Letshego Holdings Limited has collaborated with Botswana Innovation Hub to host a pitch day where eight innovators showcased their works for potential future mentorship and support.
The event enabled Letshego to scout the top three innovative solutions, thereafter offering support and mentoring opportunities to transform the entrepreneur’s future growth potential into a reality.
With Letshego’s sponsorship, the pitch day provided 8 startup innovators from Botswana Innovation Hub portfolio a platform to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges, comprising select executives from Letshego’s regional markets.
After hearing all the eight innovative pitches, the panel of judges commended the entrepreneurs on their outstanding submissions and creative concepts.
“In our journey to create a world-class retail financial services organisation, Letshego remains committed to developing a relentless innovation culture. We aim to achieve this by leveraging digital innovation, strategic partnerships and eco-system thinking to enhance customer experience and increase access to simple and appropriate financial solutions for emerging market consumers across the group’s 11-country footprint,” said Andrew Okai, the Letshego group’s Chief Executive Officer.
The winning solutions will work with partners to manage subsequent development of the proof of concepts.
This will include innovation sprint sessions and hackathons, leveraging Botswana Innovation Hub’s tried and tested innovation management framework to either support Letshego directly, or the economies and communities where Letshego operates across Africa.
The top three solutions included Kwiky, a business to business to consumer solution that facilitates access to financial services for the underbanked by accessing mobile phone and mobile wallet transaction data and Diamond Digital, a free online and offline instant identification to support the financial services sector.
The other was PCG software which is a digital solutions firm specializing in tailor- made mobile development and web-based projects.
“Our innovators stand to benefit from the opportunities availed by this partnership including mentorship, capacity building and commercialization. The prize incentive is a cherry on top,” said Alan Boshwaen, the Chief Executive Officer for the Botswana Innovation Hub.
According to Roger Mugisha Shillingi, the Corporate Communications manager at Letshego Uganda, the innovation will trickle down to the various markets for the company as part of their efforts to cater for consumers’ ever growing demand for better digital banking experience.
“Consumers’ growing desire to access financial services from digital channels has led to a surge in new banking technologies that are re-conceptualizing the banking industry. Across the Letshego eco-system and market network, digitization of our operations is a key priority especially because it will allow customers withdraw money, apply for loans, make payments online or on their smartphone and more,” Mugisha said.
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