Our fifth guest in the East Africa bloc is Malawian Ronnex Wataya, the Chief Executive Officer of Mi Wallet. Mi Wallet is a fintech startup providing innovative financial services. If you are curious, then listen in.
Conversation Overview
In 2016 Ronnex won his first ICT innovation Award for his first startup “Droidfx Technologies. He developed an auto fare collection system for public transport which charged a customer per distance travelled automatically. In 2018 Droidfx was one of top 20 shortlisted SAIS Innovators to showcase products in Cape town, South Africa. Fast forward to 2019 and “Mi Wallet” was born, which focuses on providing best and smart digital finance in Malawi and neighboring countries. It was a pleasure to speak with Ronnex to learn more about his startup and how is changing the financial ecosystem in his country.
Connect with Ronnex
Conversation Highlights
- “Mi Wallet is a digital mobile money wallet, where user pays with their mobile devices.” Ronnex W. [4:45]
- “In Malawi banks are the major players. The flow is all cash.” Ronnex W. [7:44]
- “Currently to my knowledge we are the only ones but now that we are making noise, we are sure to see more of it.” Ronnex W. [13:45]
- “You can send money locally and internationally. We are targeting from low to middle and higher class. Everyone should have access. We also have other programmes like loans. We also allow them to access their utilities.” – Ronnex W. [14:30]
- “Once a financial institution is registered banks have to work with us. Thanks to the reserve bank we have this policy. They have created a very good environment for fintechs.” Ronnex W. [16:17]
- “We are currently a team of 18 people.” Ronnex W. [22:37]
- “I think it is a matter of starting, that is why we are bold enough to start it. I think we have been behind for a long period of time. I believe that many people will be inspired and start building their own empires.” Ronnex W. [24:00]
- “Yes, we have plans to scale our products and services to other countries. We actually had interest from Botswana, so we know that there is a need for what we are offering.” Ronnex W. [26:30]
Resources Mentioned
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