Rising Competency In Fintech By Visa: The new initiative of Visa in South Africa to expand propositions and product sales to Sub-Saharan African countries can enhance the financial sector of the country like never before.

The initiative was taken to explore ideas for business challenges, and to bring these countries closer to the products and mentorships of Visa. It is just another step in the upcoming FinTech advancement in the country, which can be explained by two facts:

• A third of African funds raised in 2017 have been for FinTech
• Only 17% of people have access to the formal banking sector

Visa’s initiatives allow the Sub-Saharan participants to enhance their business prospects in the following ways:

1. New Ideas

Business ideas are often too impractical or too repetitive to be accepted by firms. However, sometimes the issue lies in the limited capacity of the country in which smart individuals are offering better solutions. Such entrepreneurs in the SSA are provided an excellent platform by Visa, who are then eligible to compete for a $50K winning prize and are also encouraged to use Visa products.

2. Convenience

The entire logic behind FinTech being an absolute need in South Africa is convenience. Buyers want easy access to online payment channels when they are checking out with their carts, and receivers want to get their money instantly and without the worry of unsafe cash transfers. The domestic e-commerce market and other general stores are trying to operate with more and more digitization.

Participating in The New Scheme

The aim of this incentive is to prepare better channels of financial innovation in the future and allow its origination from the keepers of the upcoming generation. The prize will be distributed in two levels:

1. $25000 will be given to each winner per brief (category) after considering the detail, quality, and practicality of the FinTech innovation plan introduced by them.
2. $25000 more will be given to one final winner who has a business plan which can impress the South African panel the most. This individual will also be given the opportunity to use Visa products and mentorship services to further materialize the idea.

Considering how the Sub-Saharan region consists of countries including Nigeria and Ethiopia which has brilliant academic opportunists waiting for the right time to showcase their abilities, the Visa Everywhere scheme just might be the breakthrough in FinTech which their countries need.