SMEs in South Africa have been severely affected by COVID-19. From informal traders to spaza shops, these businesses form a critical part of the country’s township economy, but they are excluded from relief packages due to the informal nature of their businesses. Innovative fintech solutions can create the right market linkages to help these businesses improve their financial resilience and enable greater access to financial services for them. As well, these fintech solutions are agile and customer-centric, which make them well-positioned to respond to the needs and demands of these businesses. 

During a discussion with leading tech ecosystem stakeholders in Africa, we will discuss how fintech startups have aided recovery so far, as well as, the role corporates and banks can play in partnering with these startups to together create pathways to scale for these startups, which will allow them to deliver meaningful impact and foster SME resilience in the country.  

The event has now concluded. You can watch the event video on playback below:

Andile Maseko

Head of Ecosystem Development, AlphaCode

Colleen Ebbitt

Vice President, Programme Officer for J.P. Morgan Global Philanthropy, EMEA

Ryan Cohen

Co-Founder and Chief Relationship Officer, Merchant Capital

Jessica Boonstra

CEO & Founder, Yebo Fresh

Kamesha Naidoo

E-commerce & B2B Manager, Unilever South Africa

Lebo Mokgabudi

South Africa Country Manager, Catalyst Fund

Maelis Carraro

Managing Principal Consultant & Director, Catalyst Fund

Nicky Swartz

CEO and Co-Founder, Spoon Money

Nnamdi Oranye

Head of Payments, Africa Standard Bank

Tina Mason

COO, A2Pay