African markets ripe for Swiss technologies

Remittances are the financial backbone for many African households, with Switzerland’s sizeable diaspora community playing a key role. According to the World Bank, remittances from Switzerland to foreign countries surpassed $8.2 billion in 2020, with a substantial portion dedicated to African countries. Traditionally, remittances rely heavily on bank transfers and credit cards, creating challenges for Europe’s unbanked and underbanked communities.

Centi developed a unique cash on-ramp feature powered by blockchain technology to address this critical issue. The fintech startup has joined forces with the global digital cash wallet Centbee offering off-ramps in various African countries, including Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda. Preliminary tests indicate that sending CHF 50 in cash to Ghana using Centi and Centbee’s combined service could be 85% cheaper than the market leader. This translates to recipients getting up to 30% more cash-in-hand based on the same CHF 50 sent from Switzerland. Thanks to the deployment of advanced blockchain technology, this partnership is poised to make cross-border money transfers more streamlined, cost-effective and enhance financial inclusion.

Digital IDs for Congolese Students
Geneva-based biometrics TECH5 develops inclusive biometric and digital ID offerings by applying Al and Machine Learning technologies. Governments and players in the private sector rely on Tech5 for Civil ID, Digital ID, and authentication solutions that deliver identity assurance for various use cases. Tech5’s platforms are already deployed on several continents, serving over 400 million identities.

After a successful initial deployment, its partner Sycamore are preparing to launch their digital student ID solution across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The company’s solution uses TECH5’s T5-Cryptograph technology to print a code containing a given student’s encrypted face biometrics data. It is powered by T5-OmniMatch DIT (Digital Identity Toolkit), TECH5’s biometric capture solution. The smart card enables students to access university facilities and can be used as a boarding pass on student buses. Initially launched in Kinshasa toward the end of last year, preparing for a wider rollout.

“This project demonstrates how T5-Digital ID can be used to make student IDs multi-functional, secure, and biometrically verifiable with no need for smart cards or purpose-built devices for verification and no need for an internet connection to a central database,” said Ameya Bhagwat, SVP of Sales and Business Development at TECH5.

(RAN)