Benito FinTech News: Sharing The Stories of Innovators
Innovation is a trendy term in today’s business community. It is often synonymous with vibrancy in an organization and infers a deep level of respect they have for the consequences of not adapting to societal and commercial changes. Behind this facade lies the fantastic stories of those trying to break the mold to offer innovative experiences to others.
Innovating is a perilous journey that, at time, ends with broken dreams and sometimes leads to the joy of success. Nuances on that path make for incredible life-altering moments. Benito Elisa, a Mauritian-born finance executive, created the Benito Fintech News (BFN) to discover and share the stories of Mauritian and African entrepreneurs and innovators in the Fintech space that took that path.
XTM+ caught up with Benito to ask him a few questions.
Why did you create BFN?
Having worked in the financial sector, I have a thirst for knowledge regarding how technological solutions are addressing big societal problems.
For example, how technology and the finance sector mesh to offer solutions to the underbanked, reduce friction in commerce, and much more. I also found that most people I come across, at least in Mauritius, are unaware of the people making a living in this space.
Innovation and Fintech can be hard to explain because it gets lumped into this unstable trial and error thing that has not yet permeated though the mainstream and been used by the masses. Most of the new products that they use are from large companies whose brands customers trust.
I wanted to share the stories of Mauritian and African homegrown operations, the markets they were targeting, the problems they have to get their products out. I wanted to show people not only the journey but also how they were helping customers. Together with Ducorp XTM, I decided to create an interview-style show where I invite pioneers in the FinTech and innovation period to share their stories through the XTM+ digital channels.
What is the state of FinTech in Mauritius?
Mauritius benefits from a stable financial ecosystem. It has a robust banking sector, and innovators can also get access to the regulatory sandbox license where they can apply for a permit to pursue projects where current legislative regimes are ill-suited to deal with them.
An initiative of the Economic Development Board lead to the creation of the FinTech Hub, which supports those initiatives. Mauritius is experiencing increased interest in the FinTech sector, and I am of the view that we are now moving beyond buzzwords to practicality. This is also a reason why I want to share the stories on those taking that path of innovation practicality.
On which day and at what time do you release BFN?
BFN doesn’t have a fixed schedule.
Whenever I find a company or an individual that is doing something great, I try to get them on the show.
We wish Benito and BFN success in its work to share the stories of these innovators. Stay tuned for BFN available @xtpmplus on Facebook or Youtube.
XTM Mirror ; 2019
