Mobile financial services and technology company MobiCash has announced a spaza sector-focused mobile platform called MobiSpaza in South Africa.
MobiSpaza is an inclusive business tool that builds bridges between spaza sector stakeholders, such as private corporations, state-owned entities, co-operatives, and not-for-profit organizations, and the township communities they serve. It promotes spaza entrepreneurship with turnkey integration across the value chain including suppliers, distributors, retailers, and customers.
Patrick Gordon Ngabonziza, MobiCash founder and chairman, says: “As a company at the forefront of financial inclusion initiatives all across Africa, MobiCash continuously seeks innovative ways to help meet our customers’ and partners’ needs.
“Each market presents unique challenges and opportunities and finding the best fit is what sets us apart. Through MobiSpaza, inclusive business is a layer added to financial inclusion and in the end people benefit as well as businesses.”
MobiSpaza creates opportunities for businesses to successfully operate in the townships by providing a sector-focused solution for products and processes adaptation driven by mobile payments and spaza banking.
The system includes convenient remote and proximity payment authentication mechanisms for physical goods and value-added services including remittances.
For the spaza shops, there are also in-built features designed to maximize productivity and sustained earnings through collective stock procurement or buying power, social networking and market dominance.
“We developed a B2C, or brands to customer, application as an added element of the MobiSpaza value offering. With MobiSpaza, brands can promote their products directly to the last mile whereby interested consumers can redeem coupons in real time at their nearest spaza shop,” says Donald Mudenge, COO of MobiCash South Africa.
“The ultimate goal is to make goods and services more affordable and accessible in the townships while giving businesses reason to stay and grow.”
MobiSpaza is expected to benefit South Africa township communities in areas such as human development and increased access to financial products and services. Businesses, on the other hand, now have better and improved access to these markets and forge mutually beneficial partnerships and collaborations to help serve the communities better.
MobiCash, introduced to promote financial inclusion, is the technical platform behind spaza sector-orientated MobiSpaza.
