Zoona: An Innovative Approach to Banking in Africa
There is evidence that many African countries are gradually moving towards becoming knowledge-based societies. This is powered by the increase of digitization and innovation. Particularly in the past few year, the African continent has seen an increased number of innovative start-ups. This week TeKAfrica is shining the light on one particular startup: Zoona.
Zoona is a fintech start-up with goal to provide banking service for people without access to financial establishments. The company uses the following as its guidelines:
- Empower entrepreneurs: Zoona provides technology, capital, and business support to emerging entrepreneurs in Africa, enabling them to start their own businesses as Zoona agents.
- Drive the girl effect: Zoona has a particular interest in young women empowerment. The company supports and encourages young women with no formal business experience or education to become business owners. Nike Foundation and the Unreasonable Growth have identified Zoona as as one of 10 companies worldwide best suited to lifting women and girls out of poverty.
- Create impact: Zoona provides essential financial services to communities. Consequently, it has earned the trust of over 1 and a half million consumers and has since transacted $1 billion dollars in mobile money transactions as of April 2017. Also, Zoona was able to raise $15million in investment in 2016.
- Innovate: Zoona aims to cultivate relationships with their customers hence develop innovative products and services for its communities.
- Grow: Zoona founders believe in diversity as one of the greatest strengths and want to build a pan-African business that helps communities on the African continent become self-sufficient.
Founders Brett and Brad Magrath developed the platform for Zoona, in 2009 in Zambia, with the understanding that the many of the developing economies found on the African continent are made up of cash.They also understood that in order to build a sustainable business, one must be able to do good at the same time. There is no doubt that the high rates of poverty and unemployment make it almost impossible for many people to access to formal financial services. Zoona is able to bridge this gap.
Hence Zoona agents offer the following services to communities that historically had no access to banking services: mobile money transactions, local and international money transfers, bill payments, even savings products.
