HiPipo unveiled the nominees for the 2024 Digital Impact Awards Africa (DIAA) drawn from hundreds of entries submitted by potential nominees and the general public. The voting process will run until November 15 (the day of the winners’ announcement) and the overall winner in each category will be determined by a combined public jury vote. The awards will be held at Kampala Serena Hotel as part of the annual Digital and Financial Inclusion Summit.
The Digital Impact Awards Africa recognizes, celebrates, and appreciates different (stakeholders) individuals and organizations spearheading the use of digital mediums to better serve their communities. In addition, DIAA further celebrates digital excellence across Africa.
From its inception in 2014, DIAA was met with immense enthusiasm, with the majority of the market recognizing it as an initiative poised to elevate the industry to new heights. Despite this optimism, questions have been raised about its sustainability. Skeptics drew parallels with earlier initiatives that, like DIAA, began with considerable market excitement, only to fade away prematurely. Yet, DIAA has persevered, defying these predictions and cementing its role in leading the industry’s progress.
DIAA has not merely weathered the passage of time, but we have come to see it significantly transforming Africa’s trajectory in digital and financial inclusion. With each passing year, DIAA continues to make groundbreaking strides, redefining expectations and leading the charge toward a digitally inclusive future for all of Africa.
There are 12 categories in the 2024 DIAA —2 short compared to last year’s. The categories for this year’s awards include; Financial Inclusion Excellence, Digital Banking Excellence, Banking Innovation Excellence, Community/MFI Banking Innovation Excellence, Fintech Startup of the Year, Fintech of the Year, Financial Services Digital Excellence, Consumer Goods & Services Digital Excellence, Utilities & Government Services Digital Excellence, Technology Services Digital Excellence, CEO of the Year (DFS), and Digital Brand of the Year.
The list includes nominees from previous years such as banks; ABSA, Centenary, Equity, Stanbic, Standard Chartered, PostBank —and their innovations, Wendi, FlexiPay, telecoms; MTN and Airtel, and government institutions, NSSF, NWSC, UMEME, URA, and URSB, to mention but few.
HiPipo has included the Fintech Startup of the Year award, and five Fintech startups—Fido, Kawu, PayTota, PesaJet, and Zimba Technologies—have been nominated, each bringing a unique innovation to the table.
We were unable to reach any of the startup founders for a comment.
- Fido: Regulated by the Uganda Microfinance Regulatory Authority, Fido offers digital individual and business loans of up to UGX1.4 million and UGX2.5 million respectively. Once your loans have been approved, the client can choose a 10-day or 30-day repayment period. Interest is charged daily —so the earlier you pay the less interest you pay.
“Fido is on a mission to empower individuals and entrepreneurs to take charge of their future by providing financial services that are inclusive, instant, and easily accessible through Fido’s innovative digital products,” Robert Muhumuza, Deputy CEO of Fido told HiPipo. “We offer both individual and business loans.”.
Muhumuza noted that for the time they have been in Uganda, they have served over 700,000 customers and disbursed money in billions.
- Kawu: Kawu has built a finance and payment solution for students. They have developed a smart card that students use to receive money from their parents for upkeep.
“In most schools, students are not allowed to have mobile phones. So, when they are in school, the only way they can access money is through cash. So what we have done is we have taken away all that process of sending money to students through teachers who then give it to them in cash by designing a smart card that allows you as a parent to send money directly to your child,” explained Steven Kakooza, Co-founder and Director at Kawu. “The child receives on his/her Kawu smart card which they can use to make payments (for goods and services) or save.”
Parents send money (via mobile money) using the Kawu app directly to their child’s smart card. In addition, the parents can also use the app, to manage their child’s expenditures and also set withdrawal limits on the card.
- PayTota: Launched in 2020, Paytota is an online payment gateway solution that allows individuals and businesses to make and accept payments from local and international buyers and sellers with payment facilitators such as Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) like MTN Mobile Money and Airtel Money, Banks, and Payment Cards Operators like Visa and Mastercard.
“We are a regulated payment gateway by the Bank of Uganda. We have a license as a payment operator for small funds and third-party systems that permits us to process payments for our partners,” Erasmus Okurut, the founder and CEO of PayTota told HiPipo in a podcast. “That is why over 400 businesses in Uganda and across the World trust us to manage their payments. We have had over 5000 transactions and processed over USD$400,000 (approx. UGX1.46 billion).”
- PesaJet: Specializing in digital lending and microcredit, PesaJet is a financial technology solution targeting underserved communities that are unable to access loans from mainstream banking solutions. They focus on three main themes; (1) Education where they give school fees to school-going children, (2) Merchant stock for small and medium-scale businesses looking for stock, and (3) Smallholder farmers who receive agriculture loans.
PesaJet has onboarded over 50 schools, serving around 500 satisfied parents and students and 2,000 farmers, and established agreements with five wholesalers. Angella Kansemiire, Product Manager at PesaJet, told HiPipo in a podcast that their customers are eligible to apply for loans between UGX50,000 and UGX200,000, which grows depending on their repayment behavior and credit history.
- Zimba Technologies: Builds core banking solutions and systems for financial institutions with a primary focus on SACCOs and microfinance institutions.
“I wanted to start a business to address the problem of capital and access to finance. I knew that SACCOs and microfinance play an important role for the people at the bottom of the pyramid as they enable them access to capital. But I believe that they can do better with the help of technology. That is how Zimba Technologies came about,” explained Isaac Were, Zimba Technologies Founder and CEO.
Zimba Technologies has developed an end-to-end solution that allows institutions to handle all their operations from managing clients and their data, loans, and deposits, and keeping track of all their books. In addition, they have also developed a mobile app specifically for the end-users that allows them to have access to their financial information, view their statements, and apply for loans. They also have a blockchain-based wallet that handles all the cashless transactions.
Launched in November 2023, Zimba Technologies currently has seventeen institutions that are using the platform, and serve over 80,000 end-users.
Uganda’s fintech sector is rapidly evolving, driven by increasing demand for digital financial services that bridge financial inclusion gaps across the country. From digital lending to mobile payment solutions, Ugandan fintech startups are transforming the local economy and setting benchmarks for digital innovation in Africa. These startups address challenges and provide practical financial solutions to underserved populations (mostly), contributing significantly to economic growth and inclusion.
