Cassava, Mastercard to collaborate on fintech solutions for Covid-19 response in Africa

The Econet Group through its subsidiary Cassava Fintech International (Cassava Fintech) and Mastercard, have entered into a strategic partnership to advance digital inclusion across Africa and collaborate on a range of initiatives, including expansion of the Africa CDC TravelPass.

TravelPass is a digital health pass developed by Cassava Fintech and offered in conjunction with the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC). It is accessible to users of Cassava Fintech’s Sasai SuperApp, and is recognised as one of the leading initiatives in the fight against the cross-border spread of Covid-19 in Africa.

Mastercard is partnering with Cassava Fintech to enhance the security of TravelPass through Mastercard’s Community Pass platform. Mastercard Community Pass is an interoperable digital platform facilitating service delivery for marginalised individuals and communities, including access to critical health services such as patient care plan tracking for Covid-19.

The joint initiative between Mastercard and Cassava Fintech seeks to offer a unified solution with greater convenience and enhanced security, that is expected to promote safe cross border travel in Africa in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The partnership will also allow the two organisations to explore collaboration such as the further integration of the Community Pass with Cassava Fintech’s mobile and financial services, acquiring and processing of card payments across the continent, along with the introduction of a virtual or physical card on the Sasai SuperApp.

Cassava Fintech’s CEO, Darlington Mandivenga, said the partnership with Mastercard would pave the way for both companies to jointly tackle the challenges facing African economies as they re-open post the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We are excited to work with Mastercard to explore solutions that will, among other things, mitigate the risk of falsified presentation of a third party’s Travel Pass at access and transit points,” Mandivenga said, adding that the same technology could also be used in payment solutions.

Cassava Fintech uses an integrated model to provide financial and digital services to ensure a “financially inclusive future that leaves no African behind”.

“We look froward to to joining hands with Cassava Fintech in exploring new solutions that will make a difference and benefit the continent. In addition to digital innovation for future travel, Cassava will also leverage our secure payments network to advance access to financial services,” said Mark Elliott, Divisional President, Southern Africa, Mastercard.

Mastercard is a leading global technology company focused on building an inclusive, sustainable digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere, by making transactions safe, simple, smart and accessible.

Govt to drive import substitution agenda

Business Writer

Government is working on a bundle of measures that will see among other things the state helping the manufacturing sector produce most of the goods that are currently being imported, according to President Mnangagwa.

The President said the manufacturing sector should take advantage of several initiatives by the Government to reduce import dependency and boost local production.

Zimbabwe’s industry has been in recovery mode, riding on the back of efforts by the Government to create a stable operating environment through initiatives such as the foreign currency auction system.

Officiating at this year’s edition of the Buy Zimbabwe Awards, President Mnangagwa said the Government is putting in place additional measures to assist companies to operate at peak levels.

“I have instructed the Ministry of Industry and Commerce to regularly publish a list of all imported products.

“Thereafter, it is my expectation that the manufacturing sector begins to incrementally knock off products from that said list through local production and productivity.

“And it also helps our science and technology students at institutions of higher learning to apply themselves to produce those products,” he said.

Last year, Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector capacity utilisation rose by 10 percent to 47 percent despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

President Mnangagwa noted progress that has been made by local manufacturers in boosting output, adding that an efficient local manufacturing sector is vital in view of increasing competition from the region.

“Our manufacturing sector has shown an admirable capacity to grow as reflected in the manufacturing sector survey and the number of locally produced goods on our shelves. However, more still needs to be done by the sector to speedily achieve the targets set out in the National Development Strategy 1 for the realisation of Vision 2021.

“On its part my Government continues to implement responsive policies to create a conducive operating environment for local manufacturers. The NDS1 buttresses the value chain for the sustainable production and consumption of local products,” said President Mnangagwa.

“This is complemented by the Zimbabwe National Industrial Development Policy and the Zimbabwe National Content Strategy, which focuses on structural transformation, value chain development and entrepreneurship development. These developments are expected to consistently facilitate rapid private sector-led economic growth. This is more so as we seek to achieve national self-sufficiency and to penetrate global markets, including the African Continental Free Trade Area, while maximizing on the opportunities offered by SADC and COMESA.

“The prevailing stable and predictable macro-economic environment that we have created must be the impetus to increase production, productivity, and of course, profitability across the industrial value chains.

Speaking at the same event, Industry and Commerce Minister Sekai Nzenza said the positive efforts by both Government and the private sector had resulted in an improvement in the country’s exports of manufactured products over the past year.

“The export of processed foods increased by 18 percent. This upward trajectory is expected to continue under the NDS1,” she said.

“The cumulative effect of this growth trend has been the availability and affordability of basic goods and commodities to the consumer as locally produced goods continue to take up more shelf space.”

She added: “As an implementation framework for the strategic deliverables of import substitution through increased local content and export development, the Ministry has identified key value chains and is undertaking sector-specific strategies, that include enhancing opportunities for value addition and the development of agro-based value chains in pursuit of rural industrialisation.”-ebusinessweekly.cl.zw