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How To Prepare For Big Growth: Scaling a Development Team in Fintech

By
Tetiana Boichenko
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Scaling a Development Team in Fintech

When fintech startups prove their idea feasible and start scaling operations, they start ailing from a shared pain. Quick and efficient extending of their teams along with hunting for the necessary talent may be a tall order.

As a result, fintech companies looking to scale up their development encounter the following hurdles:

Finding the suitable expertise for fintech development

58% of respondents of the UK fintech census mentioned engaging qualified and suitable talent as the most significant challenge for fintechs. Due to the galloping pace of IT development and consequently – a burning demand for high-end software engineers, the European Commission expects the shortage of IT-skilled staff could amount to 825,000 by 2020.

Source: FinTech Census 2017

Especially that concerns such in-demand specialists as blockchain developers, smart contract developers, data scientists, Machine learning engineers, and other rare experts that are now more and more frequently required for innovative fintech projects. For instance, we can see now many use cases of machine learning in fintech, and how demanded AI and machine learning talent is in fintech domain.

Painful HR activities in-house

What’s more, companies looking to scale up their software development often struggle with HR activities and communication issues. They call for additional effort, costs, and may distract the company from their core focus. And it seems more reasonable to outsource these additional competencies to an offshore or nearshore team.

Where and how to find fintech development talent

Many fintech companies search for a software development partner in Eastern Europe or Asia. Eastern Europe alone gives access to a rich talent pool of software engineers. For instance, CEE is home to over 789, 000 IT specialists, and Ukraine is alone home to 1,000 software development companies. For example, such fintech leaders as CurrencyCloud and Ratesetter cooperated with IT vendors from Eastern Europe.

Source: IT outsourcing destinations of Eastern Europe

When looking for a reliable software development company, pay attention to the following factors:

The available pool of specialists. If you want to extend your team quickly, choose mid-size and big companies with 500+ specialists. This way the experts can be easily reallocated to your project.

Also, the company should have solid brand recognition as it will help to find the necessary expertise easier. In fact, most fintech projects are interesting and challenging, and if you choose an established IT outsourcing company with a strong brand image on the market, it won’t be hard to find the development resources you are looking for, including senior software engineers.

The potential software development partner must have expertise in migration to microservices, secure and reliable API design, distributed architecture, and more.

Security can’t be compromised. A potential software development partner must be compliant with top security regulations, laws, and rules, follow the best global practices, and hold information security teams that will be responsible for following all the security procedures. For instance, a fintech company that accepts card payments, stores, processes and transmits cardholder data, must ensure it hosts their data securely with a PCI compliant hosting provider.

To ensure data protection and compliance with GDPR, a company can request the vendor to provide pseudonymization of the data. Pseudonymization is a de-identification procedure by which personal data is replaced by one or more artificial identifiers, or pseudonyms, and thus the IT vendor has no access to actual users’ personal data. Also, the customer can require the IT vendor to work remotely with its data without moving it to servers in Ukraine.

The vendor can offer the cooperation model that best fits needs of your fintech project. If the fintech company is looking to engage a team as a seamless part of their own one yet working remotely, dedicated development model (team extension) is the best option. What’s more, it is the best choice in terms of cost-efficiency for long-term fintech development projects as it allows you to have a more predictable price in the end. Before the project starts, you and the IT vendor decide upon a monthly cost per engineer allocated to your account. A software engineer is typically allocated full-time (160 hrs per month) with a long-term assignment duration (1+ year).

In addition, there is a delivery manager allocated to your account. They will be responsible for business processes integration, technology alignment, setting up, overseeing effective communication, and more.

Flexibility and scalability is another huge advantage. You can either hire a strong team of senior software engineers or engage middle and junior developers that will ensue tasks of your in-house senior engineers. You can scale up or down the team as necessary adding or removing technologies and specialists that work with them.

Fintech companies may choose different approaches to team augmentation. Some companies choose to grow in numbers and hire many junior and middle engineers, delegating minor tasks to their nearshore team. While others choose to empower their outsourcing team with core tasks and decision-making. Both options are fine, and your potential vendor must be able to do both. You can also start from something small, and then when you build the trust with your team, assign them with heavier duties.

Wrap-up

Finding and hiring fintech development talent in-house is painful, time-consuming and costly. What’s more, fintech companies may have very specific resource needs, and some  fintech software development experts may be very rare, for instance, blockchain or smart contract developers.

Thus, it makes sense to delegate some of your fintech software development tasks to a nearshore outsourcing vendor. In order to make your cooperation efficient, you need to choose a mature and reliable IT outsourcing partner and the most scalable and flexible cooperation model that best suits your fintech development project.

The World’s First Folding Phone by Royole is such a Stunner!

By
Joel Osekeny
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Royole Corporation, a company in China beat phone makers Huawei, LG and Samsung to produce and launch the Royole FlexPai, the world’s first folding smartphone.
In the latest press release by Huawei, a folding smartphone from the company was to be launched in mid-2019, with a support for 5G network, while Samsung announced to launch a similar device later this year as it ends. LG too is set to launch such a device in 2019.

 

However, a new innovator, with 6 years experience on the market, headquartered in California, United States launched its own folding smartphone last week. Royole corporation was founded by graduates of Stanford University in 2012.

 

The tablet looking smartphone is about 19.8cm screen size and a thickness of 7.8mm, with the ability to fold in half and have two displays on one side once the other end is folded backwards.

It comes with a 6gb RAM and an inbuilt 128 GB internal storage. Another variant of the same device had an 8gb RAM with an internal storage of 256 GB. There is also a provision for an SD card to extend storage capacity. It’s operating system, Water, is based on the latest Android 9 pie. The phone goes for about USD. 1,300 on the market.

What the election to Council of the International Telecommunication Union means for Uganda

By
Doryn Crystal
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On 5th November, Ugandan Minister of ICT and National Guidance Hon. Frank Tumwebaze along with other delegates successfully got Uganda elected to the International Telecommunication Union governing council at an event in Dubai (United Arab Emirates). Out of 177 votes, Uganda got 114 votes to be elected to governing council to join the other 12 countries that were selected from Africa and the 48 from the entire world.

The election means Uganda will be an ITU Council Member State elected for 2019-2023.

International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is the United Nations specialized agency for information and communication technologies – ICTs. The ITU was created in 1865 to manage international telegraph networks, but as new technologies were invented, the management of international radio frequency spectrum, broadcast signals, maritime and aeronautical mobile communications, and geostationary orbit slots for communications satellites became part of its mandate.

The role of ITU is to act as a catalyst in fostering cooperation among the States of the world in order to promote their participation in a global communication satellite system. It is by fostering such cooperation that the ITU can make its maximum contribution to the cause of world peace. It’s also supposed to consider broad telecommunication policy issues to ensure that the Union’s activities, policies and strategies fully respond to today’s dynamic, rapidly changing telecommunications environment.

ITU is committed to connecting all the world’s people – wherever they live and whatever their means. Through our work, we protect and support everyone’s fundamental right to communicate. In recent times, Uganda has increased its infrastructure to improve on the connectivity in the country and it’s joining the council will catalyse that agenda more.

Because ITU allocates global radio spectrum and satellite orbits, develop the technical standards that ensure networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved communities worldwide, Uganda too is slated to be a direct beneficiary and also influence on the making of these policies.

The next council sitting of the 2019 Session will take place from 10 to 20 June 2019, in Geneva.

Raxio appoints Abdul-Rahman Baguma Ahmed Vice President- Technology and Operations

By
GURU8 Staff
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0

Raxio Data Centre Limited, the first privately owned co-location, Tier III, carrier-neutral data centre in Uganda, has appointed Abdul-Rahman Baguma Ahmed as Vice President of Technology and Operations. Mr. Ahmed is a Ugandan national with 15 years’ experience in large IT projects focused on data centre infrastructure planning, architecture, designing, implementing and management.

Since 2006, Mr. Ahmed has worked at MTN Uganda, the largest telco operator in Uganda. Most recently, since 2013, Abdul was the Infrastructure Manager in MTN’s Shared Services Division, covering Uganda, Zambia, Swaziland and Rwanda.

In his role, he oversaw and managed all the hardware infrastructure, network  infrastructure, provisioning and maintenance practices, security practices, disaster
recovery planning and execution, as well as general oversight of daily operations of
MTN’s data centres in those countries. Previously, as Data Centre Facilities Manager,
he also oversaw the design and development of new data centres for MTN and
modifications to existing ones.

Speaking on the appointment, the Raxio General Manager- James Byaruhanga said,
“Abdul’s appointment is timely as we prepare for the groundbreaking of the data centre
in Namanve before year-end. We believe his experience, expertise and skillset are
ideally suited to lead the technical implementation and management of such a unique
and state-of-the-art facility, that is expected to have a transformational impact on the
Ugandan economy.”

In acceptance of his appointment, Mr. Ahmed said, “I am more than excited to join
Raxio and be part of this iconic project that will set a new standard for IT infrastructure
in the country definitely change the way we do business, especially with regard to
business continuity and disaster recovery.”

This is a Press Release from Raxio Data Centre Limited

Econet Media Refocuses Business towards a Digital Future

By
Brian Code
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0

In order to maintain its position as a leader in broadcasting innovation in Africa, Econet Media has reviewed its business strategy and service offerings, to align them to changes in the global digital and satellite broadcasting sector, and growth in access to mobile and fixed broadband on the continent.

The strategy review will see Africa’s leading multiplatform broadcast network focus on three core services; Kwesé Free Sports (KFS), Kwesé iflix and Kwesé Play. KFS is Africa’s largest free-to-air TV service, Kwesé iflix is Africa’s leading mobile video-on-demand sports and entertainment platform while Kwesé Play is a leading-edge video streaming service with more than 200 sports, entertainment, kids and news channels including Red Bull TV, NBA, YouTube, TED and Bloomberg.

With increased focus on these three services, Econet Media will streamline its direct-to-home satellite television service with a reduction of third party channels available on the Kwese TV Bouquet, and the removal of Kwesé branded sports (excluding KFS) and general entertainment channels. The new bouquet will carry FTA, religious, and free news channels which will be available to viewers for a minimal administrative fee, in lieu of the monthly subscription fees. Kwesé subscribers who have already paid their subscriptions for November 2018, or in advance, will receive refunds.

The rationale for the changes is that Kwesé was launched at a time when the global pay television industry was in transition. Business models were evolving from traditional content rights linked to linear broadcast channels, to premium content rights moving towards digital media platforms.

During the transition, Kwesé has successfully built a satellite TV business with presence in 11 markets, a free-to-air business across 27 countries, delivered the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ across Africa to a network of 115 sub-license broadcasters across 37 countries – reaching over 200 million households, acquired a controlling stake in a leading mobile video-on-demand service, and launched its own OTT service Kwesé Play.

The business has also managed to secure leading sports rights and general entertainment channels to build a compelling content offering across its platforms, making a significant shift in the continent’s complex and competitive media industry.

Having recognized the importance of carrying original local content, Econet Media will also establish its own content creation hub, Kwesé Studios. Through Kwesé Studios, Econet Media will invest in developing its own original programming and provide a platform for African producers, scriptwriters, actors and directors to tell authentic African stories on a pan-African broadcast network. These changes are in keeping with Kwesé’s commitment to providing affordable premium content, maintaining an innovative approach to content delivery and being attuned to audience viewing and purchasing habits.

As a consequence of the revised business model, Econet Media is also reviewing its operational structures across all markets where Kwesé TV has a presence which may result in changes to the company’s various business units. Joe Hundah, Group President and Chief Executive of Econet Media, says the business’ repositioning is perfectly timed in response to market trends.

“We believe these changes will safeguard the future success of our business as we continue to make an indelible impact on Africa’s media industry. The revised business strategy will also ensure that Kwesé TV continues to remain competitive within the industry. Refocusing our business offering across markets is a strategic move which aligns our business to OTT and video-on-demand trends which present significant growth opportunities for Kwesé. This renewed focus on digital services will see us provide new compelling offers for our customer’s enjoyment.”

“Additionally, through the development of the Kwesé Studios content hub, Econet Media will now have a legitimate claim to being the home of African content, as we will now create a place where Africans can tell their own stories and shape their own narrative.”

“Kwesé’s entry into the market had a game-changing impact on the media industry. With these

changes, we believe Kwesé will continue to positively disrupt the industry for the benefit of African consumers, as we continue to provide affordable premium content through digital media services.”

Daily OTT Subscription Is Now Valid For 24 hours Not Up To Midnight

By
Joel Osekeny
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The plea against the biting OTT tax has not reached deaf ears. Concerns from the society have been made to the government and telecommunication service providers to either stop charging the OTT tax while others asked for a change in the mode of payment.

Mobile telecommunication networks have adjusted the period upon which the tax will run. In a press statement MTN has released to the public, the telecommunication company has announced that the subscription for the tax will expire after 24 hours.

“With effect from 1st November 2018, the validity of your daily OTT tax of 200/=, has changed from midnight to 24 hours” reads the statement.

Tweeps used the announcement to also ask other telecommunication companies if the expiry for their OTT is also 24 hours.

“Hi, validity period for daily OTT is now 24 hours” reads a response airtel has made to one of the tweets.

Prior to this announcement, the tax no matter what time the user subscribed to it expired at midnight. Even when the user subscribed for the tax at 11pm, the expiry has always unfairly been midnight.

This change is a likely relaxation from the government and URA, the taxing body because it was the same authorities that required the telecommunication companies to end the data subscription at 11:59 pm.

Feedback from users have been positive including some users claiming that they are not going to start paying the OTT after the changes have been effected.

Uganda’s Joan Nalubega Shines at the 2018 Anzisha Prize Awards

By
GURU8 Staff
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0

The Mastercard Foundation and African Leadership Academy announced Joan Nalubega, 21, the second-runner up at the just concluded 8th annual Anzisha Prize awards gala.  She is the co-founder of Uganics, which produces mosquito-repellent soap to combat malaria in Uganda. With the US$12,500, she will conduct a certification study for the company’s products and prepare Uganics for export to neighbouring countries which will help to widen her impact in the fight against malaria.

22-year-old healthcare entrepreneur Melissa Bime won the US$25,000 Grand Prize at the 8th annual Anzisha Prize awards gala.  She is the founder of INFIUSS, an online blood bank and digital supply chain platform that ensures patients in 23 hospitals in Cameroon have life-saving blood when and where they need it. She is only the second woman to win the grand prize since Best Ayiorworth took it home in 2013.

The first runner-up, 18-year-old Alhaji Siraj Bah will receive US$15,000 in prize money. He is the founder of Rugal Trading in Sierra Leone, a company that produces handcrafted paper bags as well as briquettes for cooking fuel. Alhaji hopes that the funds will boost the impact his business is already having and will enable him to hire more youth from his community.

The keynote speaker, renowned entrepreneur Sim Shagaya spoke plainly about the challenges faced by the continent but was confident that young entrepreneurs are best placed to solve them. He concluded his inspiring remarks with a simple message to the finalists, “you must lead!”

“We are proud of all 20 finalists and are excited to see two young and dynamic women taking home top prizes,” said Koffi Assouan, Program Manager, Mastercard Foundation. “Their contributions will continue to impact their countries and they are role models for other young women across the continent. They are demonstrating how to turn obstacles into opportunities that create value and jobs for others.”

The Anzisha Prize, the premier award for Africa’s youngest entrepreneurs, is a partnership between the African Leadership Academy and the Mastercard Foundation. The 20 finalists spent 10 days in a business accelerator camp strengthening their business fundamentals before presenting their ventures to a panel of judges that included Ntuthuko Shezi, Bita Diamomande, Saran Kaba Jones, and Polo Leteka.  They join a pool of more than 85 Anzisha Fellows and a network of support that includes access to mentors, experts, and networking. Each returns home with a US$2,500.

“This year was exciting in that we announced our new efforts to support the parents of very young entrepreneurs in Africa,” said Josh Adler, Vice President of Growth and Entrepreneurship at African Leadership Academy. “Our new book – Raising the Boss – uncovers the critical role they play and how we must invest in them if we are to see more young people confidently choosing an entrepreneurship career path post-school.’

Applications for the next cycle of the Anzisha Prize will open on 15 February in 2019. Nominations for promising youth entrepreneurs are welcome all year round.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Leadership Academy (ALA).

Everything you need to know about the new OnePlus 6T

By
Doryn Crystal
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0

Following its unveiling yesterday, the OnePlus 6T is OnePlus’ newest flagship this year after the OnePlus 6 that was released on 16 May 2018. The new machine from OnePlus is slightly thicker and heavier than the OnePlus 6, but otherwise, the design remains largely unchanged; the 6T comes crafted almost entirely from glass and it will be available in Mirror Black and Midnight Black colour options.

However, OnePlus has made the controversial decision to ditch the 3.5mm headphone jack, opting instead for audio over USB-C. There’s now a slimmed-down teardrop notch at the top of the display that houses the handsets’ 16MP front-facing camera, giving the handset an 86 per cent screen-to-body ratio.

The OnePlus 6T has the same 16MP + 20MP dual-lens setup as on the OnePlus 6. There have been some improvements on the software side, though, with OnePlus equipping the handset with souped-up AI features, an enhanced Portrait Mode and better low-light shooting capabilities.

Underneath, you’ll find Qualcomm’s 10nm Snapdragon 845 processor, paired with either 6GB or 8GB RAM. There’s also a bigger 3,700mAh battery under the hood, 20 per cent larger than the 3,300mAh battery inside the OnePlus 6. It will also ship with Google’s Android Pie OS out of the box, which will come with the firm’s barely-there OxygenOS skin on top.

Interestingly, the OnePlus 6T packs an in-display fingerprint scanner, imaginatively dubbed ‘Screen Unlock’. The optical scanner, which sits towards the bottom of the handset’s 6.4in FHD+ AMOLED scanner, lets users unlock the 6T by pressing their digits on the screen.

The OnePlus 6T will be available in three variations; 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 128GB and 8GB + 256GB which in UGX shall cost, OnePlus 6T Mirror Black 8GB+128GB = UGX 2,534,365, OnePlus 6T Midnight Black 8GB+128GB = UGX 2,534,365, OnePlus 6T Midnight Black 8GB+256GB = UGX 2,773,908

Image: Via T3

Credits: The Inquirer

Emirates unveils world’s first integrated “biometric path”

By
GURU8 Staff
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Emirates is gearing up to launch the world’s first “biometric path” which will offer its customers a smooth and truly seamless airport journey at the airline’s hub in Dubai International airport.

Utilising the latest biometric technology – a mix of facial and iris recognition, Emirates
passengers can soon check in for their flight, complete immigration formalities, enter the Emirates Lounge, and board their flights, simply by strolling through the airport.
The latest biometric equipment has already been installed at Emirates Terminal 3, Dubai
International airport. This equipment can be found at select check-in counters, at the Emirates Lounge in Concourse B for premium passengers, and at select boarding gates. Areas, where biometric equipment are installed, will be clearly marked.

Trials for the Smart Tunnel, a project by the General Directorate of Residence and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai (GDRFA) in collaboration with Emirates, was launched on 10 October. It is a world-first for passport control, where passengers simply walk through a tunnel and are “cleared” by immigration authorities without human intervention or the need for a physical passport stamp.

Once its internal tests are completed, Emirates will shortly launch trials for biometric processing at the other key customer points at the airport – check-in, lounge, and boarding gate – and subsequently at transit counters/gates, and for its chauffeur drive services. All biometric data will be stored with GDRFA, and customers invited to participate in the trials will be asked for their consent.

Adel Al Redha, Emirates’ Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer said: “Guided by our chairman His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates continuously innovates and strives to improve our day-to-day business. After extensive research and evaluation of numerous technologies and new approaches to enhance our passenger journey, we are now satisfied with the preliminary work we have carried out and are ready to commence live trials of the world’s first biometric path at Emirates Terminal 3.
“These groundbreaking initiatives are a result of close collaboration with our stakeholders –
particularly GDRFA who have been instrumental in the programme to bring the biometric path to fruition. The recent launch of the Smart Tunnel trial by GDRFA is a great achievement and clearly demonstrates the unique and collaborative nature of innovation at Dubai airport.

All systems will eventually be linked with each other resulting in better service to our customers and a happier journey whether arriving, departing or transiting in Dubai. This is very much in line with Emirates’ ‘Fly Better’ brand promise. We will soon invite customers to participate in the trials for our biometric path, and we look forward to their feedback.”

Major General Mohammed Ahmed Almarri, Dubai General Directorate of Residency and
Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) said: “We are pleased to roll-out these new initiatives at Terminal 3 in collaboration with Emirates and our airport stakeholders. The Smart Tunnel tests are running smoothly, and we are now preparing to mobilise the other biometric systems at the other areas in T3.  All these initiatives are in line with the government’s vision to be a world leader in innovation and public services. It will ultimately improve the traveller experience at the airport, and enhance the efficiency of our operations.”

Emirates’ “biometric path” will improve customer experience and customer flow through the
airport with fewer document checks and less queuing. Eventually, the “live” passenger tracking capability will also improve security and the airline’s ability to deliver even better and more personalised services. For instance, enabling the Emirates airport team to locate and assist ‘late’ customers who would otherwise miss their flights.

The airline’s “biometric path” will cover departures, arrivals, transit, chauffeur drive connections, and lounge access in Dubai. Initially focussed on First and Business class travellers, Emirates intends to speedily extend the “biometric path” to Economy class travellers in Dubai, and in the future potential to other airports outside of Dubai, and also for its own dedicated crew check-in facility.

Note: This is a Press Release from Emirates.com

Jumia Uganda announces new CEO ahead of November Black Friday

By
Boses Muhinda
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0
CEO Ron Kawamara

The biggest online shop in Africa, Jumia has today announced that Ron Kawamara will take over as new CEO for Uganda.

Ron has previously served as the Regional Managing Director of Jumia Food, East Africa, and brings his wealth of experience in the African eCommerce industry.

L-R Sefik Bagdagiouglu, Ron, Massi

Massimiliano Spalazzi, Jumia’s co-CEO stated at a press conference, “After a thorough and thoughtful search process, we are thrilled to have Ron take on the CEO role. Ron brings a stellar leadership reputation, a wealth of consumer experience, and a lifelong passion for eCommerce to Jumia – all of which are critical ingredients in the continued evolution of our company. We are absolutely confident that Ron is the right leader for Jumia who can create value for customers and vendors by marrying Jumia’s numerous assets with the opportunities ahead.”

 

Kawamara has extensive experience leading, innovating and scaling technology businesses globally, including having guided Jumia Food through critical transformation periods. Through his startup experience, Ron has frequently worked with SMEs to effect business models that embrace technological changes.

“I cannot imagine a more important and exciting time to join Jumia,” said Kawamara. “With a massive, diverse and highly engaged audience, a market-leading online business, a best-in-class product portfolio and an extremely passionate and talented group of people, Jumia is well-positioned to capture an even greater market opportunity. As a lifelong entrepreneur and exuberant technology enthusiast, this is the perfect opportunity to combine my industry experience with my love for business. I look forward to working with this great team, having a lot of fun, and leading Jumia through its next exciting phase.”

Upcoming plans

Jumia also announced the launch of the Black Friday campaign, a massive sales event that will run from November 16th to December 7th, 2018.

Visitors to the site www.jumia.ug and to the Jumia mobile app will have an opportunity to claim some of biggest discounts on thousands of items.

The month-long season is normally characterized by a buzz of activities at Jumia as online shoppers enjoy the best deals. “This year, for a whole month, every Friday is Black Friday.” said Jumia Chief Executive Officer Ron Kawamara.” We shall feature discounts of up to 70% on over 5000 products and shoppers are set to enjoy free delivery for purchases over 200,000 UGX.” he added.

This year’s Jumia Black Friday is expected to be the largest yet and to inject UGX 17.5B in Uganda’s economic activity.

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