Sandra Rheeder. Photo: Karolina Komendera

Financial inclusion is the glue of modern society. Ever since Adam Smith articulated the forces of financial prosperity in his seminal Wealth of Nations, we have increasingly celebrated that access to financial services is a means to achieve a more satisfying life. If these ideas sound glib, think of poor workers relying on loan sharks or struggling families unable to access remittances from relatives abroad. Financial inclusion is as important as individual rights and citizenry – and it represents an enormous potential for Africa’s future.

“We believe that Africa’s emerging consumer is a consumer the rest of the world doesn’t know about yet,” says Sandra ‘Sandy’ Rheeder. “It’s a massively powerful segment and there’s so much opportunity there. If you can build tech to meet those customers where they are and migrate them along their financial inclusion journey, I think it’s really exciting.” Mukuru is one of the numerous fintechs and established banks looking to engage the masses of unbanked or semi-banked people across Africa. It’s not an easy task – many have failed to crack these markets, pivoting to other services or frequently returning to the drawing board to rethink their ideas. But Mukuru has experienced some success. What started as a simple platform to send fuel vouchers to Zimbabwe during its financial collapse in the early 2000s has grown into an elaborate, multi-service giant that provides dozens of financial services to people in over 14 countries across Africa.