Meet GES Delegate: Marcelo Lanfranconi

Twitter: @mlanfran

Country: Uruguay

Organization: Paganza www.paganza.com

Description: Paganza is the mobile app for paying bills in Latin America.

The startup solves a tedious problem for millions of Latin American citizens in a simple way. After four years operating in Uruguay, Paganza is the leader of mobile payments in the local market and is starting in México this year.

What inspired you to start this organization?

In Latin America, more than 90% of bill payments are processed through collection networks in cash. Even though on average more than 40% of citizens have a bank account, in our region less than 10% of payments are processed through online banking services.

Paganza allows users to pay any monthly bill from their smartphone. This solution keep the advantages of cash payments like simplicity and control while providing a better user experience by allowing to pay directly from their smartphone without waiting in line.

What advice would you give other emerging entrepreneurs?

Before starting Paganza I was the CEO of Techo Uruguay (www.techo.org), the biggest NGO in Latin America that fights against poverty through the joint work of families living in extreme poverty with youth volunteers. One characteristic than I love about Techo and I tried to keep in Paganza is to be really engaged with the problem/opportunity I’m working for.