About 73 percent of small businesses lack access to essential data insights to transform their operations despite millions of digital transactions flowing through Africa’s economy daily, according to BudPay, a globally-focused payment infrastructure company.
Rowland Okondor, head of product at BudPay, who spoke during an interview on Arise TV monitored by BusinessDay, also said that the gap was critical as SMEs contribute 90 percent of business activity on the continent.
Okondor emphasised the importance of leveraging transaction data to empower these businesses.
According to him, BudPay’s new dashboard provides vital information on payment sources and customer behaviour, enabling smarter decisions for SMEs, adding that the company addresses the complexities of intra-African transfers and aims to enhance financial services through AI, marking a pivotal shift in African fintech towards data-driven growth.
“Every day, millions of digital transactions pulse through Africa’s economy, yet 73 percent of small businesses lack access to the data insights that could transform their operations. In a continent where SMEs drive 90 percent of business activity, why are so many companies still flying blind when it comes to understanding their customers? African fintechs are at an inflexion point.
“While digital payments surge across the continent, the real revolution isn’t just in moving money – it’s in mining the wealth of data these transactions generate to empower businesses.
“The amount of information we’re sitting on just by processing payments for businesses is fascinating,” Rowland Okondor explained.
Read also: Innovation, collaboration key to scaling payment solutions in Africa – Campbell, CCO BudPay
He added that many smaller businesses lack the resources to build or host huge data centres or keep data analysts on deck. “That’s why it’s crucial for us to give something back in terms of information from the data we’re processing.
“This commitment to data accessibility has materialised in BudPay’s robust dashboard system.
“We’ve built it so businesses can log in and make sense of basic but crucial information – who’s paying them, where payments are coming from, preferred payment methods, peak transaction times, and payment frequencies,” Okondor said.
He added: “All this data helps identify transaction patterns and customer behaviour, enabling smarter business decisions. For small businesses across Africa, this data accessibility marks a crucial shift.
“Many SMEs lack resources for sophisticated data analysis or dedicated analytics teams. BudPay’s B-Business platform changes this dynamic, democratising access to business intelligence tools that were once the preserve of large enterprises.
“The system eliminates the fragmentation between business operations and payment processing, automatically integrating every payment received with business operations.
“When you send somebody a bank account and they transfer money, you still have to do the work of reconciling and harmonising your business operations with the payments received.
“Despite the continent’s vast economic potential, intra-African trade accounts for just 12 percent of the continent’s total trade volume. For perspective, Africa’s trade with China alone hit a record high of $282.1 billion in 2023.
“This stark imbalance stems from multiple barriers: poor infrastructure, high transport costs, and limited regional integration”, he noted.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
