South Africa-based tech startup AfriNova Digital, a year after launching its online digital payments service digiToken, has rebranded it as a reimagined product called mojaPay. With payments services still primarily targeted at people and businesses in the townships and rural areas, this app is aimed at bringing more convenience and inclusion in addition to creating business opportunities for people who can sign up as an agent and earn commission by selling the products offered in the app.
The mojaPay app should not be confused with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s financial management system, also known as MojaPay, which has experienced numerous outages since 2020 and was affected by the Department of Justice 2021 ransomware attack.
The Covid-19 pandemic drove unprecedented growth in South Africa’s local e-commerce market and accelerated the development of payment technologies that can adapt faster to specific customer needs. There remains, however, about 20 million South Africans who do not have bank accounts and are at risk of being excluded from the digital economy.
mojaPay: A true Super App
Co-founders, Kagisho Dichabe and Xolisa Vuza, confirmed that mojaPay is at the forefront in the race to the digital and cashless future for the unbanked and underbanked communities.
“We are not a bank and don’t aspire to become one. Our digital financial services and products will however ensure inclusivity for millions of people in our townships that are unable to access mainstream financial services/products, in addition to driving convenience and opportunities for these masses of people,” explains Vuza.
Kagisho Dichabe further added that “mojaPay – as a true Super App – is a digital community platform for South African consumers and businesses (especially the informal vendors), that allows seamless payments and transactions, along with access to other financial products and services.”
As part of the relaunch, mojaPay is also introducing the Agents concept that aims to increase the platform’s footprint in the townships. This will also catalyse the creation of much-needed jobs and income for the youth in South African townships and rural areas.
Vuza explains that “entities, whether a group of organized individuals, sports clubs, churches and/or taxi organisations with a massive following or membership can join our Agents community. They will onboard new clients and have access to all services and products on the mojaPay platform. Being an agent is another way for customers to increase revenue for themselves and possibly use the platform for their members to pay their membership fees or donations, in the case of large agents.”
The locally developed payments app is available for download on Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
