Are Nigerian-based fintech companies penetrating the Asian market?
The Nigerian FinTech company Kuda is on its way to extending its usefulness to Pakistan and other Asian countries. Kuda has obtained a licence from the governing financial institution of Pakistan, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP).
In June last year, Kuda partnered with The City School Group, which is primarily focused on education, and Fatima Group, involved in offering solutions for energy, production, and trading in order to apply for the SBP’s licence.
Quoting Kuda’s Chief Expansion Officer, Mr Ryan Laubscher, the authorization “leverages each partner’s distinctive reach and capabilities to create a powerful proposition with enormous potential to increase financial access and affordability in Pakistan and most noticeably, with a focus on the agriculture and education sectors.”
Among the twenty companies that applied for the licence, Kuda, also known as “KT Bank” in Pakistan, is listed among the five organizations given the licence to commence digital banking in the country. Below are the licensed companies;
- KT Bank (Kuda Technologies Ltd., Fatima Fertilizer Ltd and City School Pvt. Ltd.)
- Easy Paisa DB (Telenor Pakistan B.V & Ali Pay Holding Ltd.)
- Hugo Bank (Getz Bros & Co., Atlas Consolidated Pte. Ltd. and M & P Pakistan Pvt. Ltd.)
- Masheq Bank (Mashreq Bank UAE)
- Raqami (Kuwait Investment Authority through – PKIC and Enertech Holding Co.)
The Nigerian owed FinTech Company spreads its canopy outside Nigeria to South Africa, London and now Pakistan, generating more than $90 million with over 4 million customers since its inception. KT Bank is set to kick off in Pakistan after being offered an In-Principle approval since it received no-objection certificates from the State Bank of Pakistan.
As Central Banks are beginning to provide the framework to support digital banking within their territories, there will likely be a more financially technologically charged society.
The digital bank is expected to ensure steady digital financial services, including credit services with low cost and efficient money transfers to Pakistanis, thereby promoting financial inclusion and serving the underserved, which matches squarely with the primary objectives of Kuda.
Kuda has promised to reach the unreached as far as providing financial services is concerned. In 2021, Kuda CEO Ogundeyi stated that the goal is to deliver banking services to “every African on the earth.”
As this opens the window for Pakistan’s economic boom, will it also create a pathway for Nigerian and African investors?
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Photo by Kuda
