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| Naira Manager |
A Financial Management Progressive Web
App for MSMEs
Naira Manager, a financial management web
based application for SME’s. It is an application designed to boost financial
inclusion and probity among the millions of MSMEs operating in Nigeria and
elsewhere across the globe. The web application features agent banking,
business planning and management tools such as financial intelligence, business
modeling, forecasting, real time financial analysis, business information,
business networking and loan/grant application.
The financial sector is undergoing changes globally, mainly
driven by technological innovations, business models and new customer behaviors
and changes in regulations after the 2008 financial crisis. In Africa, these
changes are creating unprecedented opportunity to achieve universal access to
finance and financial inclusion. Models like agent banking, branchless
distribution, mobile banking are reducing costs and risk also enabling reach to
the previously unbanked population, including in poor and low-density areas on
the continent.
The Continent’s growth has relied on
resource extraction and export, however this has been revealed as an
unsustainable growth agenda. The new driver of the African economy is the current boom in
small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Today, small and growing
businesses create around 80% of the Africa’s employment, establishing a new
middle class and fuelling demand for new goods and services.
But inadequate regulation, low income levels
and lack of understanding of financial principles for SMEs and business owners
are limiting finance penetration. One of
the greatest challenges however is access to credit, which remains a hurdle for
SMEs in Africa. Addressing the issue has been a priority for the private
sector, governments and regional organizations for several years. According to The Small
and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, 73.24% of the topmost priority of
assistance needed by MSMEs’ operators is finance. In addition, only 4.2% of
17.2 million MSMEs have been able to access loans or overdrafts from financial
institutions while new entrants or start-ups find it practically impossible to
access funds from banks. The reason being that most MSMEs cash flow isn’t
stable; it cannot be traced thereafter making it difficult for them to get
grants or loans.
With
about 350 million adults excluded
from the formal financial ecosystem as of 2014, sub-Saharan Africa offers
considerable opportunities to expand access to and usage of formal financial
services. (“GSMA Intelligence” 2014)
Over the next five years, an additional 168 million people will be
connected by mobile services across Africa, reaching 725 million unique
subscribers by 2020. The
number of Africans joining the working age population will exceed that
of the rest of the world combined by 2035, according to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF).
We believe that for us to reap the fruits of growth in Africa technological
innovation must not only be inclusive but must drive equality across the
continent. We have started the journey to ensure a financially Inclusive Africa
by launching the first solution in Africa’s largest market, Nigeria.
Users can download the app via https://nairamanager.com
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