The FinForward program of the Nederlandse Financierings-Maatschappij voor Ontwikkelingslanden (FMO), a development bank controlled by the Dutch government, has enrolled nine African financial institutions that are looking to improve their back-office systems or digitize the client-facing operations. The program offers the banks, which operate in 36 countries, access to 4wrd, “a testing environment where the banks and fintechs [financial technology firms] can test and integrate new financial technology solutions in a safe and secure manner.” The environment serves as a single connection point for financial institutions and mobile-money providers to access the services of 145 fintechs. 4wrd is a product of Above & Beyond, a US-based firm that also offers mentoring and training services to the financial services industry.
The deadline to apply to participate in FinForward has been extended from December 15, 2017, to an unspecified date.
The vision of FMO is to help abolish extreme poverty, increase equality and support measures that reduce climate change. It reports total assets of EUR 8.5 billion (USD 9.5 billion) and pre-tax profit of EUR 219 million (USD 245 million) for the year 2016.
Sources and Additional Resources:
Direct contact with FMO.
FMO press release
https://www.fmo.nl/news-detail/e7d933ec-1e36-4e15-ad6b-6c807e9ae914/dfcu-bank-uganda-joins-fmo-s-fintech-initiative-finforward
Innovations in Fintech, Human Resources Development at SAM
https://www.microcapital.org/special-report-innovations-fintech-human-resources-development-sam-semaine-africaine-de-la-microfinance/
Moral Obligation to Include More People in the Financial System; Harvesting Wins $12k FMO Fintech Microfinance Prize for Use of Satellite Data to Boost Yields
https://www.microcapital.org/special-report-sam-moral-obligation-include-people-financial-system-harvesting-wins-12k-fmo-fintech-microfinance-prize-use-satellite-data-boost/
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