KAMPALA — While financial management skills are key for the survival of any enterprise, most micro, small and medium size enterprises and savings groups lack this key aspect. This has seen many die before even celebrating their first birthdays.
However, Computing Palace Technologies, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) firm that specializes in software development, thinks many of these enterprises would be saved if they adopt financial management skills by simply investing in management systems.
Computing Palace Technologies deals in a range of ICT oriented services including software development, development of financial products, websites design and hosting services, ICT consultancy, internship training, and customized ICT training. The firm is out to help enterprises embrace better management systems for their own survival, according to the firm’s chief executive officer Felix Balintumye.
The firm has over the years developed different management systems including Sacco management, School management, Hospital management, and Church management systems, to among others register members/clients and help them keep in touch and to monitor revenue or donations that the different organisations receive.
Computing Palace Technologies is among the participants in the 40-days-40-FinTechs initiative that has been organised by HiPipo under its Include EveryOne programme, in partnership with Crosslake Tech, ModusBox and Mojaloop.
Balintumye said the firm competed for a slot in the project so that they can be empowered on how to integrate mobile payments in the different systems they have and the web platforms developed for their clients, who need financial payment solutions.
He said one of their latest products is an e-commerce platform, which they want to integrate using the Mojaloop software. He added that they also plan to innovate more solutions using the Mojaloop software to support women’s saving groups and saccos.
“The beauty of Mojaloop is the interoperability that we want to see which can be accessed via mobile phones, especially for women.
“In the interest of improving our services, we believe that Mojaloop is the right tool for us to scale up. The main challenge has always been interoperability of data. The fact that Mojaloop is actually Open Source makes it even more suitable for us,” he said.
Balintumye also said that while Finance minister Matia Kasaija announced that he would provide Shs94b credit through Saccos and Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) to support micro and small-scale enterprises that have cash-flow challenges resulting from COVID-19, most of the saccos and MFIs do not have financial management skills and thus, will require their services.
The 40-days-40-FinTechs initiative seeks to enable FinTechs to innovate solutions that facilitate cross-network financial transactions at minimal risks to enhance access to financial services.
Running for 40 days, the project will see the participating 40 FinTechs acquire interoperable development skills to improve access to financial services, using the Mojaloop open source software.
The HiPipo chief executive officer Innocent Kawooya said they would ensure that they equip all the participating FinTechs with the needed skills and information to understand how Mojaloop works and connect them with experts in the sector to ensure that they understand financial technology in depth.
“Part of our experienced people in Application Program Interfaces (APIs) will guide you and help you to integrate with Mobile Network Operators and banks but importantly because you have work in progress, one of the things that we will do to help is to think together, discuss and understand the solution and be able to share our advise to guide you,” he said.
Kawooya, a certified programmer, with over 15 years’ experience added that besides shinning a light on prime stories that are transforming millions of lives using FinTech, the project also seeks to ensure that it empowers organisations like Computing Palace Technology, which are sensitive and knowledgeable about systems and software development, to be able to think of another important avenue of development that can change things.
