The neobank, planned to cover Angola, Mozambique, and Mauritius, will help users to fund a wallet, send money, pay for everyday needs like airtime, and hold balances in multiple currencies.

To know more about the initiative, International Finance caught up with Slava Ivashkin, founder and CEO of Velmie, who spoke in detail about what his company’s partnership with Preferta means for Africa’s digital banking industry, the role Velmie is playing in ensuring the success of Preferta’s mobile-first neobank, and the roadmap the company has prepared for expanding its fintech innovation across the continent.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

What is the vision behind Velmie’s partnership with Preferta, and what does it mean for digital banking in Angola, Mozambique, and Mauritius?
The vision is to establish a modern banking platform that Preferta can use to build a serious regional financial-services business, rather than launch a narrowly defined consumer application. Velmie is the lead technology vendor, providing the platform that will run the core operational processes, and customer experience.

For Angola, Mozambique and Mauritius, the significance is practical: financial institutions can bring well-designed digital services to market without inheriting the cost and limitations of legacy infrastructure.

Each market has its own regulatory and distribution model. So, the platform must combine a common technology foundation with local execution. Done properly, this creates a scalable business for Preferta and broader access to reliable financial services for consumers and businesses.

How is Velmie leveraging its fintech expertise to ensure the success of Preferta’s mobile-first neobank?
Success depends less on launching features than on building a platform that performs reliably as volumes and regulatory expectations grow. Velmie has spent more than a decade developing and operating banking technology, including projects across Africa serving multi-million customer bases.

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The announcement of the E-Levy was made in November 2021 by the country’s finance minister.

Just like any other move, it too came with some industry stakeholders supporting it while some said that it would have a negative impact on digital payments and will affect the digitization journey.

The agencies involved in the implementation of the levy are the Ghana Revenue Authority, banks and specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions (DFIs), electronic money issuers (EMIs), and telecommunications companies (telcos).

According to Africa News, these agencies have put in place the relevant systems as well as mechanisms so as to start collecting 1.5 percent as a levy on daily electronic transfers.

As for the working, suppose A sends $7 in the morning and $6 in the evening, then the levy will not be applied. Whereas, if B sends $13 in the morning and $20 in the evening then they will be charged a 1.5 percent e-levy on the $20.

With this system in place, it is expected that people will soon start turning their backs on electronic payments. According to BBC, the Central Bank of Ghana reported that the industry lost over $1 billion in the last two months since November as people had started using cash ahead of the system coming into effect.

The government took this step to build a digital economy and at the same time reduce the use of physical cash. But it seems like it is not working as a huge drop in the use of mobile money services can be seen.

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Additionally, it will also let the users pay with the local payment methods like credit cards and mobile money, and this includes air shipping to several countrywide delivery points. The new marketplace also promises Cameroon-based customers to be able to purchase any product of their choice from categories like DVDs, books, computers, games, cosmetics, appliances, millions of SKUs and many more from their mobile in the near future.

The agreement was signed on November 4, 2021, in Douala to officialise it. Prior to this, Kiwi Pay Group was signing various agreements with different special economic zones (SEZs) like CEMAC, GIM-UEMOA and others, allowing them to offer transactions in the local currency, FCFA.

Fongod Nuvaga Edwin, director general of Customs in Cameroon told the media, “This strategic partnership with Bolloré Logistics and the Customs in Cameroon is allowing us to benefit from the strong growth of the e-commerce in the country while leveraging from decades of experience from our partners to ensure a trustworthy experience for the customers and compliance with the local tax system.”

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According to Ethio Telecom chief executive officer Firehiwot Tamru, Telebirr is a reliable, inclusive, easy transaction financial service that would enable a cashless society and transform the overall Ethiopian economy as it fosters a national reform.

He further added that he expects around 40 to 50 percent of the country’s economy related financial transactions would be carried out using Telebirr. The platform has the capability to carry out around 100 transactions in one second. However, it is expected to be scaled up to nearly 1000 transactions per second. It was developed by Huawei in just five months, while the initial target was to develop the platform in two years.

MTN and a Vodafone/Vodacom-led consortium were the only two parties to bid for telecom licences in Ethiopia, according to media reports. Ethiopia is looking to liberalise its telecom sector by offering two new licences and end a monopoly by state-owned telco Ethio Telecom. The government is also looking to sell a 40 percent stake in Ethio Telecom.

Shameel Joosub, chief executive officer at Vodacom group told the media, “We are submitting a strong tender as the Global Partnership for Ethiopia consortium led by Safaricom. It is never an easy job to open up a country’s telecom market, yet the Ethiopian government has managed to move forward with a large number of the regulations required for the benefit of 110 million Ethiopians.”

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Co-founder Alexis Roman told Disrupt Africa, “Annually, over 60 percent of savings across Kenya are being held in informal channels – saving groups, SACCOs… The majority of these informal channels don’t give users the ability to control their finances or seek higher interest on their savings.”

Koa completed its seed funding round last year and was recently selected for the latest Catalyst Fund programme. The startup looks to disrupt the savings and investments market in East Africa through its launch.

Recently, Kenya-based banking startup Tanda announced its plans to expand its operations regionally as well as to other markets in Africa. Earlier this year, Tanda concluded a funding round, where investors such as HAVAÍC, Zedcrest Capital, DFS Lab, Victor Asemota among others participated.

Geoffrey Mulei, chief executive officer of Tanda told the media, “Our team will continue to run aggressive agent and customer acquisition drives across the region, while securing more strategic partnerships in these new markets to further support Tanda’s growth and strategy as we pursue our goal of digitising payments across Africa.”

Tanda hosts over 58 SACCOs and banks,18 billers, 4 telecoms and over 12,000 agents and merchants through its platform. According to media reports, Tanda plans on growing its Kenyan footprint to over 100,000 merchants and agents while expanding further to Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

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In this regard, founder and chief executive officer at MFS Africa Dare Okoudjou told the media, “In 2010, MFS Africa took a bet that mobile money accounts would be the most dominant form of financial accounts in Africa and emerging markets at large. The new numbers released by the GSMA have now removed any lingering doubts about that.

“We also wagered that through our work, these accounts would be able to exchange value with each other and with the rest of the world, in the same way we communicate with each other by mobile phones. We are now in a position to make that a reality for over 320 million accounts in Africa. This means that a tech company in Liberia can now gun for a market 64 times the size of its home market – underlining the positive economic impact that creating new financial pathways can create.”

Recently, it was also reported that MFS Africa is mulling acquisitions and investments to strengthen its network in East and West Africa. Announcements in this regard are expected in the month of April. MFS Africa plans to strengthen its presence in Cameroon, Gabon and Chad in Central Africa and Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya to the east.

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In this regard, Geoffrey Mulei, chief executive officer of Tanda told the media, “Our team will continue to run aggressive agent and customer acquisition drives across the region, while securing more strategic partnerships in these new markets to further support Tanda’s growth and strategy as we pursue our goal of digitising payments across Africa. Tanda is excited to be at the forefront of the rapid shift towards innovative digital-first solutions, especially in markets that are ripe for disruption.”

Tanda hosts over 58 SACCOs and banks,18 billers, 4 telecoms and over 12,000 agents and merchants through its platform. According to media reports, Tanda plans on growing its Kenyan footprint to over 100,000 merchants and agents while expanding further to Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania.

Recently, it was also reported that South Africa-based fintech Ukheshe Technologies is planning to expand its operations internationally after completing a $2 million raise in equity and debt funding last November. So far Ukheshe has raised around $7 million in separate funding rounds. Notably, the fintech has also closed two acquisitions, and secured a key partnership with American multinational financial services corporation MasterCard.

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In this regard, Ahmad Hammouda, co-founder and chief executive officer at Thndr, told the media, “At Thndr we believe that everyone should have access to financial services and products that can make your money work for you. All taking you a bit closer to the ultimate goal of financial freedom. That’s why we’re excited to introduce our second investment product—Mutual Funds.”

Called AZ Savings, it will be available on the Thndr app and is an open-ended private placement fund. The fund is for investments that are mostly in near-term fixed income instruments. It is reported that the investment is considered a low-risk and liquid investment instrument and enables users to invest in the fund daily and redeem from it weekly.

Last year, Thndr also became the first Egyptian company to receive a brokerage licence from Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority since 2008. Established in 2020, Thndr participated in the Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator accelerator.

Back then, Ahmad Hammouda told the media, “Our vision is to put wealth in the hands of everyday individuals. With the rise of technology, and the foresight of a very supportive Financial Regulatory Authority, we can make this vision come to life — Egypt is expected to be the 7th largest economy by 2030 and has more than 100 million people, most of which are young and are looking for a convenient and digital way to invest their money. That’s why we are excited to bring a new breed of young investors to the market.”

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The funding round for Planet42 was led by Change Ventures with participation from Martin Villig (Bolt), Ragnar Sass (Pipedrive), Marko Virkebau (MeetFrank), Kristjan Vilosius (Katana MRP), and several other Estonian tech entrepreneurs.

The startup focuses on increasing access to mobility to the underbanked in the country. Reportedly, it will use the recently raised funds to expand its portfolio of vehicles.

Planet42 uses an automated scoring algorithm to process client applications based on credit bureau, affordability, and alternative data. What it does is it partners with dealerships across South Africa to offer access to a personal car to its largely underbanked clientele.

Eerik Oja, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Planet42 told the media, “Having a personal vehicle is a necessity in South Africa, as public transport is underdeveloped while ride-hailing is prohibitively expensive for most. A family car can be a lifesaver, but banks focus on newer, expensive vehicles and only approve 15 per cent of car financing applicants. This leaves few alternatives to lower- and middle-income households.”

“We see a huge need for people to improve their standards of living with better mobility, but a lack of options in the market to service them. More than 24 million people are credit impaired or have no access to finance in South Africa – that’s well over half of the adult population.”

So far, Planet42 has delivered more than 2000 cars to its clients. Reportedly, the startup is targeting a total of 100,000 cars by 2024 in South Africa alone.

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The funding will be used by Okra to boost its infrastructure development and establish itself as a leader in the Nigerian fintech landscape.

The startup possesses the capacity to add clients to its portal within 24 hours. So far, it has already connected with all of Nigeria’s commercial banks as well as the likes of Branch, AIICO Insurance PLC, Travelstart, Bamboo, Renmoney, and Swipe.

With regard to the funding, co-founder of Okra, Fara Ashiru Jituboh told the media, “Our thesis is simple — financial innovation cannot exist without the proper infrastructure, which is data. Essentially, how far the African fintech sector can grow is intrinsically tied to the success of an infrastructure like Okra and with our core market in Nigeria, we’re opening the door to another level of innovation in Africa’s largest market,” said Jituboh.

“There are approximately 125 million bank accounts in Nigeria alone – but over the course of the next two years, we will see that figure rise exponentially, which presents huge opportunities for growth. Our role within this is to deliver ease, speed, and transparency to key players within the fintech space so they can get back to driving our continent forward.”

Established in January 2020 by Fara Ashiru Jituboh and David Peterside, the startup recorded a 175 percent rise in demand since March as the coronavirus pandemic has given digitalisation a significant boost.

Reportedly, Okra is also Africa’s first API “super-connector” and is developing the infrastructure for Africa’s next stage of fintech innovation.

In 2019, Nigerian fintech startups attracted investment worth $122 million, according to the 2019 African Tech Startups Funding Report.

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