In the coming months, Rwanda will have a new fin-tech firm in the market as MTN Rwanda plans to set up an independent company to run its financial technology operations which will see its Mobile Money service move to a stand-alone company. This will join on the market other firms such as SAVE, a platform by Exuus Ltd which facilitates saving groups through an open and user-friendly saving groups ledger handling. Another fin-tech, Uplus Mutual Partners (U+) allows people from all walks of life to connect on the platform to contribute and save for whatever causes they may be involved in, among others. The debut of such firms in the local ecosystem is likely to trigger concerns among some traditionally dominant players that it will erode their market share and dominance. For instance, the development might cause some to fear that the fin-tech could reduce the relevance of commercial banks in the local market and gradually eat into their profits. However, as opposed to looking at it as eating into current market players’ pie, how about looking at it as baking a bigger pie? Here is how. The new players in fin-tech will create alternative avenues of financial inclusion giving the general public options. This will among other things drive up the levels of financial inclusion, quality of inclusion as well as likely to lead to competition among players which will add value to users. Additionally, having multiple players in financial technology will create an ideal ground to develop alternative tools and avenues to drive up financial services across the country as traditional avenues have often been too expensive for players. The cooperation between the various players in the local market will further lead to more value for users. So it is important to look at this development through the prisms of a healthier economy, which will eventually benefit all involved. The existence of multiple players is also set to facilitate the bridging of gaps in the financial technology sector such as shortage of skills in the aspect in the local market.
