Tanzanian Tech Roundup [Aug 11-17]
Inside Mastercard's Dar event, MazaoHub Clinics, and PesaTech Accelerator
1. PesaTech Accelerator Announces Demo Day for Second Cohort
The PesaTech Accelerator, launched by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) in Tanzania, has announced its upcoming Demo Day scheduled for August 30, 2024. This event will showcase innovative fintech solutions from the accelerator's second cohort. It represents the culmination of a program running between November 2023 and September 2024.
The Demo Day is expected to draw at least 100 attendees, including investors and key stakeholders in Tanzania's fintech ecosystem. It presents a unique opportunity for the participating startups to demonstrate their progress and attract potential investment and partnerships.
This second cohort, supported by the European Union (EU) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, focuses on post-revenue fintech startups addressing challenges in payments, savings, lending, investing, insurance, and e-commerce. The program, run in collaboration with Anza Entrepreneurs and NMB Bank, provides participants with access to a network of investors and mentors, average seed funding of USD 10,000, business diagnostic tools, and access to NMB's sandbox environment.
Notable participants in this cohort include:
El-dizer Financial Service, which has already disbursed TZS 180,453,000 to over 1,240 students
Amala Technologies, managing TZS 246 billion in disbursements for more than 32,600 clients across 20 SACCOS and MFIs
KiasiApp, a digital savings platform with over 200 subscribers
MedPack, serving 400+ pharmacies with monthly sales of TZS 41,216,000
Lindapesa, which has disbursed over TZS 48 million to 17 clients and serves 106 customers
The PesaTech Accelerator builds on the success of its first cohort, implemented by Sahara Ventures in partnership with ENEA Advisors, Hindsight Ventures, and iPF Softwares. This ongoing initiative shows UNCDF is committed to popularizing a sector-focused model for startup accelerators.
Initiatives like PesaTech and UNDP’s FUNGUO Programme are modernizing the country’s payment infrastructure, addressing inefficiencies, and promoting financial inclusion. This will contribute to sustainable economic development and improve the lives of Tanzanians.
2. Seed-stage Startup Launches Digital Agricultural Clinics, Secures Funding
MazaoHub, a Tanzanian agritech startup, has introduced digital agricultural clinics to revolutionize farm management and combat sector inefficiencies. These innovative clinics provide comprehensive services, including soil analysis, land preparation tools, crop management resources, and access to professional agronomists.
The company's core offering is a farming operations software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform. Its AI-powered app delivers insights on soil health, crop selection, inputs, and weather, even functioning without internet access—a crucial feature for rural areas. MazaoHub has partnered with the Tanzania Meteorological Association (TMA) to improve its weather-related services.
To date, MazaoHub has analyzed over 127,000 soil samples and serves 39,000 farmers and 750 agribusiness partners. Earlier this year, the startup secured TZS 519 million in equity funding from the Catalyst Fund, demonstrating investor confidence in its approach.
MazaoHub aims to address Tanzania's annual agricultural losses of TZS 3.9 trillion caused by inefficiencies and climate-related challenges. Looking ahead, the company plans to raise a TZS 3.9 billion seed round and expand its reach to one million smallholder farmers by 2027.
This initiative is particularly important given Tanzania's agriculture market size, estimated at TZS 45.2 trillion in 2024 and projected to reach TZS 59.4 trillion by 2029, according to Mordor Intelligence.
3. Mastercard Hosts Inaugural Card Industry Forum in Tanzania
Mastercard recently held its first card industry forum in Tanzania, building on its existing collaborations in the country. The event in Dar es Salaam convened key stakeholders from the fintech industry to explore Tanzania's finance and tech scene.
Sadiki Nyanzowa, acting director of financial deepening and inclusion at the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), emphasized the growing importance of financial inclusion and emerging payment technologies in Tanzania's digital economy. Panel discussions at the forum focused on leveraging technology for financial inclusion and addressing cybersecurity challenges in the payment industry.
The forum follows Mastercard's 2020 collaboration with Selcom, which resulted in an enhanced mobile application for Tanzanian users. This app (Duka Direct) centralizes payment cards, rewards programs, and mobile banking profiles on a single platform. It features Qwikrewards for discounts and cashbacks, and a Discovery feature for identifying new merchant offers. The app is now available at 1,000 merchants across Tanzania, including notable brands like Alcove, Ahlan Restaurant, and Puma.
At the recent forum, Selcom CEO Sameer Hirji participated as a key panelist, sharing insights on financial inclusion and fraud prevention. Hirji highlighted Selcom's efforts in developing defense mechanisms against scams, underscoring the company's evolution as a leading payment system provider in Tanzania.
These developments occur against the backdrop of Tanzania's projected real GDP growth of 5.7% in 2024, with financial and insurance services as key contributors. Mastercard's initiatives in Tanzania form part of its global strategy to bring one billion people into the digital economy by 2025.