InsurePay

Fintech Solution that provides financial inclusion through loans and financial literacy to individuals (unbanked and underbanked) and SME’s.

In Zambia, informal economy hires about 90.0 percent of the employed population. Most workers in the informal economy are rural-based agricultural farmers with low levels of skill and generating low revenues, and often operating seasonally. This is due to the ease of entry by which workers move into the informal economy, characterised by low requirements in respect to levels of skill and labour intensiveness. And because of their informal status with regards to economic activities, they lack access to Credit services, as most financial institutions don't have financial services that serve the unbanked and underbanked. Which then translates to only 38% of the adults having access to finance, this is mostly attributed to their lack of financial history and financial literacy. 

We are serving the unbanked and underbanked population. These are people who mostly have a family and have an informal job and don't have access to a bank account/financial services and if they do, It is doe not offer sufficient  services other than generic deposit and withdraw services. We have been working in this market through the provision of Credit Facilities from August 2017 to date. With the intention to better understand their needs and design a product that addresses their problem. The loans provided to them vary from as low as $5 to $300. Using Social Performance Management, we ensure that all our strategies and operation around this product help alleviate poverty and economic strain.

Our Solution use's Big Data to analyse the risk profile of an applicant seeking to acquire a loan and also suggest a range of how much they can borrow. The main metric used is the use of talk time and the deposit and withdraw activities on their mobile money account. As means to calculate and analyse their risk Profile.  

Two existing products in our space offer loans to low income individuals only. With our solution. Our target market includes low income individuals and emerging business. Our solution is a web and USSD platform that uses big Data to analyse mobile phone activity, the two metrics used for determining the eligibility of the loan are talk time recharges and mobile money withdraws and deposits. 

As for emerging businesses, our flagship product involves the provision of invoice discounting and order financing. We started testing the product in February of this Year, and the results have been so far outstanding. We have helped an SME free up cash to the tune of $20,273.00 in working capital, after they were given an invoice or Order to perform a service for their clients. Our solution also does help with financial planning for effective allocation of funds in order to ensure that their working capital grows.

yes

From the testimonials we are receiving, we expect our solution to address the lack of access to credit by SME's and Individuals. One of my favourite testimonials is about an underbanked man who came to my office seeking for a loan worth $50. He needed this money to make a payment for his wife's surgery,  as she had a bridged child. Within a matter of minutes he got the money. And today the mother and baby are all safe and healthy. Like this story their are so many stories that we have witnessed. And the main reason is because of the time we took in needs analysis for our customers needs, so as to develop a product that can address their lack of financial inclusion and transform their lives.

The current number of customers we are serving are;

1. The current number of customers: 100.

2. Number you’ll be serving in one year: 1000.

3. Number you’ll be serving in one year: 800,000.

Our goal for the next year is reaching 2000 plus in transactions in loans acquisition.

While our 5 year goals are centred more on sustainable growth for the products and customer acquisition strategy, by introducing a savings product for the low income population. 

Currently informal saving in Zambia is around 2 million. This has been achieved by using a business model called village banking. Where a group of women come together and make monthly contribution with the intention of saving while lending the saved money to groups members in order to raise the extra interest on the money raised. By introducing this product. We will help the groups have a regulated platform, that will allow them to save while earn interest at a slightly higher rate than banks and also have access to expert financial services experts. 

Our two biggest barriers are:

1. Insufficient working Capital, Recently the cost of the money we use in reaching our customer became very expensive.

2. Technology skills gaps.

1. We are now working on raising money through equity and grants financing.

2. We are engaging a technology solution company called Xypnet to work on the platform and its piloting stages while we try to find a qualified IT expert. 

Our Team consists of five members and a contracted IT Solutions firm. The organisational structure is as follows; 

CEO: Patton Kalunga (BA Econ) (Full Time).

Business Lead: Jedaidah Zambezi (MBA Development Studies) (Full Time).

Marketing and Law Lead: Abigail Sachinda (BA Law) (Part Time).

Board of Advisors: Mr. Mwansa Mwewa (MBA Engineering).

Board of Advisors: Dr. Humphrey Mwale PHD (PHD in Phycology).

The contracted IT solutions firm is called Xypnet. A Information Technology solutions company, in charge of building the building and maintaining the credit service infrastructure.

Our teams overall experience is in finance and development, with;

CEO: Patton Kalunga (BA Econ) (Full Time). He is equip with the ability to analyse and make sound decisions and has been running and managing the company from inception which has seen seen it grow to grossing over $150,000.00. 

Business Lead: Jedaidah Zambezi (MBA Development Studies) (Full Time). Has an MBA which has enhanced her communication skills, thereby giving her the ability to develop, grow and  maintain relationships as they are cardinal for the business development prospects. 

Marketing and Law Lead: Abigail Sachinda (BA Law) (Part Time). Working as a full time employee at a multinational company has brought on board for us so much insights into marketing strategies that communicate an effective message and also the compliance aspect of the business.

Board of Advisors: Mr. Mwansa Mwewa (MBA Engineering). He is the Zambian managing director of an investment firm (Glen York Investment), Which  manages over a million in investment portfolio.

Board of Advisors: Dr. Humphrey Mwale PHD (PHD in Phycology). He is the South African Managing Director of Glen York investments. And adds value in terms of Cash management and Capital growth strategies.

InsurePay currently has a partner Company for Credit platform development and piloting:

• Xypnet, A Information Technology solutions company, in charge of building the building and maintaining the credit service infrastructure. with 
• Liquid Telecom Kenya; Providing Azure credits and networking opportunities. Under the Go Cloud program, which is in partnership with Microsoft. 

We offer financial inclusion through Loans and Financial literacy and our key customers are the unbanked and underbanked population of Zambia. Our distribution channel is via mobile phone USSD application, which allows our clients to dial a short code number that gives them access to our platform. By doing so, we have access to their mobile data. Which are mobile money activities and talk time purchases in order to determine the amount of credit they can request for and also their risk profile.   

From inception to date, we have used Debt financing as a avenue of raising working Capital. To date we have raised about $35,000.00 which has enabled us to achieve key milestones, including the repayment of the initial acquired loan and remaining sustainable for three years.

Now that we have a good track record and are well vest with the market, our financing strategy is now more inclined to raising money through investments from Angel investors, Grants and increase our product sell.  

The reasons why we are applying are;

1. Our biggest need as a team is having a mentor is well vested in the area of Fin-tech technology, as to help provide necessary guidance on how to grow and scale in a controlled setting by giving insights on implementing best customer experience strategies, how to improve on the product features and any relevant guidance.

Secondly; Have access to Capital, Been a Fin-tech Start, the need to always be capital intensive in our day to day operations is very important not only for the survival of the firm but also for seamless provision of the product to the clients.

The following are the organisations we would like to partner with, 

1. MTN Zambia. Been the company with the second largest telecoms reach in Zambia. They would be key in our growth and distribution model as we can integrate our services on their mobile money platform in order to serve possible clients across the nation.