Jabu, a Namibian start-up, is set to launch its own payments wallet, Jwallet, to bring many of the country’s unbanked population into the formal banking system, while bringing convenience to its operations.
Jabu CEO David Akinin said the company is currently in discussions with the Bank of Namibia and Bank of Zambia to roll out its plans.
“Jabu is launching Jwallet in several markets, allowing merchants to use their physical flows to offer cash withdrawals and deposit services for their customers. But that’s just the first step of Jabu Finance,” he said.
“With digital wallets and cash flow visibility, the company aims to provide asset finance for its Jabu Drivers Program across the region, where it currently has 232 logistics SMEs signed up, and provide capex and stock financing for merchants through advanced credit assessments.”
Akinin said the business aims to leverage on its exposure to the informal sector that has been found to be largely unbanked, according to various research, through its current operations and will also partner with a registered bank.
“Partnering with banks across the region, the Jwallet allows merchants to offer cash withdrawal and deposit services to their customers, as well as effect digital payments, accumulate savings and build up transaction history,” Akinin said.
He indicated that unlike other operators in the sector, “are focusing on their Buy Now, Pay Later (BNP) financing approach, Jabu is betting instead on its Jwallet to build sustainable credit profiles amongst its merchants.”
“Our fundraising experience showed us that the industry is being pushed in the BNPL direction. But our thesis is that it will not be sustainable to create indebtedness in a market that is not yet properly digitized.”
The plans by the business comes after a successful Series A funding raising, which saw Tiger Global leading a N$236.4 million (U$15 million) investment into the business and comes after the business raised N$50.6 million (U$3.2 million) last year.
The investment is targeted at funding its expansion plans into the region.
Akinin founded JABU in mid-2020 to fix Namibia’s inefficient and almost non-existent supply chain and distribution.
The platform connects over 6,000 retailers to local and multinational suppliers such as Namibia Breweries Limited, Bokomo, Coca-Cola, Namib Mills and digitizes orders, payments and logistics.
