The Covid-19 pandemic has presented various opportunities that investors should consider investing in despite disrupting businesses relying on international trade.
Back in January, Africa’s economic outlook for the year was bright. African Development Bank projections predicted a 3.9% growth in 2020 and 4.1% in 2021. But then, coronavirus upended the global economy.
With companies around the world in panic mode due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Fintech sector has been recording a booming business. Measures imposed by the government have played a key role in helping the industry grow significantly over the past three months.
Mobile payments have been most preferred, gaining popularity with the help of the stay-at-home orders, and debates over the risk of handling of cash.
Companies in the fintech sector, like Safaricom, have resulted in reduced transfer fees in a bid to help the customers send money during this difficult. The company has further recorded a 70% data uptake since when lockdown order was issued.
In Africa, fintech has been considered as the largest destination for investors attracting over 50% of the $1.34 billion raised by African startups in 2019.
The Fintech sector in Africa has played a crucial role in offering tech-based solutions, helping organizations come up with new payment methods via online platforms, and providing lending services in a region where such services are still hard to find.
With the current pandemic, investors are set to seize the opportunity and expand the venture. This is a sector one would consider investing in.
Digital health has proven itself a worthy venture. This comes after our fragile health systems have proven unable to cope with vast numbers of patients as experienced in developed countries in Europe, Asia, and America.
Covid19 has shown that it is high time we braced technology to bridge the gaps in the health care system by coming up with software for self-assessment and symptoms. This is already happening in Nigeria, Wellvis, a Nigerian company, has come up with the COVID-19 Triage Tool offering remote medical consultation and to check users risk to COVID19. Drones in Ghana and Rwanda are playing critical roles during the pandemic.
COVID19 has changed how studies are conducted; every education system is finding ways to reach learners via e-learning. E-learning is helping the institutions minimize interruption caused by the pandemic when all schools are closed in the region. E-learning is a solution that a few could look at in the past before the epidemic came knocking.
Several education innovators have developed new, promising solutions to enable students to continue learning while at home. In Kenya, Eneza Education is working with Safaricom to offer a government-accredited curriculum, while in Ubongo Toolkits platform set to provide learners with all learning materials via an online library.
The pandemic presents a real challenge for more investors to come up with practical solutions to the learners’ learning materials and resources. Which other alternatives do you think can help during and after the pandemic? Let us keep the conversation alive on our social media handles.
Jacquiline
Joseph
simon