure safe financial transactions have to spend hours, even days travelling to a community bank that is secure, and that is only if they can afford it. Women who are in charge of their savings are known to hide their money at home, as they simply cannot afford to pay high bank fees and transportation
30 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
costs to travel to the closest bank. Fortunately, the situation is slowly beginning to change because large organisations are starting to take control. Opportunity International, for example, is a non-governmental organisation that aims to provide loans or assistance to small businesses in the developing world, in order to help people work their way out of poverty. They are currently working to close the gender camp for five million rural Africans, a campaign named ‘Banking on Africa’. A staggering 84 % of Opportunity International’s borrowers are women, which means this innovation alone is gearing women to finding an economic identity in a region that remains heavily dominated by men. Because of this organisation, banks and access to savings are beginning to be bought to rural communities. This means that an increasing number of African women are able to save up, which for many means the chance
to follow their hopes of sending their children to school, giving them a chance at a better quality of life, which is an investment in communities themselves. However, it is not just about NGOs. If the gender divide is to narrow, governments will need to make forceful interventions to improve basic women‘s rights to land and natural resources. This would ensure that women are involved in decision-making when it comes to money and that their interests are properly addressed, encouraging rural women’s rights to be taken seriously. The commercial approach Several commercial banks in Africa now work with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to extend credit to female-owned businesses, and one of their current ideas is to train and provide strategic assistance for staff of financial institutions to help banks increase the number of female clients. One way African banks are beginning to do this is by developing genderappealing products. Standard Chartered Bank in Kenya, for example, introduced the ‘Diva Chamma account’, which is based on women-only investment clubs, called chamas, and has resulted in creating a market that appeals to women, although in this case, the account is aimed at urban women. More satellite branches and mobile banks have been established as ‘banking access points’ to reach clients within a 60-minute walk, throughout
rural areas of Africa. In 2010, Opportunity International statistics for Malawi showed that 284,622 depositors were served, with savings accounts valued at more than $32 million and 46,771 active loan clients borrowing more than $30 million. Since then, Opportunity has continued expanding its outreach to deepen its diffusion to agricultural borrowers and savers, which is excellent news for up and coming rural female entrepreneurs. The ironic thing about rural women’s lack of access to banking is that statistically, banks are more likely to trust women than men when it comes to lending money to start businesses. Wilson Moleni, regional director for Opportunity International in Malawi believes that women can always be trusted to pay back their loans. ‘They put their savings towards the education of their children and the welfare of their families,’ he said. ‘When given the power and identity that comes from having a savings or bank account, women are more successful in business, as well’. Furthermore, in a World Bank report it states that ‘initial experience shows an increase in women entrepreneurs using financial services and taking out larger loans, with better-thanaverage repayment’, which highlights the gender divide when it comes to banking for women in rural areas. Microcredits, or microloans are another factor helping rural women when it comes to banking and in many instances, this is the only way for women in rural areas to access loans. Microfinancing is a matter of small
loans given to people, particularly poor rural women, who would either not traditionally qualify for loans or simply do not have access to traditional banking resources. Today, microfinance has become a worldwide phenomenon and is by far the most common way of addressing problems for women in rural Africa. Underprivileged women can visit a growing number of microfinance organisations that run microcredit schemes. They can access a loan, with which they have the chance to either begin a business or buy farmland or equipment, before paying it back over a set period. Despite being very small, usually only USD $100-$200, many organisations have also begun to assist small businesses to help them become successful. Now that it has been recognised that women are more successful when trusted with loans, things should only improve for rural women. Many believe that the next stage in policy evolution is to help borrowers skip microfinance altogether and go to larger, formal sources of credit. This would make it easier for women to create businesses, which would mean more female entrepreneurs across Africa. Women’s access to banking in rural areas is slowly beginning to improve, allowing more women to have access to their funds. If the gender gap is to ever fully close, more women need to become fully financially literate, which in turn, will help the continent grow economically and rise more rapidly towards prosperity.
www.technologybanker.com | 31
SEPTEMBER EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY
What: AITEC Banking & Mobile Money COMESA 2013 When: 11 - 12 September 2013 Where: Intercontinental Hotel Nairobi, Kenya Website: http://aitecafrica.com/event/view/92
What: World Cards and Payments China 2013 When: 12 - 13 September 2013 Where: Shanghai, China Website: http://www.szwgroup.com/2013/payment/index.asp
What: SIBOS 2013 When: 16 - 19 September 2013 Where: Dubai World Trade Centre, UAE Website: www.sibos.com/
What: Total Payments - Innovation and disruption in mobile commerce and payments When: 16 - 17 September 2013 Where: Business Design Centre, London, UK Website: http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/total-paymentseurope/about.stm What: Nigeria Com When: 17 - 18 September 2013 Where: Lagos Oriental Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos Website: http://nigeria.comworldseries.com/about/
What: ATM & Mobile Executive Summit When: 25 - 26 September 2013 Where: The Madison Hotel, Washington DC Website: http://www.atmandmobilesummit.com
What: NFC World Congress When: 24 - 26 September 2013 Where: Nice, French Riviera Website: http://www.nfcworldcongress.com/
What: Telecoms World Middle East 2013 When: 30 September - 2 October 2013 Where: Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Website: http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/telecoms-worldmiddle-east/index.stm
32 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
OCTOBER EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY
What: Middle East Banking Innovation Summit 2013 When: 7 - 8 October 2013 Where: Sofitel - The Palm Jumeirah, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Website: http://www.bankinnovation-me.com/
What: 21st Century ATM for the Emerging New Africa
 When: 9 - 11 October 2013 Where: Radisson Blu Waterfront Hotel, Cape Town, South Africa Website: https://www.atmia.com/events/2013/10/09/africaconferences/africa-conference-21st-century-atm-for-the-emergingnew-africa/ What: Digital & Mobile Wallet Summit When: 10 - 11 October 2013 Where: London, UK Website: http://www.dmwsummit.com/
What: Total Telecom Finance Summit 2013 When: 10 October 2013 Where: Hilton Tower Bridge Hotel, London Website: http://www.terrapinn.com/conference/ipxsummit//
What: ATM Security 2013 When: 22 - 23 October 2013 Where: Park Plaza Victoria Hotel, London Website: http://www.rbrlondon.com/events/security
What: Apps World Europe 2013 When: 22 - 23 October 2013 Where: Earls Court 2, London Website: http://www.apps-world.net/europe/
What: The Mobile Show Africa 2013 When: 29 - 30 October 2013 Where: Johannesburg, South Africa Website: http://www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/mobile-show-africa/ index.stm
What: Big Data World Africa 2013 When: 29 - 30 October 2013 Where: Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, South Africa Website: http://www.terrapinn.com/exhibition/big-data-world-africa/ partners.stm
www.technologybanker.com | 33
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Products/Service: automation solution for business processes and operations, infrastructure, Managed Services, Software Lincensing, Connectivity (Radio, Fibre, VSAT, Internet) Contact: 234-1- 2704674-5, 8516813, info.cwl@cwlgroup.com
Product/Service: banking security platform (online banking, mobile banking, card transactions) Contact: +27 21 815 2800 info-africa@entersekt.com www.entersekt.com
34 | Technology Banker September / October 2013
Product/Service: online payment solutions Contact: +256 414 233 799 www.mcash.ug
Product: core banking, mobile banking, e-banking Contact (EMEA): +44 776 651 0099 www.infosys.com/finacle
Product/Service: application management solution Contact: +1 604 451 1567 sales@inetco.com www.inetco.com
Product/Service: Multi-channel transaction technology Contact: +27 112 694 006 sales@iveri.com www.iveri.com
Product/Service: Informa Business, research Contact: +44 20 7017 6970 crmgroup@ovum.com www.ovum.com
Product/Service: satellite service for transactional applications, standard Internet access including web surfing, email, VoIP and similar applications Contact: +32 478 541 999 www.satadsl.net
Product/Service: security solution Contact: +1(617) 606-7755 www.trusteer.com
Product/Service: serves as an online deposit account and a low-cost, internet-based alternative to traditional money transfer methods such as cheques, money orders and wire transfers support@virtualbank.co.zw www.virtualbank.co.zw
Product/Service: broadband, voice and data connection, machine-to-machine connection Contact: +234 704 191 1945/ +234 813 899 4140/ +234 9 999 0952 www.virtualterminalnetwork.com
Not listed on this directory? Contact Jenny Howard on: +44(0)208 528 1536 or email jenny@technologybanker.com
Product/Service: Secure financial messaging, operational equipment, & business intelligence Contact: Wim Raymaekers, +32 2 655 33 29, wim.raymaekers@swift.com www.swift.com