Local Fintech company Escrow Group last week participated at the virtual UK-Africa Fintech Summit, which was organised by the UK’s Department for International Trade.
The virtual Summit brought together key industry players in Fintech from across the UK and Africa.
It explored the African fintech offer and progress made by players on the continent and local company Escrow Group, the outfit behind the C-TRADE and the GEM PORTAL platform showcased both innovations.
Introduced in 2018, the C -TRADE platform democratised the capital market space and created a balance between the thousands of retail investors with relatively small investments which aggregate to a significant amount.
Speaking about the UK-Africa Fintech Summit, Escrow Group CEO, Collen Tapfumaneyi, said the information-packed two days provided a unique opportunity for companies in the fintech space to network and explore developments taking place within the sector, including what the UK Fintech has to offer to Africa, Fintech on the African continent and the future of Fintech in respective markets.
The two-day session explored the economic challenges occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic and the role Fintech is playing in supporting the recovery efforts.
Mr Tapfumaneyi said since its inception, C-TRADE now accounts for over 40 percent of stock market trades currently and the number is expected to increase as investors become more comfortable and gain confidence in mobile and online trading of securities.
Previously the market was skewed, towards institutional investors who held an enormous number of shares. That led to liquidity challenges across the markets, where only a handful of investors held meaningful stock.
The perception of retail investors was that they are a waste of time because they contribute insignificant values, and their trading activities are insufficient to warrant anyone bothering with them.
The price discovery mechanism of equities was warped due to the concentrated ownership of stocks.
Spreading the shareholding, even if it was amongst retail investors, was the best way of enhancing price discovery and market liquidity, according to Mr Tapfumeneyi.
He said C-TRADE is an innovation developed to harness and promote participation of retail investors and institutions in capital markets through mobile and internet-based platforms.
“It automates the interface of the retail and institutional investors giving them direct access to the market with enhanced efficiency and convenience,” he said.
The other innovation showcased by Escrow Group at the UK-Africa Fintech Summit was the GEM portal.
Though recently introduced, this innovation is promising to be a game-changer.
The solution is targeted at Growth Enterprises and SMEs to apply for funding through an efficient and convenient online platform which pro-actively identifies and capacitates enterprises through leveraging on technology and ensuring provision of appropriate capital and other support structures.
The Escrow Group continues to push the technology boundaries and is committed to ensure that the both the demand side and supply side of capital are catered for in order to increase capital market growth and to spur economic growth, Mr Tapfumaneyi said.–herald.cl.zw