Digital Diversity: Emerging FinTech markets in Africa.

In 2010, three years after it’s launch, M-Pesa became the most successful mobile phone based money transfer service in the developing world. A partnership between Vodaphone and Safaricom, the venture required a deeper understanding of its potential users, rather than pure technological innovation. 

In 2010, the UK was getting used to contactless payments, awaiting the arrival of 4G, and apple pay was four years away. Technological innovation was constantly looking to the future, and how to convince the population to upgrade their devices to take advantage of the next big thing. 

M-Pesa, was different. It’s creators knew that in developing countries, not everyone would be able to buy new devices and that the infrastructure may not even be there if they did: 2G internet still dominates the african market to this day.

Innovation requires a deeper understanding of the people who use the technology and the limitations the infrastructure imposes. M-pesa was aimed at the banked and unbanked alike. Users can simply text a unique number from their mobile phone to transfer money to another person. Cash can be uploaded to an M-Pesa account in a similar way that credit is added to a pay-as-you-go phone. For those with a more advanced handset, there is an app, but the experience is seamless for all users regardless of their tech. 

This innovation not only places diversity first and provides a vital service to those who need it, but it has unlocked huge FinTech markets. Prior to the pandemic the FinTech market in Africa was forecast to grow from $200 million in value in 2018, to close to $3 billion by 2020.

But we don’t have to just look to Africa and developing nations to see a need for digital diversity. A 2015 study of norwegian high-school students showed that digital competency differed greatly between schools and socio-economic backgrounds. The pandemic has shown that in the UK there is a widening gap between the digital haves and have nots, with the poorest children unable to learn remotely. Lloyds Bank warned of this gap in 2019 showing that 22% of people in the UK do not have the digital skills for everyday life – the ability to manage money online, engage in government services and find a job online.

Digital diversity is everywhere. It may be tempting to believe that there is a homogeneous understanding and access to technology in the west. But thinking like this can seriously impede our ability to offer customers and clients exactly what they need and it excludes a large portion of the market. No one wants to feel left out, and if your technology becomes a barrier to onboarding a new client, then you are not digitally diverse.