Before giving the green light, the CBK, all that time, tried to understand the framework Fingo and Ecobank had set up for their relationship, especially as it concerns data, transactions and customer interactions. Unlike Nigeria, where collaboration between banks and fintechs is commonplace, allowing the latter group to launch fast (ultimately contributing to why the country has attracted most of Africa’s fintech funding), it is few and far between in Kenya. Fingo claims to be the first Kenyan neobank, so it’s pretty understandable, looking at how long it took to get approvals and go to market.
Meanwhile, Muhoya noted on the call that despite the wait, the fintech still has the majority of its venture capital it raised in the bank because it maintained its 15-man headcount and barely had any expenses other than paying salaries and developing its software. So it isn’t raising additional capital for operations, especially in this challenging fundraising environment.
Now that the partnership has been approved, the Fingo Africa app will offer its users a bank account “under 5 minutes,” paired with free peer-to-peer transactions and immediate access to multiple services such as savings, financial education and smart spending analytics, the company said in a statement. The fintech says it has acquired a waitlist of 50,000 customers within 24 hours of launch. However, it will have its work cut out for itself if the plan is to onboard millions in a market where mobile money reigns supreme (Safaricom’s M-Pesa controls over 90% of that medium) and a banking sector dominated by the likes of KCB and Equity Bank (which have their digital banking products).
Fingo’s partnership with Ecobank, which claims to have the most significant footprint of any bank in Africa, covering over 30 countries, might provide the scale the fintech needs outside Kenya. Both entities are planning a Pan-African rollout, with an imminent expansion to the rest of East Africa by the end of the year, according to Muhoya. Digital banking counterparts that serve consumers in that region include