HiPipo and COMESA Business Council (CBC) have entered a Memorandum of Understanding to scale the Include Everyone program in the COMESA region.
The five-year collaboration supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will focus on empowering women and youth engaged in informal cross-border trade in the COMESA region through initiatives that promote financial inclusion and digital trade.
Speaking at the signing ceremony at the COMESA headquarters in Lusaka, Zambia, the COMESA Business Council CEO Teddy Yagambaram Soobramanien noted that the collaboration will start with cross-border traders at the Mwami/Mchinji one-stop border post, a strategic point that connects Zambia and Malawi and serves as a hub for regional trade.
“We would like to welcome HiPipo to the COMESA region. They come with experience in digital and financial inclusion, and we believe the Include Everyone program rhymes well with our Digital Financial Inclusion Program for MSMEs,” he said.
He added that at the end of the project, there should be a digitalised trade ecosystem with improved cross-border trade efficiency and reduced transaction costs for all.
HiPipo CEO Innocent Kawooya highlighted that most cross-border traders in the COMESA region face common challenges, including limited access to capital, high mobile money transaction charges, foreign exchange loopholes, poor internet connectivity and trust issues with existing digital platforms.
He, therefore, noted that HiPipo comes with 20 years of experience in digital and financial inclusion that has seen millions of lives changed through initiatives such as Women in FinTech and Incubator program, 40 Days 40 FinTechs, and Digital Financial Awards Africa, among others.
“Through the Include Everyone program, we want to extend financial and digital literacy programs tailored to at least 5,000 cross-border traders each year at key border posts through innovative programs; we want to advocate for interoperable digital payment systems to reduce transaction costs and improve accessibility for traders; we will also support FinTech innovators in developing solutions tailored to the needs of cross-border traders,” he said.
He further thanked the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for the continued support over the years, noting that with cross-border trade contributing over 43 per cent of Africa’s GDP, this project will create lasting impact in the COMESA region.
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