Mastercard Partners SAVA to Empower Small Businesses Across Africa With Advanced Financial Management Technology
Mastercard and Johannesburg-based fintech company SAVA have forged a partnership aimed at empowering small, medium, and micro enterprises (SMMEs) across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt. Through this collaboration, SMMEs will gain access to an innovative online platform powered by SAVA’s Payment Transaction System (PTS), offering digital bank accounts and integration tools for accounting, thereby enhancing their ability to manage company expenses efficiently.
Despite being major contributors to job creation and GDP in Africa, SMMEs often operate in cash-based economies, facing significant financing gaps estimated at US$330 billion by the World Bank. This partnership addresses these challenges and aligns with Mastercard’s commitment to financial inclusion, targeting to onboard 50 million SMMEs globally into the digital economy by 2025.
SAVA’s advanced technology simplifies financial management for SMMEs, enabling them to scale their operations effectively. As part of the collaboration, SAVA will provide SMMEs with virtual and physical cards that allow pre-configured budgets and management via their app. Integration with accounting packages streamlines spend control and management, offering time and cost savings through automated reconciliations for SAVA’s customers.
Speaking on the partnership, President, EEMEA, Mastercard Dimitrios Dosis said,
“At Mastercard, we are dedicated to harnessing the power of partnerships and deploying transformative technology to build a sustainable future where everyone can thrive. Our new collaboration with SAVA represents an important step in our efforts to support small businesses that are key drivers of economic growth. By deploying the right, efficient technology we continue to boost financial inclusion in Africa and enable SMMEs to reap the full benefits of the digital economy”.
Also speaking, CEO SAVA Kola Olajide said,
“Our collaboration with Mastercard reflects our credibility, epitomizes the essence of working together to transform pioneering ideas into reality, and underscores our shared commitment to developing innovative solutions tailored to the needs of African markets. We are excited to expand the utilization of this distinctive proposition that empowers SMMEs to manage their financial operations with greater control.
“SAVA is now operating in Kenya and South Africa. Access Bank is our sponsor bank in South Africa, while Microsoft is a supporting partner in bringing our vision to life. We are grateful to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) for believing in our vision and granting us the required approvals to launch in South Africa. We are also grateful to all our investors, notably Breega, Quona Capital and CRE Ventures, for their support on the SAVA journey,” he added.
