Mywagepay

According to a 2021 survey carried out by the World Bank, about 78% of employees across Africa are financially stressed. These employees spend vast amounts of time worrying about financial issues leading to lost man hours and revenue loss. As such, African companies facing this challenge cannot expect to be competitive on a global scale. The existing solutions for employees facing financial stress are often expensive loan sharks and shylocks or family and friends which may be unreliable and can lead to social strain. Traditional banks may be bureaucratic and have still not addressed many problems of the unbanked and underbanked in Africa. Thus, there is a huge gap for financial inclusion in Kenya and the continent at large.

Mywagepay therefore provides financial wellness services targeting corporate employees in the form of financial education so they can make their money work for them; earned wage access (salary advance) so they can have cash flow flexibility to meet unplanned financial needs instead of going to loan sharks and shylocks; and savings so they can build a safety nest for their future. Additionally, Mywagepay licenses its top-in-the market digital banking software to other fintech companies working towards financial inclusion in the Kenyan market.

Our target population is divided into two categories. The first are corporates and corporate employees seeking financial wellness services. The corporates or employers are seeking a financial service solution that reduces financial stress among their employees. Thus, Mywagepay partners with such employers to provide financial wellness services in the form of savings, earned wage access, and financial education.
Our second category are financial institutions seeking to digitize their services. For this category, we license our digital banking platform so these financial institutions can increase the efficiency of their operations and contribute to a pillar of Mywagepay's financial wellness strategy: financial inclusion.

Cumulatively, Mywagepay team brings together over 30 years's wealth of experience in financial services, product management, research, and building high-performing organizations. Our Team Lead and CEO Beth is a social entrepreneur who has founded two thriving social entreprises that seek to connect businesses and customers in areas such as fashion and homecare. She has been an Ambassador for the AfricaBerlin Network helping connect African startups to the German ecosystem. Our CTO Moses has over 8 years experience in fullstack development and over 5 years experiencve in designing and deploying fintech platforms. Our CMO Patrick has over 13 years experience in the corporate world having worked in marketing for two of the leading East African retailers, Uchumi and Naivas. He is a master in developing mass market solutions.

We have partnered with 36 employers and 8 financial institutions, making a total of 44 corporates (B2B). Under these we serve over 1,300 customers (B2C) providing a variety of financial inclusion services.

As a Kenyan fintech company that has aspirations of transforming into a digital bank in the next 5 years, Mywagepay is applying to Solve with an aim of accessing the support it needs to achieve this goal. Specifically, we are looking for financial, technical, legal, and cultural assistance to help us scale our operations across Kenya, East and West Africa offering our financial inclusion services. We believe that Solve has the capacity to offer this assistance in addition to providing opportunities for us to network and find mentors who can help in that regard.

MyWagePay's offers an innovative solution promotes financial inclusion by providing access to basic financial services, such as digital payments, savings accounts, and credit. By enabling low-income workers to access these services, MyWagePay can help them improve their financial stability, build credit histories, and access new economic opportunities. This is all done by leveraging top notch technology that collects and analyzes data in order to be ahead of the curve in the financial services market. The innovativeness of Mywagepay's solution has been recognized by other financial institutions that rely on the company's platform to offer their own digital banking services.

Our impact goals for the next year are mainly related to entering into more strategic partnerships with financial institutions so we can continue driving increased financial inclusion. We also plan to enter into more partnerships with employers so we can provide our financial wellness services to their employees. Within the next five years, we hope to transform into a fully digital bank and expand across the East and West African markets so as to further build financial inclusion in the continent.

1.4.1

Proportion of population living in households with access to basic services

Our theory of change is based on these tethers:

1. Access to financial services: MyWagePay aims to provide access to basic financial services, such as digital payments, savings accounts, and credit, to low-income workers in developing countries. By providing these services, MyWagePay hopes to improve the financial stability and security of low-income workers, who may otherwise lack access to these services.

2. Financial literacy: MyWagePay also aims to promote financial literacy among low-income workers. By using artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, MyWagePay's platform can provide personalized financial advice and insights to users, helping them make more informed financial decisions.

3. Economic empowerment: By promoting financial inclusion and literacy, MyWagePay hopes to empower low-income workers and help them access new economic opportunities. For example, access to credit and savings accounts can help low-income workers start businesses or invest in education or training, which can lead to higher incomes and improved livelihoods.

4. Employer efficiency: MyWagePay also aims to improve the efficiency of employers' payroll processes. By automating payroll calculations and other administrative tasks, MyWagePay's platform can help employers save time and reduce costs, which can ultimately benefit their employees as well.

We use an app, webapp, SMS technology, USSD, and software to deliver our financial wellness and financial inclusion services.

As a female-led fintech enterprise, we pride ourselves in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusivity in our work. We offer equal access to our financial services regardless of gender, race, social and economic status, or ethnicity.

1. Financial education - to help increase financial literacy.

2. Savings - to help employees build a safety nest.

3. Earned Wage Access - to enhance cash flow flexibility to meet unplanned financial expenses.

4. Infrastructure as a Service - to enhance the efficiency of operations of financial institutions working towards financial inclusion.

We are looking for donations and grants to help achieve our financial inclusion goals. We have also launched our product in the market and generated 14,000 USD in revenues in 2022. We are raising investment and debt capital to mainly serve as our lending capital for our financial wellness services.

We have participated in TechBridge Invest, Seedstars, and WesterWelle Foundation accelerator programs to help boost our investor readiness. So far we have raised 100,000 USD in debt capital for our financial services.