TechPression

Tag: Finance

  • SentBe represents South Korea at ‘Pathway to 17 Summit’

    SentBe represents South Korea at ‘Pathway to 17 Summit’

    SentBe, a leading fintech firm from South Korea, was the exclusive representative at the ‘Pathway to 17 Summit,’ a global event focused on addressing complex issues related to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

    Organised by the Digital Frontiers Institute and The Alliance of Digital Finance Associations, the summit brings together experts dedicated to discussing the role of financial inclusion in advancing the SDGs.

    Read also: South Korea seeks Africa for key EV battery material

    A Voice for Financial Inclusion

    SentBe played a significant role at the event, with Hanna Yim, leader of SentBe’s Business Impact Team, representing South Korea as a panelist. The session she participated in was centered on ‘Sustainable Payment Systems and Crisis Management,’ a crucial topic in the context of financial inclusion.

    A Candid Discussion on Inclusive Instant Payment Systems

    The panel discussion, skillfully moderated by Jacqueline Jumah, Director of Advocacy & Capacity Development at AfricaNenda, delved into the challenges faced by Africa’s Inclusive Instant Payment Systems. The consensus was clear: Inclusive instant payment systems play a vital role in expanding financial inclusion, driving economic growth, ensuring financial stability, reducing poverty, and promoting shared prosperity globally.

    Emphasizing the Importance of Collaboration and Innovation

    Hanna Yim, Head of Business Impact at SentBe, highlighted the need for traditional and emerging financial institutions to work in harmony. She emphasized the significance of establishing a robust digital infrastructure to support instant payment systems. Yim provided the example of Kenya’s mobile payment platform, which succeeded not solely due to high-end technology but also through accessible solutions such as 2G phones and related infrastructure.

    Yim stressed the importance of identifying areas for improvement and allocating resources to advance financial inclusion. Effective collaboration between the public and private sectors, especially in providing resources to financial sector stakeholders, is crucial. She also emphasized the significance of a customer-centric approach, particularly in the current environment where Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors are central. According to Yim, private sector entities should create solutions that not only generate financial value but also contribute to social value creation for greater sustainability.

    SentBe’s Role in Advancing Financial Inclusion

    SentBe, a member of the Global Digital Innovation Network, is at the forefront of promoting financial inclusion through its core business, aligning with financial ESG principles. It operates the industry’s sole ‘Business Impact Team’ in Korea, dedicated to enhancing financial accessibility for groups traditionally overlooked in the mainstream financial sector.

    Notably, SentBe’s international remittance service surpasses the SDGs target rate for remittance fees set by the UN to be achieved by 2030. In 2022, SentBe made history as the first Korean company to be selected for the prestigious Inclusive Fintech 50, earning acclaim from both domestic and international academic circles and international organisations. SentBe’s commitment to financial inclusion goes beyond a corporate mission; it represents a practical contribution to global sustainability goals.

  • Kenya’s Tech Startups Benefit from Enhanced Enterprise Financing

    Kenya’s Tech Startups Benefit from Enhanced Enterprise Financing

    About one billion dollars was raised by Kenyan entrepreneurs, including tech startups, in the first half of 2022, an increase over the previous year.

    According to the data collected, Kenya has shown the most impressive growth in the funding gained this year out of the big four in Africa – the quartet that includes Egypt and South Africa. Nigeria, South Africa, and Botswana are the other three members of the quartet.

    Read: Coding Becomes School Subject in Kenya

    According to the Big Deal database, the East African nation raised $820 million through 76 additional agreements in the first half of this year. This is almost double the amount of capital the nation’s startups had received in the previous year. Compared to the same period during the last year, when Kenyan entrepreneurs raised a total of $157 million, the current amount reflects a growth in funding of 422% for Kenya.

    According to the statistics provided by Partech, Kenya raised $571 million during the previous year. However, The Big Deal’s 2021 report estimated that the country raised only $411 million. In both categories, Kenya ranked fourth among the nations of Africa in terms of the amount of funding it received.

    Read: Kenya Power Announces Fixed Internet Service by 2023

    However, according to the most recent Big Deal data, which only considers deals made public, the country is currently ranked second after Nigeria. Nigeria is now in the first place, having signed 160 contracts and attracting $864 million in venture capital funding. This represents a 128% increase compared to the previous year’s first six months. Nigeria, which ranked as the top destination for venture capital investments in Africa in 2017, brought in about $1.8 billion, three times as much as Kenya.

    So far this year, Egypt and South Africa have emerged as the third and fourth countries in finance. Egypt has obtained $538 million through 71 deals, while South Africa has won $392 million through 53 deals. Nevertheless, Egypt made the second most progress, earning the second largest gain after achieving an increase of 244% throughout the period under consideration. The amount of cash raised in South Africa, the continent’s second most popular destination for venture capital investments in the previous year, increased by only a minuscule 2%. The four companies account for 87 per cent of the money raised by African startups.

    Kenyan Contracts with Huge Value

    Kenya’s growth in venture capital investing has been attributed to an increase in agreements and mega-rounds, which are transactions exceeding $100 million.

    The series D funding of $260 million that was received by Sun King and the series B funding of $125 million that Wasoko acquired are two necessary mega rounds that took place in Kenya before June came to an end. Wasoko is an e-commerce and retail platform for businesses to do business with each other. Sun King, on the other hand, sells solar energy in Africa and Asia.

    It is remarkable that Kenya’s growth is skyrocketing at a time when venture capital financing is continuing to drop all across the world.

    On the other hand, the growing amount of venture capital investing in Africa may be seen in Kenya’s increased deal flow. According to the data provided by The Big Deal, Africa had raised a total of $3 billion by the end of June, double the amount it had increased during the previous year. Even though this amount is small compared to what has been raised in other parts of the world, it is a good sign.

    According to Max Cuvellier of The Big Deal, who wrote a piece regarding funding in Africa, “If we look at the year-on-year (YoY) evolution of quarterly funding (comparing Q2 2022 to Q2 2021), Africa is simply the only region that remained to expand YoY.”
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    The majority of funding on the continent is still going toward financial technology companies, and all African countries have to step up their game in this aspect. According to the results of a recent study by McKinsey, payments and banking in Africa are growing at the second-fastest rate in the world, right behind Latin America.