The Financial Technology Service Providers Association (FITSPA) has promised to support Financial Technology (Fintech) companies that were badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
When the novel virus hit the world, there was a fall in economic progress thus affecting markets at all levels in every sector. Fintechs were not spared either.
According to Ana Fiorella Carvajal the lead financial sector expert at World Bank, Covid-19 has impacted the market performance of fintech firms in areas such as transaction volumes, customer acquisition rates, loan default rates, premium lapses and the participation of retail and institutional investors in the provision of funding across various verticals.
She adds that due to the effects, some companies may not be able to get back on on course unless something is done. Thats why, FITSPA has come on board to rescue some of its members who need support.
Speaking during FITSPA 4th Annual General Meeting that was conducted via Zoom on Tuesday, Peter Kawumi, the association chairperson said for some companies, this period has been a great opportunity to grow and to make a contribution to the society by keeping a stable financial service flow while for others it has been extremely difficult given the structure of Uganda’s economy.
“Many of our colleagues have lost their businesses or have had to downsize in one way or another. For those that have lost their business of course please know that this association is here to support and one way we are looking at doing this, is to work with some of our strategic partners to attract recovery capital,” said Mr Kawumi.
He, however, said that only member companies will see such opportunity.
“You very well know that we have another storm which is regulations that is just around the corner. And many of you know that this is going to be a very good thing in our industry because it will attract investors who are seeking to enter and support our industry players, however, it’s something that is going to destabilise us in a short time as we seek to be compliant,” he said.
Mr Kawumi went ahead to ask the association members to continue supporting the board as they engage with the regulators to ensure that whatever regulation is put in place will be fair for every player in the industry.
Currently, there more than 100 fintech companies under FITSPA and some of these include; Jumo, MTN, CLIC, Standard Chartered, Liquid Telecom, Yo! Uganda, Pegasus, Stanbic Bank, NEPSERV,OlyCash , M-cash, Interswitch, Cellulant, paytota, beyonic, Intervas, Fenix intl, PayWay, Nano, True African, Ezeemoney, Future Link among others.
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