January 5, 2009
Sevak Solutions President
Interviewed by CGAP
Janine Firpo spoke to CGAP’s
technology team about mobile banking
in East Asia and the Pacific.
More….
December 23, 2008
Mobile Banking in East Asia
In October 2008, Janine
Firpo, the president of Sevak
Solutions relocated to Jakarta,
Indonesia where she is working with
IFC, a member of the World Bank
Group, to work with IFC’s regional
advisory teams to accelerate the
development and large-scale roll-out
of mobile money solutions.
More …. |
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| CHALLENGE: Develop partnerships and solutions to deliver financial services to Kenya’s poorest |
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FSD Kenya, a financial sector deepening initiative, and CGAP partnered together to entice companies to develop innovative solutions for the delivery of financial services to Kenya’s homeless, vulnerable children, residents of drought stricken areas, and other of the poorest in the country. Sevak Solutions, along with Paynet Kenya and the Kenya Commercial Bank, responded to the challenge and agreed to share investment risks with the funding partners. In May 2007, the Sevak Solutions Consortium was awarded a $400,000 matching grant to test their ideas.
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| SEVAK SOLUTIONS: Creating, Delivering, and Managing a Public/Private Partnership |
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Paynet Kenya, a successful financial service provider, wanted to extend its business beyond its ATM-based offerings. The company was interested in reducing the risk of going it alone as it attempted to enter harder to reach areas with an unproven technology. In response, Sevak Solutions conceptualized a collaboration that helped FSD Kenya, CGAP, and Paynet achieve their respective objectives. Sevak Solutions identified Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) as a third partner, strategized with both Paynet and KCB about their solutions, and served as project lead. Sevak Solutions is also the project’s fiscal agent.
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| RESULTS: |
- Successfully brought together collaboration partners in banking and technology to meet the requirements of the Social Protection Payments Challenge (SPP)
- Sevak Solutions Consortium awarded $400,000 as a matching grant from FSD Kenya, a DFID initiative, and CGAP, a World Bank initiative
- Worked with its partners to develop POS technology, agent models, financial products, and other deliverables to achieve SPP phase 1 objectives
- Responded with Expression of Interest (EOI) to bid for Kenyan governments tender, now awaiting outcome of tender process
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