Kenya’s financial cooperatives, credit unions, and community banks serve over 10 million people, with $4.7 billion in savings and a $6.54 billion asset base. They contributed 5.72% of Kenya’s nominal GDP in 2017.
Despite the lucrative nature of the industry, they are largely excluded from it and rely on manual operations and processes. This frequently results in inefficient operations, liquidity issues, a lack of proper data analysis, and fraud.
This is where Cynthia Wandia’s Kwara, an online and mobile banking platform for financial cooperatives, credit unions, and community banks, comes in. Wandia founded ASTRA Innovations in 2014 prior to funding Kwara and continues to oversee the group’s business development and strategic direction.
In addition, the platform aims to improve transparency and security for customers of community banks and small financial institutions. Furthermore, Kwara is intended to promote financial inclusion. It is designed to assist unbanked and underbanked individuals in easily building wealth together. In addition, the platform gives union members access to instant loans and third-party services such as insurance.
Kwara recently raised $3 million in seed extension funding, bringing the total amount raised by the company to $7 million. Existing investors such as DOB Equity, Globivest, and Willard Ahdritz, founder of Kobalt Music, led the funding round, which also included new backers such as One Day Yes, Base Capital, and fintech executives such as Mikko Salovaara, CFO of Revolut.
“We have spent the last three years uplifting the credit union sector in Kenya, becoming the leading core banking provider in Kenya. Our clients grow up to four times faster than other credit unions and serve members up to 100 times more efficiently,” Wandia said.
The Kenyan fintech also signed an exclusive distribution agreement for digital solutions with KUSCCO, Kenya’s umbrella body for Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs). The transaction included the acquisition of KUSCCO’s subsidiary, IRNET, a sacco software company. According to Wandia, the acquisition enables Kwara to provide a digital banking experience to every credit union in Kenya, in collaboration with Kenya’s most established credit union partner (Kwara).
Wandia co-founded Kwara in 2019 with David Hwan (COO). Two years later, the startup received $4 million in seed funding. Kwara has a presence in South Africa and the Philippines, but its main market remains Kenya. According to Tech Crunch, it increased its clientele base to 120 from 50 at the end of 2021 while maintaining 100% customer retention.
Kwara, now 36, was inspired to start her own business by her grandmother. Her grandmother, she said, was a coffee farmer who worked with savings and credit cooperatives. She has traveled to several countries as a result of her entrepreneurship. She led many projects while traveling, giving her the skills she needed to change the world.