ZAMBIA: Ukheshe and Digital PayGo drive growth through the SME in-a-box Merchant Solution

Ukheshe’s SME in-a-box solution is making tangible changes to the lives of millions in Zambia through a partnership with Digital PayGo, improving financial inclusion and enhancing business dealings for entrepreneurs.

Digital PayGo, a local Zambian fintech driving a mobile-first approach, enhancing the digital payment space for SMEs, is the first partner to utilise Ukheshe’s SME in-a-box solution to its fullest extent and provides a range of virtual financial services to its customers.

“We’re so proud to be the technology partner enabling Digital PayGo in their partnership with Zambian bank Zanaco and Mastercard to implement this solution,” says Mark Dankworth, President of Business Development in Africa at Ukheshe.

“In line with Mastercard’s vision of enabling 50 million SMEs by 2025, the relationship between Ukheshe and Digital PayGo was a natural fit, given our shared values of driving financial inclusion with relevant solutions that address the needs of individuals and businesses. To be able to make a difference such as this in the Zambian Merchant payments ecosystem is truly exciting.”

The SME in-a-box suite of services includes acceptance of virtual and physical card payments; tap-on-phone (SoftPOS) and QR payments; digital onboarding; instant access to funds for money transfers and payments; virtual card issuing – all powered by Ukheshe’s award-winning Eclipse API.

But the benefits go far beyond just providing this functionality to consumers and businesses – useful as it may be, says Charity Mwanza, CEO - Digital PayGo. “SME in a box – Lipila Na PayGo will cater for the pressing need of SMEs which is to make and receive payments seamlessly, while keeping a track record of all transactions thus making reporting and access to finance a possibility. We believe the solution will not only improve access to finance and financial inclusion but will increase trust in digital financial solutions as well.”

The convenience and safety of mobile and digital financial solutions, especially through Ukheshe, eases the way SMEs conduct business, therefore, contributing to the eventual push for a cashless society in Zambia.

For Ukheshe, this is another big step in the direction of its ultimate goal - being a global embedded finance enabler with the focus of providing innovative digital payment solutions to improve and address financial inclusion within emerging markets. “Ukheshe is focused on democratising digital financial services through the accessibility of disparate technologies. Our technology has already improved financial access in locations across the continent, and we believe this partnership will do the same in Zambia and other emerging markets – changing millions of lives for the better,” says Dankworth.

SOURCE: AGENCIES