While the point of sale (PoS) market across Africa has been largely focused on agency banking, card acceptance, wallets and other digital payment types, SpacePointe has partnered with payment services providers to offer business management features that enable, empower and drive return on investment (ROI) for business owners.
SpacePointe, a global Fintech firm that focuses on the digital transformation of both the formal and informal sectors has empowered merchants to increase their return on investments with EKIKART for businesses.
EKIKART is a mobile PoS system with features that are designed specifically to help business owners manage and run their businesses, enable payment acceptance and provide visibility into the health of their business to maximize profit. It is very easy for businesses to grow with. There is a free version for businesses with features that enable them drive foot-traffic in store.
A World class PoS typically should combine payment acceptance with key features that help businesses manage and thrive. These features as well as other services are combined into top-notch PoS hardware and software packages.
According to Fidelis Nwaefuna, Head of Operation in explaining the importance of EkiKart, a business needs more than card acceptance to thrive.
“When you ask a merchant in Africa about a PoS terminal, it typically means card acceptance. In the western world, a POS means that they have a platform for all things business management, that is somehow connected to an accounting management platform to bring their entire world together. SpacePointe is working hard to drive that kind of empowerment for businesses in Africa,” Nwaefuna said.
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Explaining the SpacePointe strategy, the Chief Operating Officer of the company, Osato Osayande, said that “Africa is very important to us because, the opportunity to truly help business owners is greater by far”. He further said that the company is working to drive such an empowerment strategy for businesses in Africa. While shedding light on the empowerment, he said it is not a “one-size-fits-all” market. For instance, owners of restaurants, bars and lounges might worry about customers’ tab and credit management and the ability to print orders to the bar or kitchen.
On the other hand, he narrated, an independent pharmacy owner would worry about managing expiration dates for medicines while a grocer or supermarket operator “will want to control inventory fraud because that is where they experience tons of bleeding”.
The company is focused on solving these unique challenges across small business sectors and it is currently processing for small businesses in seven global markets including Africa, Mexico and Australia.
SpacePointe has taken a different approach to providing solutions for value added services (VAS) businesses with features like KardStash. This feature pulls consumers in by showcasing digital offers via geo-location through the KardStash application.
Big brands and FMCGs for the first time ever get to play in this space especially as it relates to supply chain visibility and managing marketing development down the supply chain. With SpacePointe’s leading-edge platform, and with insights into the merchant geo- location and inventory data, FMCGs are now given the power to participate in driving that foot traffic into even remote merchant locations. It is a game changer starting from the FMCGs all the way down to the supply chain and ultimately to the consumers.
Sally Odianah, SpacePointe Client Manager said that “Ingenuity demands that we get more innovative in creating solutions that really bring customers in for our business owners and we are doing exactly that”
She further said that the ability to do more at the point of sale is critical. SpacePointe Merchant terminals range from laptops, phones and handhelds to desktop and QR code terminals. A consumer today can find a digital offer from a merchant, locate the merchant on same app, make a payment for a product or service, redeem the digital offer all done via contactless technology because the terminal has been loaded into the merchant’s QR code.
From manufactures to distributors to consumers, the SpacePointe platform has made the merchant the focus as they should be. It really is ALL about business enablement
