Sub Saharan Africa has been one of the world’s most important emerging markets in recent years. It has witnessed a rapid growth in financial services and digital technology that is changing the face of the region Whatsapplundentechcrunch. This article explores the future of the region, and looks at what financial services providers may need to do in order to succeed in the area.
Pngme
Pngme is a San Francisco-based fintech startup that offers a machine learning-as-a-service platform. The platform provides financial data infrastructure to financial institutions in Africa. It also allows developers to create applications that take advantage of rich media data. This includes the Pngme API, which gives developers access to Imgur’s massive data library.
While the company hasn’t yet revealed its specific plans, Pngme is building out its machine learning capabilities. Its infrastructure has already processed billions of data points from financial institutions. As a result, it has a clear picture of customers’ financial behavior. Combined with other data sources, this enables Pngme to create an accurate and holistic view of a customer’s financial health.
Pngme isn’t the only company chasing the financial data infrastructure play. Other notable players include OnePipe and Mono. But Pngme has the edge in terms of funding, with its latest round of funding bringing its total to $18.5 million. Some of the venture capital firms that participated included Octopus Ventures, Lateral Capital, Raptor Group, Two Small Fish Ventures, and the Canadian women-focused investment firm The 51.
Financial services in sub-Saharan Africa
Financial services in Sub-Saharan Africa vary widely from country to country. The financial inclusion rate is relatively low, with more than half of the adult population still lacking access to basic financial services. However, it has shown promising growth potential. A number of recent technological innovations have helped increase the accessibility of financial services.
Digital financial services are becoming increasingly popular. This includes mobile banking, which enables users to carry out transactions via simple messages. Increasing access to the internet and mobile phones can help improve security, efficiency and speed of payments.
Many African countries are experiencing a surge in the use of digital financial products. They can make a huge difference for small and medium enterprises, and farmers. But they also have many risks. Among these are cybercrime, consumer fraud and invasion of privacy.
In addition to these risks, poor people are often denied credit histories. There are also inadequate and costly internal controls for banks. These factors can lead to excessive consumer debt.
Future plans
Pngme, a Lagos-based fintech company, has recently announced that it has secured funding from Octopus Ventures. This round will support the company’s expansion of its data science and sales teams. The company has already processed billions of data points from financial institutions, and plans to further expand its Insights Library product. Other key components of the company’s plan include expanding third-party data connections to other markets, and acquiring additional data science and sales talent.
Octopus Ventures is a private equity firm with offices in New York City and Singapore. It has invested in a variety of companies, including technology, healthcare, and education. With a focus on sub-Saharan Africa, it has invested in Pngme and other African fintech companies. The firm also has investments in China and the United States.
The funding round was led by Octopus Ventures, with other investors joining in, including the Raptor Group, the Raptor Team, the Raptor Team, Lateral Funding, and Future Africa.
