Mukuru’s efforts to drive financial inclusion are a vital step in journey to gender parity

Source: Supplied. Nikki Kettles, executive: licences and payment regulation at Mukuru; Sandy Rheeder, chief information officer at Mukuru; Savina Harrilall, chief people officer at Mukuru.

While efforts to ensure that equal rights, equal access and equal opportunities for women, span the entire year, August represents an opportunity to shine a bright light on women's upliftment and empowerment.

African fintech platform, Mukuru is at the forefront of driving financial inclusion and economic inclusivity among African women, while itself enjoying 56% female representation across its entire business that spans multiple countries, with 28% of its technology team, which is led by a woman, comprising female staff.

Financial inclusion for women

Sandy Rheeder, Mukuru’s chief information officer, says that most recipients of money on its platform are women. “55% of the people who receive money through Mukuru are women.

"Our research shows that most of this money is used for basics such as food, medicine and education. As part of our financial-inclusion methodology, we have developed educational programmes and products that enable recipients of remittances to use a digital store of money as opposed to withdrawing all of the cash."

As a fintech platform, Mukuru helps its customers – millions of whom are women – evolve from living in a cash-only world to one where they understand and use a digital store of money, to the eventual uptake of further products and solutions such as the ability to pay for goods and services, earn interest through savings, and take out insurance policies.

“This is the power of fintech in providing women on the continent, many of whom are also breadwinners in addition to managing their households, with the tools needed to actively partake in the economies where they live and work,” explains Rheeder.

Empowerment starts at home

Savina Harrilall, who is chief people officer at Mukuru, says that in order to support the overall mission of financial inclusion, specifically to benefit women, the work needs to “start at home’’. “We have many initiatives underway as an organisation with the objective of empowering our people, as well as investing in the community. Our leadership development programme this year has significant female representation as compared to previous cohorts."

Harrilall highlights that technology has traditionally been a male-dominated industry, and so Mukuru’s impressive strides in women empowerment, as evidenced by its own workforce, is the result of full buy-in across the business. In addition, she says that business’s bursary campaign is designed to promote and grow young Africans, especially young women, in the tech industry.

Mukuru also focuses on learnerships in partnership with the sector SETA. The Sunbeamer Learnership 2024 is its 12-month learning and workplace experience journey. Besides giving the firm access to a potential pool of talent, it is designed to help support a skilled workforce in general, that includes talented young women.

"Beyond this, we are proud that our chief information officer is a woman. She is the driving force behind the business’s technology and digital innovation that is driving financial inclusion across the continent," says Harrilall.

"It’s hardly a surprise then that as a business we all get excited about the annual SheHacks hackathon, which in partnership with software development skills academy WeThinkCode_, gives talented young women, including female students from our bursary programme, the opportunity to showcase their skills and compete."

It is important that businesses practise what they preach, says Harrilall. She says important heads of departments in Mukuru are women, including compliance, legal, and DEIB & LE (diversity, equity, inclusivity and belonging, and learning enablement), people acquisition, customer experience, communications and brand, business projects and more.

Harrilall, herself a woman, heads the people function for the group and drives a culture of inclusivity as a strategic imperative and not a box-ticking exercise.

She explains that Mukuru also provides staff with the opportunity to volunteer though a volunteer employee engagement platform called Mukuru Cares.

Staff can then elect to support these organisations at any time of the year, keeping the spirit of community support, especially women empowerment, alive all year round. Harrilall herself is a coach, mentor and psychology supervisor to leaders and upcoming HR and industrial psychology students.

Fintech drives parity

Nikki Kettles, executive: licences and payment regulation, says she joined Mukuru because its DNA is to develop solutions for unbanked and underserved people, something she is passionate about, having previously worked for non-profit organisations seeking to improve access to formal financial services for vulnerable communities.

Kettles, a senior woman leader in Mukuru, was recently appointed as a brand ambassador to a programme called Woman in Payments Africa.

“Women in Payments is a dynamic platform for female leaders in the payments industry to connect and share experiences. We’re dedicated to celebrating the indispensable contribution of women in payments, throughout history and in today’s landscape.

"Our mission is to amplify the voices of women, champion their achievements, and advocate fervently for gender parity,” says Kettles. Financial inclusion, she says, is a vital step in the journey to gender parity.