First South African Fintech Startup selected for 2020

 Ukheshe, an SMME digital banking platform provider, has been selected to join Mastercard Start Path, an exclusive startup engagement program for later-stage scaling startups. Focused on financial inclusion, Ukheshe’s technology platform helps banks and telcos provide affordable digital banking and payment services (BaaS). With client acquisition, onboarding and distribution costs that are a fraction of traditional merchant accounts, informal banking is now an accessible, untapped and lucrative growth market for banking partners. Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the fastest-growing investment zones for financial technology companies and is fast-becoming the flagship for mobile disruption. Driving this growth is the unbanked.

Clayton Hayward, co-founder and CEO, Ukheshe, says that its inclusion in Mastercard’s Start Path programme is not only exciting, but prestigious for the startup: “Mastercard’s ecosystem, customers and innovations will assist us to continue building one of the most significant transaction platforms on the continent.” He says that Start Path will also assist in further addressing the unbanked challenge faced by the continent: “We need to ensure that we are able to reach these unbanked individuals and better understand, as financial service providers, why they opt to stay in the informal sector.”

According to Hayward, since launching Ukheshe 15 months ago, the plight for financial inclusion has become glaringly obvious. While progress has been made in terms of mobile money, it’s become imperative that we move beyond that and look into digital payment solutions: “Financial inclusion is not just about technology disruption, but more about solving greater economic problems. Consumers need simpler, more cost-effective ways to do simple tasks such as sending or receiving money and buying airtime.” But Hayward says that Ukheshe has realised that financial inclusion goes beyond consumers and plays a far greater role in the lives of small-scale entrepreneurs: “It’s ultimately about inclusive economic growth and how digital financial services can play a major role in the increase of financial inclusion in Africa. With an ever-growing mobile base, Sub-Saharan Africa has the potential to lead the way, while also creating widespread economic prosperity,” says Hayward.

Mastercard and the Start Path startups are a global network of innovators building the future of commerce. Start Path is one of many renowned programs in Mastercard Accelerate, which provides a simple, single entry point to Mastercard’s wide fintech portfolio and access to everything startups need to grow quickly. As an industry-wide collaboration, Start Path convenes banks, merchants and startups to scale new technology solutions for the financial services and payments industries. The programme also provides startups with operational support, commercial engagement and the opportunity for strategic investment.

“After sourcing the best and brightest later stage startups from across the globe, we’re thrilled to welcome Ukheshe to the Start Path ecosystem of innovators,” said Amy Neale, Senior Vice President, Start Path & Fintech, Mastercard. “The diversity in our Start Path program proves how quickly the pace of innovation is happening and together we are building the future of commerce.”

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