Stanbic Bank and the “Make-IT in Africa” tech entrepreneurship initiative by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH have entered into a partnership to help fast-track their journey towards commercially scalable and sustainable impact-oriented ventures.
The partnership has birthed the “NextGen Fintech Accelerator“, a programme which will assist growth stage technology companies in their market validation and customer acquisition phase in Ghana. The rolling accelerator programme is focused on product validation, customer acquisition, and investment readiness.
“At Stanbic Bank, we believe that experiential learning is one of the best ways to leapfrog young entrepreneurs into established businesses contributing significantly to the economic growth of the country. For this reason, since 2018, we have been investing in young entrepreneurs through work-based learning, coaching, and the provision of an enabling environment to equip young people with the skills needed for work.” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stanbic Bank Ghana, Kwamina K. Asomaning said at the signing of the partnership.
Ghana has revolutionized its FinTech industry to embrace the use of smartphones and applications in transactions. There are presently over 11 million active users on mobile payment systems, with banks recording over 80% of their transactions as originating from electronic and digital channels.
The Bank of Ghana (BoG), which is the regulator of payment systems, reports that about 71 fintech companies operate in the country. FinTech’s have proven to be the future of banking, especially in these times of the COVID- 19 Pandemic, where the use of digital payment systems is increasingly becoming mainstream. However, the Fintech Ecosystem in Ghana is at a blossoming stage hence the need for this initiative.
Mr. Asomaning also indicated, “Our priority today is to build the capacity of FinTech businesses and startups through a 6-month intensive curriculum–based training. The training will focus on reconstructing and validating the business models to scale and adhere to industry best practices. The training will also refine, test and validate their growth strategies as well as operational framework. Ultimately, this initiative will coach and nurture the FinTechs to be investor ready”.
The accelerator programme will run one cohort of 20 selected early-to-growth stage FinTech startups. The Joint Stanbic Bank & GIZ NextGen FinTech Accelerator” aims at contributing to UN (United Nations) Sustainable Development aims at contributing to UN Sustainable Development Goal # 8 by supporting tech start-ups in the field of FinTech to help advance their solutions in the local environment.
The programme features a 6-months long intensive curriculum–based training, after which participants will engage in a Mentorship program by experts from Stanbic Bank.
The launch kicks off the application process where potential applicants will go through a series of selection processes, and shortlisted applicants will move on to the Virtual Training Bootcamp.
Source: Joy News Online
