SPECIAL REPORT: HPS Poised to Digitize Network of MFIs in Benin After Participation in SAM Innovation Fair, Successful Rollout to 3 Network Members

During the “Innovation Fair” of the most recent SAM, Mohamed Asri of Morocco-based payment solutions provider HPS spoke about his firm’s microfinance strategy, including its suite of PowerCARD tools. Mr Asri called SAM “a great opportunity for us to meet dozens of MFIs in Africa and present to them our activity and our products.” These meetings led to HPS signing a memorandum of understanding with Consortium Alafia, a network of 44 MFIs in Benin. To date, three Alafia members have tested PowerCARD Microfinance, which offers pay-as-you-go pricing to manage functions such as client transactions, internal finances, services provided via agents, Shariah-compliant products, field staff using mobile devices and third-party services such as insurance. An agreement to roll the service out to most of Alafia’s members is currently under negotiation.

In addition to speaking at SAM, Mr Asri managed a demonstration booth on the fourth day of the event. He explains, “We were able to design [the booth] according to our marketing needs. A large number of MFIs were able to contact us and learn more about the competitive advantages of our products.” He added that MFI leaders were most interested in how digitizing could help reduce operating costs and how flexible the products could be. Mr Asri also emphasized the potential for digital tools to improve the productivity of MFIs’ agents.

As Mohamed Asri of HPS, the provider of PowerCARD a result of its involvement with SAM, HPS has joined the Microfinance African Institutions Network (MAIN), a member of the SAM steering committee, in order to maintain and expand its networking with SAM attendees. Mr Asri (pictured third from left) said, “I am so happy with my participation that I am renewing my partnership with SAM as a ‘Silver’ sponsor to maximize awareness of our work.” At the 2019 SAM in Ouagadougou, HPS is considering running an exhibit booth throughout all five days of SAM, rather than just on the day of the Innovation Fair. The firm also is looking into creating a “Fintech Village,” a larger space inside the Innovation Fair where HPS can feature all of its activities, products and innovations. For example, it will show off its HPS PAY solution by letting participants download the app to test its mobile payment tools. They will be able to use it to access bitcoin, which they then can spend on drinks provided by HPS. In summary, Mr Asri says, “In 2019, SAM will be key to my commercial strategy. In fact, I wish a future SAM will be organized very soon in Morocco.”

Established in 1995, HPS is a leading card and payment technology company with over 400 clients in 90 countries. The mission of HPS is to provide its clients with innovative technology solutions that transcend the entire payments value chain, enabling them to innovate rapidly and bring new products to market with ease and efficiency. The PowerCARD suite is fully integrated with all international payment networks, and it supports all major back-office payments functions.

ADA, an NGO based in Luxembourg, co-organizes SAM every two years with the support of Luxembourg’s Ministry for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs. The SAM steering committee members are: ADA, Luxembourg’s Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, the Microfinance African Institutions Network, the African Rural and Agricultural Credit Association and the Fédération des APSFD de l’Union Economique et Monétaire Ouest Africaine. We invite you to read more about SAM at http://sam.africa.

This vignette is part of a sponsored series demonstrating the value of SAM (the French acronym for African Microfinance Week), a major conference dedicated to financial inclusion in Africa. The first three SAMs were held in Arusha, Tanzania, in 2013; Dakar, Senegal, in 2015; and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2017. The next SAM will take place October 21-25, 2019, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso!

The goal of SAM is to provide a unified platform for addressing issues facing microfinance in Africa by bringing together investors, MFIs, researchers, banks, networks, innovators, governments and other stakeholders.

The 2017 SAM hosted 700 participants from 58 (mostly African) countries, including representatives of 200 MFIs; 25 exhibitors at the Innovation Fair; and 26 investors, who made 170 MFI contacts at the Investor’s Fair. The proceedings also included conference sessions presented by 60 speakers plus a menu of 20 training programs.

Additional Resources

SAM
http://sam.africa/

Past vignettes and MicroCapital coverage of SAM
http://www.microcapital.org/category/semaine-africaine-de-la-microfinance-sam/

Past vignettes on SAM en francais
https://www.ada-microfinance.org/fr/evenements/semaine-africaine-microfinance/objectif-sam-2019/paroles-de-nos-participants