Despite the global pandemic, 2020 appears to have been fruitful for the South African fintech startup, JUMO: from securing yet another funding round of US$55 million to support market and product expansion to winning awards; Platinum for Responsible Digital Innovator of the Year and Silver for Product Innovation of the Year at the Global SME Finance Forum Awards and been named one of the most innovative companies owing to advanced data science and Machine Learning capabilities.
JUMO has so far dispersed over $2.5-billion in credit across six markets in Africa and Asia, that in an official press release, Andrew Watkins-Ball, Founder & Group CEO of JUMO, explains that this achievement is the result of the fintech’s successful business model.
“The thing that makes me most proud of this milestone is not the amount in dollars, it’s the millions of customers that we have served. Behind each dollar is a human story of someone who has put that capital to work to grow their business. These people are the backbone of their families, their communities, and the lifeblood of emerging market economies.”
JUMO
Founded in 2014 by South African entrepreneur, Andrew Watkins-Ball, JUMO is a tech startup that has created a unique platform to help facilitate digital financial services such as credit, and savings in emerging markets. The fintech startup, which was registered in Mauritius, has partnered with funders, banks, and telecommunications companies to create accessible financial tools.
Creating accessible financial services to the unbanked populations in both Africa and Asia, JUMO’s mobile wallet technology offers an easy-to-use service that is accessible via a mobile device.
In addition, the SA fintech startup has provided multiple products and services including, loan services and insurance products, targeted at entrepreneurs in emerging markets.
Watkins-Ball comments on cost-effective technology used to collect information which strengthened the business model.
“When we founded JUMO, we were always clear that we can only achieve our mission by leveraging sophisticated information technologies at really low cost. The increase in our prediction capability decreases the cost of credit risk, allowing us to share more value with customers while driving sustainable returns for our bank partners.”
Operating in Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, and Pakistan, the fintech plans to expand its offering and service to Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
Watkins-Ball comments on the future expansion of JUMO in Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria.
“We’re optimistic about the possibilities in these markets and continue to see huge growth opportunities in Africa, with the potential to replicate our successes in other markets over the longer term.”
