[kictanet] Kenya IGF Online Discussions. Day 3. Developments in Fintech and E-commerce

[Barrack Otieno]

Hi Ali,

1. We have made many gains in the Fintech and E-Commerce space due to
a conducive Policy environment. I am curious to understand why our
market is attracting a lot of venture capital. Is it that we are
innovative or do we offer cheap labor?, is there any capital flight
associated with the Venture Capital that is being channeled into our
market. I ask this considering the long debate about who invented and
owned MPESA. It eventually turned out that after all it was not a
Kenyan.
2. How much is the Kenyan Government through the parent Ministry of
Information and Communications Technology pumping into the FINTECH and
Innovation Space. Better still do we have any Research and Development
fund to support the sector beyond the Nairobi Innovation Week. I
appreciate the fact that we have a CS who is at the fore front of
Innovation but are we matching the same with the kind of budget being
allocated to the Standard Gauge Railway?
3. I would also like to find out from listers that might be in the
know , how many Kenyans have access to mobile money and gaps if any
that might exist. Is there any research that has been done that is
showing the current status of the Fintech and e-commerce eco-system.

asking for Wakanda

On 7/12/18, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Dear listers.
>
> Since the advent of Mpesa, Kenya has been recognized as Ground Zero for
> Mobile Money/Payments Innovation the world over. According to a World Bank
> report one in every ten human beings regularly using mobile money is a a
> Kenyan.
>
> Over the last few years Fintech (Financial Technology) has become all the
> rage. American startups are setting up in Kenya. The more common ones that
> we know are Branch and Tala who combined have raised over $150m of venture
> funds in the last few years. These two are mainly mobile lending platforms.
> Insuretech is taking root. Payment Platforms are proliferating. Banks are
> jumping onto the Fintech Bandwagon with mainstream banks like Barclays and
> HF Group launching their mobile lending apps. Equity Bank boldly announced a
> few weeks ago that they are building an API Bank. Banking as a Service as it
> were.
>
> Not to be left out, Blockchain and it’s offspring, Bitcoin is threading to
> complete the upheavals in the financial sector. On top of it all the
> government is playing catch up on regulation with the announcement of the
> Finance Bill 2018. See analysis from KPMG on this.
>
> https://home.kpmg.com/ke/en/home/insights/2018/06/finance-bill-2018-analysis.html
>
> To ponder:-
>
> 1. Are we moving too fast? Is there a need to take a chill pill and reflect
> on the gains and achievements of the sector?  Should we regulate lightly or
> heavily?
>
> 2. Should we regulate and cap the mobile lending platforms? Are they playing
> a crucial role of financial inclusion or are they just loan sharks on
> steroids?
>
> 3. How about the Credit Reference Bureaus? Are they stuck in a time warp or
> is the legislation in place encumbering them from innovation?
>
> 4.  Lastly is the BlockChain conversation being overhyped? And how do you
> separate the technology from the cryptocurrencies it spawns?
>
> Over to you Listers.
>
> Ali Hussein
> Principal
> AHK & Associates
> +254 0713 601113
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
> Skype: abu-jomo
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>
> "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a
> habit."  ~ Aristotle
>
>
> Sent from my iPad


-- 
Barrack O. Otieno
+254721325277
+254733206359
Skype: barrack.otieno
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