Emerging markets in Africa are fertile ground for financial innovation, offering opportunities to address the decades-long challenge of financial inclusion.
With these opportunities come challenges. A business breaking into a home market is difficult enough, but a foreign market means unfamiliarity with the local economy, politics, culture, social habits and consumer preferences.
The solution to this is collaboration with domestic partners, who can help provide businesses with knowledge of the local market. Traditional banks, mobile network operators (MNOs) and other financial institutions are beginning to recognise the value and importance of partnerships, and crucially, the potential of fintechs to provide breakthrough digital services to their customers.
In fact, a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers revealed that 42 percent of banks were engaged in joint partnerships with fintech companies, and 94 percent of financial services companies said they were confident that fintech would help to grow their company’s revenue over the next two years. In addition, 82 percent of financial institutions expect to increase fintech partnerships in the next three to five years, according to a PwC report.
These collaborations allow each partner to do what they do best, with banks bringing to the table their legacy of dependability and credibility, and startups their agility and ability to innovate and develop solutions for the modern consumer.
How partnerships are changing the financial landscape
Ukheshe continues to build successful partnerships so that financial institutions can meet the changing needs of consumers and provide SMMEs across Africa with affordable digital banking services.
Ukheshe’s flexible, scheme agnostic Eclipse API offering is perfectly suited to the continent’s emerging markets as it offers customisable solutions for banks, insurance companies, MNOs, telcos and other fintechs. The aim is not to compete with these organisations, but to enable them to quickly deliver solutions to their customers.
Ukheshe understands the importance of developing and nurturing the right partnerships that aim not only to build our business but ensure the solutions we provide to our customers are that much richer. A strong partnership is not only about closing a gap you might find your business is missing, it’s also about developing a more well-rounded proposition for your customers. This is true of Ukheshe and the collaborative partnerships we provide to our customers. We are focused on providing more innovative and more transformative fintech solutions to continue to push towards economic inclusion and ensuring more people can access financial services.
As Ukheshe continues to expand its international reach, partnerships will remain crucial to improving its efficiency in digital financial services and putting these much-needed services into the hands of the people.