Kuungana Technology & Training

Kuungana ends stagnation of SMEs in the informal economy in Sub Saharan Africa through our financial management training and technology. We have seen that businesses are actually profiting more than they realize but because of no financial management, businesses are in a constant state of struggle. Our data shows that from our 159 trainees 46% say their biggest business challenge is lack of capital YET 94% have participated in at least one lending scheme- showing the problem has shifted from access to money to knowledge of how to manage and use money.

Kuungana training teaches tangible, analytical and emotional financial management skills. Kuungana technology legitimizes businesses’ finances through features such as financial reports, informal but reliable credit checks and structured savings plans to attain goals.

When scaled globally, our clients will have stronger businesses allowing them to earn more, in turn dropping poverty levels and allowing stronger communities to emerge.

The SMEs that make up the informal economy are stagnant and their growth is what drives up regional and national productivity. There are multiple factors stifling their growth but the one that is in the control of business owners is poor management. Kuungana’s mission is to teach business owners financial management and provide them with technology to make their financial management easy, credible and beneficial.

We are located in Kenya, where 80% of businesses operate in the informal economy. From our training of 159 business owners, 84% never learned how to make an annual budget and 67% never track their businesses’ income and expense. This trend in business behavior is not blocking access to money as 94% have participated in at least one type of lending scheme yet 46% say their biggest business challenge is capital. This shows the problem is now access to comprehensive financial management tools and training which is what Kuungana provides.

The potential of scale is huge. It encompasses all SMEs in the informal economy in Sub Saharan Africa. Currently, these SMEs are responsible for 66% of total employment and depending on the country, contribute anywhere from 25% to more than 60% of a nation’s GDP.

Kuungana’s solution is a financial management training and phone app specifically built to help with businesses’ financial management and growth.

Our training teaches financial management skills, gives tools for participants to improve their emotional relationship with money and empowers them to become their own financial advocate. In order for people to be financially healthy we need to address our mind (education), body (physical = money) and soul (emotional). Our training takes care of the mind and soul while our technology works with financial institutions to take care of the body.

Our communities are enthusiastic about technology with 89% wanting to track their finances through their phone. Our next step is to develop a minimal viable product to test in our communities. Once we have proof of concept we will develop our full app with features including financial reports, unofficial but reliable credit checks and structured savings plans to help businesses attain their goals. These features enable business owners to negotiate fairer lending terms and invest smarter so they grow their business instead of getting caught cyclical borrowing. We chose these features as they are all major factors that play into the mismanagement of SMEs.

Kuungana’s target population are all businesses operating in the informal economy in Sub Saharan Africa. I worked in eastern Uganda for two years for a microfinance organization. I met with our borrowers to give them financial makeovers and that is when I noticed trends. The trends I saw fall into these categories: 1) majority of businesses were not doing any financial management because they had never been taught 2) After helping businesses get organized numbers showed they were profiting more than they realized 3) There is a lot of healing that is needed between people and money. I created Kuungana’s training to address these issues. I moved to Kenya to test that the training was applicable outside of Uganda; it is.

Components of the training teaches how to track, calculate and analyze finances in a notebook as it’s the most accessible. But financial management in a notebook is complex, leaving room for human error and demotivation which is why our app is pivotal. It allows for users to do the minimum while reaping maximum benefits. The app addresses other prevalent issues such as predatory lending, reckless borrowing and not understanding how to attain financial goals.

Marginalized populations are the ones who make up the informal economy. Many already have income generating activities so the question is no longer how will they create these but how will they sustain and grow them? This is exactly why Kuungana was created. Kuungana is focused on the marginalized entrepreneur by teaching and deploying technology that will foster business growth through financial management. Our data shows that 84% of our participants have felt desperate due to money, 81% have had a relationship ruined because of money and 100% have some type of financial goal making our training and technology imperative.

Our solution is innovative becuase of who we are targeting and our holistic approach to growth. Working as a Program Manager for a large community based microfinance organization in rural, eastern Uganda gave me direct access and insight into the challenges that these businesses face. In order to empower people it is important to understand what is in their control to change. For these business owners it is management. I have not seen any direct competitors but our indirect competitors are financial management apps that are targeting the young, middle urban class.

The goal of our technology is to create a financial advocacy platform. At the individual level this is financial management and investment planning. At the institutional level it is providing credit reports and loan amount suggestions to our users and financial institutions to help drop default rates and to keep borrowers out of cyclical borrowing and asset loss.

Our technology will start with a USSD phone app using a dial in menu that is accessible from all mobile devices. Due to our apps features will be be pushing USSD technology to its limits to create financial management algorithms to benefit business owners. We will be able to partner with existing financial tech such as Mpesa to help with our structured savings plans.

REACH is a great example of one of our indirect competitors. They have over 75,000 users between Nigeria and Kenya with their target being urban millennials. They offer similar features through their technology which their users are finding helpful. 

Another powerful example is Mpesa. Mpesa demonstrates that potential of technology adoption in Sub Saharan Africa.

Currently we are training 159 people. At our current staff and participant level we will be able to train 1,166 people next year. In five years we will be able to train more than 10,000 people.

Because we do not yet have proof of concept we are not able to project those numbers.

Our goal within the next year to have a proof of concept, develop and roll out our full app in the communities that we have trained. I currently have partnerships with the Laikipia county government and different SACCOs in the region who are interested in Kuungana training for all their members (~20,000 people). 

Within the next five years our goal is to have created a partnership with the kenyan Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technologies in order to deploy Kuungana technology throughout the country. We are planning to also have partnerships in Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia with the intention to roll out our training and technology.

Financially, we have money secured for training for the rest of 2020. We are currently looking to secure money to develop our mvp, develop our full app and expand our trainings. 

Understanding how to navigate a corrupt government will be critical in our success.

One of the big question marks when I go into communities to train is if I am a spy working for the tax authority, a bank or insurance firm and that this is a ploy to somehow steal or report their earnings. This is something that I address in our first lesson and what I think will be one of the biggest barriers. A side effect of the training is that communities know who I am and trust me. This trust is crucial for app adoption.

In regards to pan African expansion, laws that disincentivize transnational expansion will force us to create workarounds.

In order to address these barriers, partnerships and an influential board are key. As a US citizen, depending on the relationship of my embassy with the country I will enlist their help if it looks to be beneficial.

Our staff is comprised of our founder, Caitlin Seandel and our two translators. 

We partner with 5 different community leaders who are responsible for organizing their members for the training.

We also use two drivers to take us to site to train.

Caitlin Seandel spent two years working as a program manager for a community based microfinance organization in rural Eastern Uganda. One of her projects was to do financial makeovers with business owners who requested it. It was during these that the lack of financial management knowledge came to center stage and she started to develop Kuungana training. 

Dorothy Githai has a BsC in agricultural economics and held an internship at the Kenya Women Microfinance Bank. She is Kenyan and is fluent in English, Swahili and Kikuyu.

Jeff Muhoro is a self taught photographer and videographer who is trained in animation and multimedia design. He has been living in Nanyuki for 10 years. He is Kenya and is fluent in English, Swahili and Kikuyu. 

We are currently partnered with the Agricultural, Livestock and fisheries department of Laikipia County government. We are working with community leaders to train their farmers in financial management. The community leader we work with oversees an area with 11,000 farmers.

We are partnered with Siraji Sacco (located in Timau) to train their staff and members in financial management. Siraji Sacco currently has 10,000 members.

We are partnered with the Ex-Lewa Dairy Sacco to train their members in financial management. The currently have 5,000 members.

We are applying to Solve because we believe Kuungana Training and Technology is on par with other Solvers. We are filling a huge and specific gap that no one else is working on. Kuungana would benefit from Solve's network and expertise and we do believe that we have the potential to solve the problem of SME stagnation in the informal economy in Sub Saharan Africa.

Our ideal partners, mentors and board members are Kenyans, Africans and non-africans who have extensive experience building successful businesses in Kenya and Sub Saharan Africa.