Many people know that the African continent is facing a number of challenges to boost its development, most notably financial inclusion, which in Mozambique has been the subject of debate at various levels.
In an effort to tackle this problem and allow more citizens to have access to financial services, a Finckathon was held last Friday, 19 July, in Maputo, organised by Vodafone M-Pesa in partnership with Financial Sector Deeping Mozambique (FSDMoç), the association of Fintech and Insurtech companies and professionals in Mozambique (FinTech.MZ) and the GSMA – an international association that represents the interests of more than 750 mobile phone operators and manufacturers from 220 countries around the world.
The term ‘Finckathon’ comes from the word ‘Hackathon’ which is a programming marathon that can last from 24 hours to two or three days, a term that results from the combination of the English words ‘hack’ (to programme in an exceptional way) and ‘marathon’ (marathon). At these events, participants have the opportunity to create ideas and put them to work through programming, with the aim of competing for prizes, meeting other professionals in the field, networking or taking part in a collaborative project in a specific programming environment.
What makes an event like this such a success is the challenge and a kind of intangible magic that occurs whenever a group of people focussed on a single objective come together to achieve a specific goal. Finally, they make a pitch to a jury and present their winning ideas. Of course, not all of them are, and this is where the most essential aspect comes in: it has to be a good idea.
In an effort to tackle this problem and give more citizens access to financial services, a Finckathon was held last Friday 19 July in Maputo, organised by Vodafone M-Pesa in partnership with Financial Sector Deeping Mozambique (FSDMoç), the association of Fintech and Insurtech companies and professionals in Mozambique (FinTech.MZ) and the GSMA – an international association that represents the interests of more than 750 mobile phone operators and manufacturers from 220 countries around the world.
Disruptive solutions
Because brilliant minds and initiatives should not be overlooked by the organisations that have the power to catapult them, Vodafone M-Pesa brought together six teams from three national universities: Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), Instituto Superior de Transportes e Comunicações (ISUTC) and Instituto Superior de Ciências e Tecnologia de Moçambique (ISCTEM), with two teams from each institution. The aim was to identify problems and propose financial solutions to improve performance, security and promote financial inclusion in Mozambique.
Finckathon winners
UEM’s ‘E-Safe’ team came first and received a prize of 100,000 meticals for their proposal for a platform to combat financial scams in parcel transactions. Second place was won by the ‘Bite Wizards’ team, also from UEM, while ISUTC’s ‘W Team’ came third, winning prizes of 50,000 and 25,000 meticals respectively.
During his speech, M-Pesa’s financial director, Tawanda Gota, said that this gesture demonstrates the mobile wallet’s commitment to educational institutions in Mozambique, as well as its trust in young students to identify operational challenges in the financial sector and provide solutions that can improve the supply of financial products and services in a more appropriate and secure way in the country.
‘We want to help young students develop their potential by solving problems with a positive impact on society, so the proposals presented today will be refined to be introduced into the market, with the proponents being integrated into our work teams,’ he said.
Smart_India_Hackathon_2022
According to the President of the Board of Directors of FSDMoç, Esselina Macome, the levels of financial inclusion in Mozambican are still not satisfactory, but we must recognise the evolution and the efforts being made by various institutions to ensure that the country reaches the most appropriate levels.
We want to help young students develop their potential by solving problems that have a positive impact on society, which is why the proposals presented today will be refined for introduction into the market, with the proponents being integrated into our work teams
Tawanda Gota
“This competition was made during this week. We decided that we wouldn’t say what problem we wanted the bidders to solve. We let them identify the problem and the solution, but let it be one that would impact more people. And as you can see, we came up with a variety of solutions. We know that fraud and scams occur using mobile wallets. So these young people have brought a possibility of how fraud can be mitigated, especially for people who have small businesses. So this will contribute to financial inclusion, because more people will be able to use the services safely,’ said Esselina Macome.
The levels of financial inclusion in Mozambique are still not satisfactory, but it is necessary to recognise the evolution and the efforts being made by various institutions so that the country reaches the most appropriate levels.
Esselina Macome
For his part, João Gaspar, president of the Fintechs association, said: ‘we not only want to raise the levels of financial inclusion, but also accelerate digital inclusion, with the massification of technological alternatives and we are betting on universities because we believe that they are where innovation and the future are to be found’.
