PADI

PADIPAY is an Innovation that works as an automated savings platform usable by smartphones and non-smartphones. PADIPAY allows users to save "daily income/revenues" by simply buying "vouchers"(similar to recharged cards) from registered agents. These vouchers will vary from minimum of 500Naira$3 to maximum of 50,000Naira/$300 and  the voucher codes are to be loaded on phones with a number linked with  bank accounts.

PROBLEMS IN VIEW

About one in five adults and 38% of households report having a formal bank account. This includes both commercial banks (34% of households) and other financial institutions such as microfinance institutions (MFI), cooperative societies, and savings associations. The incidence of banking is higher in the South West region with 56% of households banked and lowest in the North West region with only 16% of households having a formal bank account (National Bureau of Statistics NBS). Nigeria's consumption to GDP was estimated to be over 40 trillion Naira annually and the savings to GDP one of the lowest. These problems have been identified as the biggest reasons for poor savings in Nigeria despite active 60% Informal sector and 52% Services sector;

1. Inefficient domesticated banking services to cater for the rural areas, suburban areas, aged and informal sector merchants/traders.

2. Rigid routines and processes of opening bank accounts.

3. Discomfort in achieving daily cash deposit in banks because of long queues and delays.

4. Lack of trust between banks and customers most especially those in the Informal Sector because in assessing turnovers of customers without savings or records of regular revenues.

5. The risks of unregistered collectors of daily contributions from traders

6. The costs of saving with unregistered debt collectors or collectors of daily savings from traders.

 7. The Challenges of bank marketers undergoing daily discomforts in documenting and engaging customers/debtors.

8. Costs being incurred by banks to maintain their marketers/agents monitoring and documenting customers.

9. The costs of traders/customers going to banks daily to save regular income.

10. The risk of saving hard earned income at home which is prone to thefts, fire outbreak and losses.

THE PRODUCT

 RURAPAY is a "voucher based" Fintech Solution in which users are enabled to buy "recharged vouchers" from agents or online and the vouchers ranging from 500Naira$3 to 50,000Naira/$300 can be loaded on any phone with a phone number linked with the user's bank account or wallet. The voucher will be used like a recharged card and the amount bought will automatically get saved in the user's account. 

   PADIPAY is usable by smartphone users and non-smartphone users, smartphone users can make use of the PADIPAY APP which will enable direct online purchase of the vouchers without need for agents.

  PADIPAY users must have their phone numbers linked with a specific bank account for the savings to be validated through the vouchers.

According to a Citigroup report published in February 2011, Nigeria will have the highest average GDP growth in the world between 2010 and 2050. Nigeria is one of two countries from Africa among 11 Global Growth Generators countries. According to IMF ,The informal economy in sub-Saharan Africa is the second-largest in the world, after Latin America and the Caribbean. From 2010 to 2014, sub-Saharan Africas informal economy accounted for 38 percent of GDP to the region". According to the 2010 Survey report on SMEs in Nigeria conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in collaboration with SMEDAN, the SME sector in Nigeria is strategically positioned to absorb up to 80 percent of jobs, improve per capita income, increase value addition to raw materials supply, improve export earnings, enhance capacity utilization in key industries and unlock economic expansion and GDP growth.

  In light of the above mentioned potentials, the opportunities inherent in the informal sector and even the formal sector can not be overemphasized and there is need for these opportunities to be explored. Savings, Investments, Financial inclusion and cashless economy are the biggest focus. The target market in focus include;

1.  30million unbanked Nigerians, rural farmers, rural traders, students in townships, small scale traders in urban areas, local thrift collectors, commercial transporters in urban and rural areas etc.

PADIPAY team consists of experienced microfinance banking professionals that understand the business and saving culture of the rural economy and informal sector particularly. 

 We have also analysed the problems better by engaging mobile banking agents serving bank customers in rural areas by interviewing them directly and understanding how they engage the informal sector. We have also developed relationships with local thrift collectors who are willing to be partners and adopt formal saving mechanisms. 

 We are also in an advantaged position because of the established ecosystem of mobile banking, rural friendly telecom services and growing adoption of neobanks by the informal sector due to easy ways of opening bank accounts.

50

We will need  technical, legal and financial support. 

Technical supports in order to make use of more sophisticated tools to advance the solution.

Legal support in the area of complying with all terms of Fintech regulators in Nigeria and interfacing with the regulators.

Financial support in any form to gain more traction and market acceptability.