MiKashBoks a digital social finance platform with presence in Ghana and Sierra Leone has partnered with RinDev Consulting to launch its pilot digitization of off-line peer and group savings and lending in Nigeria.
According to a statement from RinDev Consulting the partnership will aim to bridge the gap for millions of Nigerians, business that are without an opportunity for credit due to lack of identification, credit history and collateral.
“With ongoing pilots now in Ghana and Sierra Leone, MiKashBoks is developed in response to the largely exclusionary financial systems that have left out millions of Nigerians who lack identification, credit history and collateral. MiKashBoks creates an alternative financial pathway that is built on social capital and individual consent and makes transactions programmable, interoperable and upgradable.”
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It reads further, “At MiKashBoks, our mission is to bring billions of existing informal financial transactions online so that everyone owns and benefits from their own financial data. We bridge our users with external systems and provide growth and innovation opportunities while maintaining their unalienable rights to consent, self-sovereignty, and privacy and security of their data. Launched in 2021 after 24 months of development and study, MiKashBoks captures it’s founders’ long histories of working in communities excluded from the financial system – whether it is Black Americans and minorities in the United States or in emerging West African economies where offline financial transactions occur within social networks.”
Speaking on the partnership that will help establish MikashBoks footprint in Nigeria, Salton Massally, the CEO and Founder, MiKashBok said, “MiKashBoks has enlisted the assistance of RinDev Consulting, a well-known and respected operator in the Nigerian development sector. Their expertise in market research, social development and tri-sector partnerships, combined with the innovative technology and strong leadership underpinning MiKashBoks, will strongly position MiKashboks within Nigeria.”
“MiKashBoks has been designed with user security at the heart of the app. Alongside this strong commitment to privacy, MiKashBoks has integrated the founders’ experiences designing financial technology for West African markets; the app is fully functional offline, is available via SMS for users with feature phones, and uses IVR technology for users with low literacy and numeracy. Their open API protocol will allow banks and other financial institutions access to customers active on the platform.”
Who is Salton Massally?
He is a technology entrepreneur with a track record of building solutions for underserved communities in emerging markets in west Africa and in the United States. He founded a number of flagship initiatives and led their technology vision and implementation, living in rural areas and designing technology stack in responsible ways that respect and empower end users’ privacy and agency. In 2018, he was recognized as Queen’s Young leader by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.
