Afrofuturism In Action

African entrepreneurs leapfrogging into the future

Executives of DreamOval Ltd (2021) by DreamOval Ltd.Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Transforming lives through technology

DreamOval is a Fintech that is expanding on the African continent and providing solutions that encourage financial inclusion and support the growth of the middle-class in Africa. It has helped the African payments ecosystem to leapfrog from being cash intensive to using digital payment options for most daily transactions.

Slydepay Application (2021) by DreamOval Ltd.Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Spearheading the mobile money revolution

DreamOval leads in Africa in the transition to mobile money by helping banks innovate in this extremely dynamic environment and providing points of sales for retailers, QR code payment, and digital collections systems for schools.

VP, Service Operations Centre (2021) by DreamOval Ltd.Heritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Expanding in the dynamic African market

The diverse and multilingual team works to provide value for both English and French speaking Africa. DreamOval is incorporated in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire  and operates in several African countries including Zimbabwe and Lesotho.

DreamOval’s Service Operation Center (2021) by DreamOvalHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Growing the African middle-class through financial inclusion

DreamOval’s service operation center manages millions of US dollars worth of financial transactions every day across multiple African countries. The introduction of mobile money enables individuals to make payments directly with their phones instead of using cash. Users load funds directly onto their phones and do not require bank accounts or credit cards.   

Charles Kollo and Family by DreamOvalHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Going back to their roots

Senior Vice President Charles Kollo, his wife Shaun and their 3 boys made the move from Atlanta, Georgia to Accra, Ghana in 2019 - the 'Year of Return' commemorating 400 years since the transatlantic slave trade began. Becoming members of HACSA’s Sankofa Network inspired them to relocate to Africa.

Students of Soronko Academy by Soronko AcademyHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Creating the future through education

Soronko Academy is a leading technology and digital skills development center in Africa, pioneering the way for talented young women to realize their economic potential and equipping them with the technical and soft skills they need to attain attain dignified, fulfilling jobs and overcome the gender gap in technology.

Regina Agyare by Soronko AcademyHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Meet Regina Agyare the Founder and CEO

Regina is a software developer and the founder of Soronko Academy. She is a multiple award winner, including being named by CNN as one of 12 inspirational women who rock STEM and one of 6 women making an impact in Tech in Africa. 

Rocking STEM for women in Africa

Regina is a graduate of Ashesi University, a liberal arts college founded by Patrick Awuah, a philanthropist and one of Microsoft's early employees. 

Regina with Students by Soronko AcademyHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Cultivating the next generation of female innovators

Through its wide geographic reach and public and private partnerships, Soronko Academy cultivates the next generation of female innovators who leverage their critical thinking skills and entrepreneurial spirit to create solutions that address their community’s most pressing problems.

Students at Soronko Academy by Soronko AcademyHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Mentoring women in STEM

The academy is part of Soronko Foundation an NGO in Ghana. It was started in 2017 to scale up and sustain the impact of a project called 'Tech Needs Girls', a mentorship program which teaches underprivileged girls from 6 -18 years tech skills and coding.

Training Session for Soronko Academy Students by Soronko AcademyHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Training women and girls for the job market

Soronko Academy has trained over 22,500 women and girls and expanded to Burkina Faso. From 2020 to 2021 they supported 529 women to get jobs, paid internships, work remotely or start their own tech businesses.

OZÉ Team Members by OZÉHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Bringing new financial solutions to African businesses

OZÉ brings African small businesses into the digital era. It is an app that makes it easy for businesses to track sales, expenses, and customer information. The data is analyzed to provide tailored recommendations, reports, and business education.

OZÉ x Ecobank Mobile by OZÉHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Growing profitable businesses in Africa

If an OZÉ entrepreneur needs a little extra support, a coach is just a click away. 97% of businesses that have used OZÉ for at least 9 months are growing, profitable or both.

Merchant using OZÉ App by OZÉHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Raising affordable capital in Africa

As MSMEs use the OZÉ app to manage their businesses, OZÉ  learns more about them. It combines their data with their banking history and uses a machine learning model to predict their credit risk allowing entrepreneurs to raise affordable capital from  OZÉ's banking partners.

Business owner using OZÉ by OZÉHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

In a simulated environment, OZÉ was able to reduce loan defaults for one bank by 58%. Business owners use these loans to mechanize their processes, get their business running again after the pandemic lockdown and purchase inventory in bulk.

Closing the credit gap for MSMEs

Together with banks, OZÉ can formalize and digitize the records of millions of MSMEs and close Africa’s US$331 billion credit gap for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Jessica Anuna, Founder and CEO of Klasha by KlashaHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Klasha facilitates online cross-border payments

Klasha is a FinTech company based in Lagos founded by Jessica Anuna. It builds cross-border technology solutions for international merchants wanting to expand their consumer base to Africa and accept cross-border payments online from the continent.

KlashaCheckout Mobile View by KlashaHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Providing merchants access to Africa's consumers

Klasha believes that consumers in Africa should have frictionless access to the goods they want, regardless of geographic location.  Since launching in 2021, they have processed over 50,000 transactions from over 700 merchants and served over 25,000 customers across Africa. 

KlashCheckout Desktop View by KlashaHeritage and Cultural Society of Africa Foundation

Klasha has raised US $2.6 million and has a presence in Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania and South Africa.

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The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
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