African Tech Roundup

African Fintech Signal Check 2019: Nigeria's Killing It! (Part 1) feat. Wiza Jalakasi


Listen Later

The last couple of months or so have been rather eventful for Africa's fintech scene— particularly in Nigeria where Interswitch notably attained unicorn status in November following Visa acquiring 20% of the company for a reported $200 million.
Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey's much-publicised visit to Africa last month also did much to put a global spotlight on the continent’s fintech arena, and the subsequent capital raises by OPay (backed by Opera) and PalmPay (backed by Transsion) drew attention to the on-going race for platform dominance in the space.
In this instalment of the African Tech Roundup podcast, Andile Masuku and The Subtext’s Osarumen Osamuyi are joined by Malawian mobile tech entrepreneur, Wiza Jalakasi, to unpack some of the more pertinent fintech industry signals and discuss their implications for the continent’s tech and innovation ecosystem at large. (To skip the introductory niceties, head straight to [11:58].)
Wiza is a passionate USSD proponent who formerly headed up business development and international expansion at Africa’s Talking. He is currently the head of strategy and business development at Hover.
Questions discussed in this episode include:
1) Is the hype around Jack Dorsey’s recent Africa visit well-deserved? [12:38]
2) Why might PalmPay’s $40 million seed round be the most significant China-related fintech startup play of late? [25:47]
3) Are aspiring ‘banks’ like Google and Facebook well-positioned to dominate Africa’s fintech industry? [28:52]
4) Is there credence to Jack Dorsey’s citing of Bitcoin as a key part of the future of African fintech? [37:55]
5) How significant is the trend towards digital-first and digital-only banks? [50:46]
6) Could the Zimbabwean mobile telco NetOne spark a continental trend by making mobile money transactions free? [1:01:57]
7) How will Google’s new Play Store lending term restrictions for financial services apps impact microlenders on the continent? [1:07:34]
To view resources referenced in this episode, visit https://www.africantechroundup.com/fintech-signal-check-2019-part-1/
Image credit: Namnso Ukpanah
...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

African Tech RoundupBy African Tech Roundup

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

15 ratings


More shows like African Tech Roundup

View all
Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,688 Listeners

Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,901 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,260 Listeners

Qalam Institute Podcast by Qalam Institute

Qalam Institute Podcast

851 Listeners

The Interview by BBC World Service

The Interview

363 Listeners

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch by Harry Stebbings

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch

519 Listeners

Pivot by New York Magazine

Pivot

9,202 Listeners

How I Built This with Guy Raz by Guy Raz | Wondery

How I Built This with Guy Raz

30,223 Listeners

The Intercept Briefing by The Intercept

The Intercept Briefing

6,118 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,864 Listeners

The Daily Show: Ears Edition by Comedy Central

The Daily Show: Ears Edition

14,258 Listeners

FT News Briefing by Financial Times

FT News Briefing

686 Listeners

My First Million by Hubspot Media

My First Million

2,624 Listeners

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway by Vox Media Podcast Network

The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway

5,397 Listeners

Good Bad Billionaire by BBC World Service

Good Bad Billionaire

258 Listeners