Unstructured service data (USSD) channel providing access to Equity Bank services on mobile phone
About
Applicant name: Equity Group Holdings Ltd
Innovation Name: Eazzy Banking
Innovation Type: Solution
Website: https://ke.equitybankgroup.
Mission: Unstructured service data (USSD) channel providing access to Equity Bank services on mobile phone
Innovation Description: A quarter of the world’s 65 million forcibly displaced people (FDPs) live in sub-Saharan Africa. This includes 4.4 million refugees (who have been forced to flee their own countries). These FDP’s largely remain excluded from financial services that play a key role in their survival. Refugees need to be self-reliant and able to drive their economic progress. The proposed USSD solution that will be made available to all refugees in Rwanda gives them access to services on their mobile phone which enables them to open accounts, make purchase, apply for loans. This is essentially ‘a bank on phone’ which is cost effective and efficient. We intend create a “remittance wallet” and/or even send remittances directly into the underlying bank accounts. The pilot will begin in one refugee camp in Rwanda with the intention of scaling first to the rest of the country and then to the over 2 million refugees within the region. Equity Bank is already operating in many of these camps (in Kenya and Rwanda) having provided cash based transfer cards.
Status of Innovation: Concept
Innovation Active Since: 05/30/2018
Applicant Type: Public Company
Headquarter City: Nairobi
Headquarter Country: Kenya
Year Founded: 1984
Main Category
Main Category Choice: Remittances For Social Impact
Why do you think you should win this category?:
The proposed USSD innovation provides refugees with a new banking service which is not currently being provided to the refugee’s community in this format by any other institution. It will maximize social impact in the refugee community, providing a vital financial tool – the benefits of which will ultimately impact their host communities positively. Exclusion of refugees in the formal economy of their host countries is a major setback to their ability integrate into society, the solution will economically empower them and increase financial inclusion and literacy. The targeted population for this project is 164,000 refugees. Equity Group has already issued cash based transfer cards to over 14,000 refugees in Rwanda and has extensive experience working with this group of people in the East African region including Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The existing relationship between this community and the bank presents a unique opportunity to significantly impact the lives of refugees and their host communities by facilitating integration.
Secondary Category
Secondary Category Choice: B2B Solution
Why do you think you should win this category?
The proposed USSD innovation provides refugees with a ‘bank on phone’, the service is new in that there is no other solution currently being provided to the refugee’s community in this format. It sits along the remittance chain – we will be targeting money sent from Diaspora relatives and grant money from UNHCR – to terminate in a bank account to facilitate better money management for the recipients and provide them with money management tools such as savings, insurance and investment options. The solution is efficient and cost effective as it saves time and money spent travelling to outlets to withdraw and use money.
Team Members
Full Name: sandra chege
Role: Program Manager Remittances
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
Full Name: Patrice Kiiru
Role: General Manager , Diaspora and Remittances
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/
Supporting Links
Sample screen shots of USSD solution: https://www.docdroid.net/
