We are passionate about providing better financial conditions for people. By reaching one person, we are able to reach many more. Helping one person in a family helps the whole family!
In Africa, 80% of the economy is informal economy. Payment is made in cash or through mobile money. Groups of people often join together in cooperatives to get cheaper savings and loan products in order to achieve a higher quality of life for themselves, their family, or their company. Many of these cooperatives are run as a SACCO (Savings and Credit Co-operative). Today, a SACCO is often run with pen, paper and simple forms.
Through the product CAMS, we have digitized the savings and loan products for SACCOs. Members can view and perform transactions themselves. In addition, the SACCO has an administration panel where all members can see their balance sheet, create reports, and more.
We are proud to say that CAMS has been built in close collaboration with SACCOs and several umbrella organizations in Africa. On our countless trips, surveys and workshops together with incredibly beautiful, committed and knowledgeable people, we have built a product that can improve the living conditions of millions of people.
An informal economy is the part of any economy that is neither taxed nor monitored by any form of government.
Accounting for 80% of jobs, the informal sector is the main source of employment and the backbone of economic activity in urban Africa.
The pivotal role of the urban informal sector is expected to continue in the foreseeable future in light of Africa’s growing population. The size of the working age population in the region will increase by 224.0 million by 2030 and 730.4 million by 2050.
Mobile money is a mobile payments system based on accounts held by one MNO (Mobile Network Operator) and accessible from subscribers’ mobile phones. The conversion of cash into electronic value (and vice versa) happens at retail stores (or agents). Members can choose their preferred payment provider to send contributions to their savings groups online. All transactions are authorized and recorded in real-time using SMS.
Africa now accounts for 70% of the world’s $1 trillion mobile money value. The value of Africa’s mobile money transactions edged up 39% to $701.4 billion in 2021 from $495 billion in 2020.
Cooperatives are people-centered enterprises. They are jointly owned and democratically controlled by and for their members to realize their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations. As enterprises based on values and principles, they put fairness and equality first, allowing people to create sustainable enterprises that generate long-term jobs and prosperity.
There are estimated to be around 3 million cooperatives worldwide – representing about 1 billion members. They are a forum for knowledge, expertise and co-ordinated action for multiple areas, including finance, agriculture, and industry.
SACCOs (Savings and Credit Co-Operative) are member-owned financial cooperatives that offer savings and/or credit services to their members.
By running a SACCO with pen, paper, and simple forms, you can quickly lose track of member information and transaction details. The delivery of statutory reports is more time-consuming, and you are more susceptible to fraud.
For members, the current system presents several challenges. They do not have a personal overview of their account(s). They spend a lot of the working day traveling to the SACCO to deposit money. They may be exposed to fraud and robbery. In addition, they do not get a financial history, which could give them better living conditions.
Our product CAMS (Credit Association Management System) is a financial system that helps SACCOs manage loans, keep transaction records, and perform other operations that have a great impact on the success of a savings group. Read more about CAMS here.
In the 21st century, it is hard to believe that a major part of the world’s population isn’t yet financially included. The majority of people in Africa don’t have access to basic financial services, such as banking. Even if they have, they have to pay a huge price to access those services.
In the initial stages, while conducting workshops to understand the African finance market, we realized that instead of going to banks, people went to financial groups to deposit and withdraw money. These financial groups, amongst others, included SACCOs (Savings and Credit Co-Operative Societies) – organizations that were offering not only basic financial services, but also loans in times of personal need or in order to build/expand businesses, improving living conditions.
We were impressed with how well these organizations were run and managed. However, one of the aspects that was missing from the system was technology – the entire accounting system was manual, which left a huge scope for human error. We as tech-innovators could foresee what wonders an infrastructure built on technology could bring to the SACCOs ecosystem. This led to the birth of Wakandi – an ecosystem powered by modern technology that will build financial products and services to support a more inclusive and sustainable society.
Today, CAMS has been launched and is in use by SACCos in Tanzania. During the year, CAMS will also be launched in Uganda and Kenya.
“When I founded Wakandi, it was with a dream of touching millions of people in their day-to-day life. The guidance and feedback we got on the ground in African countries during the development phase were critical to reaching the product launch. It's with all humbleness we now start our journey, not only by touching people with modern IT solutions but also by improving their access to fair financial products and services."
Espen Kvelland, CEO
“Africa is the continent of great opportunities. Continuous strong economic growth has translated into shared prosperity and increased financial inclusion across the continent. By taking advantage of DLT, there is a unique opportunity to enhance financial inclusion by making financial services available, accessible and affordable to all segments of the population.”
Terje Width, COO
Terje Width, COO
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