How Pebuu is Transforming Pocket Money in Schools from Cash to Digital Wallets – PML Daily

KAMPALA —Pocket money in the form of cash at school will be history after a new innovation tries to store it in electronic wallets.

Called Pebuu School Product, the innovation from Pebuu Limited, a financial technology (FinTech) company, enables students, parents or guardians to deposit pocket money into electronic wallets that can be accessed with their thumbprint or a unique number at the closest agent.

The innovation will also help contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in schools, as cash is one of the channels through which the virus spreads.
According to John Paul Semyalo, the company’s chief executive officer, the product has been tested in a number of schools and works well.

Pebuu Limited, a women-centric brand, employs agents across the country to serve its customers.

Semyalo notes that the company, which trades as Pebuu Africa, has 2,400 merchants nationwide, 80% of whom use point-of-sale (POS) machines, while 20% use a mobile app on their smartphones.

Pebuu has partnered with telecommunications companies – MTN, Airtel, Africell and Uganda Telecom Limited (UTL) – to distribute their products – mobile money, airtime, data, over the top tax and other services – through its platform.

FinTech started five years ago with four agents who only carried airtime with them, as telecommunications initially insisted on integrating every FinTech for mobile money and the other services.

It also works with banks, three of which – Stanbic, GT Bank, and Centenary – are already on board, according to Semyalo, who adds that they are in advance of integrating other banks onto the platform.
“When you visit a Pebuu agent, you can deposit or withdraw mobile money, pay your bills, or do banking at the lowest cost,” says Semyalo.

Pebuu, one of the companies participating in the second edition of the 40-Days 40 FinTechs initiative, is also offering a Pebuu Care product, a micro-credit solution focused on women and youth.

The product enables agents to borrow money in real time and repay the loan within 24 hours or 30 days.

Commenting on the 40 Days 40 FinTechs, Semyalo said: “It’s a great initiative; It brings the different FinTechs together to exchange ideas and the unique thing is that it opens the Ugandan FinTechs to the global space. This HiPipo-led initiative promotes local FinTechs worldwide, which creates visibility for us so that it becomes easy when we decide to look for global partnerships in the form of grants, equity or low-interest financing. “

The 40-Days 40-FinTechs initiative is organized by HiPipo in partnership with Crosslake Technologies, ModusBox and Mojaloop Foundation and sponsored by the Gates Foundation.

The initiative offers FinTechs and stakeholders in the field of digital and financial technology a platform to exhibit their products and exchange ideas.

Semyalo explains that the company uses level-one project principles like Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and real-time fulfillment, which it believes are critical to being competitive.
HiPipo Chief Executive Officer Innocent Kawooya notes that the 40-Days 40 FinTech Project aims to empower the African FinTech ecosystem to enable innovators to achieve sustainable profitability so that they can develop affordable and inclusive financial services for the poor and can provide.

He points out that FinTech offers attractive opportunities in Africa and rightly arouses investors’ interest in the various startups that offer a variety of services ranging from payments and loans, wire transfers, cross-border transfers, and neobanking, among others.

“Each of these services solves unique challenges and that’s why we have this initiative because we want to help solve the unique challenges that everyday people face.”

Challenges

However, Semyalo notes that while the FinTech space in Uganda has evolved over the past five years, it is still pretty tough and tough as most FinTechs are still struggling with liquidity challenges.

“To survive in FinTech, you need to have cash / cash equivalents; You have to be aggressive, thrifty, brave and brave, ”he says, adding that only those who are resilient will benefit from celebrating their 10th birthday.

However, Semyalo is optimistic that regulating the industry will remove the unfair tendencies in the market and level the groundwork for all players, which in turn will make the industry profitable.

Remarks