DR CONGO - Finance
General Manager, Visa DRC
Bio
Sophie Kafuti has been General Manager for the DRC and member of the Visa Executive Committee of West and Central Africa since October 2021. She has 23 years of experience in the banking and Fintech sector in Africa and Canada. She started her career in Canada, with Citi, MasterCard and Moneris Solutions, a Fintech. In 2008, she returned to the DRC to join Banque Congolaise before rejoining Citi for 9 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Finance with honors from York University in Toronto, an Executive MBA from the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, and a certificate in Sustainable Business Strategy from Harvard School of Business.
The DRC is one of the largest countries in western and Central Africa. Of its population of over 100 million people, 49% are aged 15-29, while banking penetration stands around 10%. This is a huge opportunity for Visa. Physical cash make up around 85-90% of all transactions in the country, and for Visa, de-cashing economies is one of our core focuses. The DRC offers a major opportunity in terms of increasing the number of Visa cards credentials, the number of industries operating in the country, and the number of locations where we can install digital tools for merchants.
We are working along three axes. The pyramid to digitalize an economy starts at the top with the public sector. In a country like the DRC, for example, there are no national IDs. This is important to create trust between the population and banks because if we cannot identify the customer, we cannot give them access to credit or financial services. For us, the first step is to work with the government to digitize Public Services. Then, we work with banks to create trust in providing easy-to-use low-cost financial services increasing scoring solutions, offering the technology, products and services that the population can use. It creates transparency and boosts confidence, which in turn provides them with the opportunity to give micro or bigger loans. The last part is to look for innovators or entrepreneurs who understand the complexities of the country with the agility to implement quicker technical financial solutions that are customized to the needs of the remote population.
This is still a challenge given that electricity penetration in the DRC stands at 9%. It takes time for the government to provide increased coverage for internet as well. We are not only working with the government to increase the electricity coverage, but also working with mobile network operators (MNO) where possible to provide low cost offers. We have seen the entry of innovations such as M-Pesa and mobile banking. Now with 4 MNOs, we see investments to boost coverage in the country. The DRC is massive, and there are challenges; however, our partnerships with mobile operators have been successful thus far.
Since 2019, we have worked with Orange Money, which provides local mobile services. We are pairing its service with Visa technology. We supply the cards, which we call companion cards, and the balance of customers’ mobile wallets are reflected on their cards. Customers with an Orange Money Visa card can conduct financial transactions such as paying local bills, sending money, or paying for Netflix, Spotify, or other services. We have also signed an agreement with Vodacom in Kenya, Tanzania, and the DRC. We aim to offer our solutions and technology to all MNOs, provided that they are open to.
In the DRC, we have first-mover advantage. To the Congolese population, when talking about cards, they typically call it a Visa card. We are continuously investing and working with banks to develop new forms of partnerships. The first card was introduced through Procredit bank and since then, we are working with all banks to accelerate digital payments through cards, payment devices TPE, ATMs with most banks, we are supporting the growth of e-commerce transactions by providing payments gateways through CyberSource payment solution. This offers customers safe and reliable solutions for e-commerce.
In a country like DRC where POSs are expensive, we are installing low-cost solutions such as tap-to-phone, pay by link, which does not require much of an investment. A merchant can give customers a link where they can enter their credentials and make payment. We also have USSD payment solutions. Visa always adapts to the local market, the state of innovation, and even the financial education of the population to provide tools. It is all about understanding the level of maturity of the country and providing the tools that the population can utilize.
Cybersecurity, fraud, and risk are the main agenda items for Visa. Banks have never been compromised for any Visa credentials, which inspires trust. Once we have approved a bank to become a Visa member, we provide training on risk and security and give them the tools to manage risk. Even if there are great products, once they are compromised, no one will want to use them. We have never been compromised and invest heavily in frequent training on risk and fraud. Visa is spending billions of dollars protecting the network of networks that we built on behalf of our clients and the ecosystem, also “increasingly productizing” its cyber know-how to sell both additional network services and consulting services to customers. The company employs advanced technologies such as generative artificial intelligence, leveraging its vast repository of global payment data to develop sophisticated fraud detection mechanisms. By harnessing the power of AI, Visa aims to thwart account-to-account fraud, ensuring the integrity of transactions across various payment ecosystems worldwide.
Some 54% of the entrepreneurs in Africa are women; for example, the majority of sellers in the country are women. These are unregistered businesses but make up the core of the economy. Visa has several important programs, the first one being She’s Next. We look at female entrepreneurship and the common challenges and offer them training and resources on how to transition into a formal business and then grow from a micro business to a medium-sized one. We have formed partnerships with local incubators in Kinshasa, Lubumbashi, and the eastern part of the country to offer support to female entrepreneurs. Globally, Visa has already invested over USD3 million, as part of its aim to digitally enable 50 million small businesses around the world – a target it’s well on the way to achieving. In the four years since its launch, the program has expanded to many new regions and has had some notable successes. We offer training on financial literacy, managing companies, how to save, and how to work on financial statements, and more. Visa also has a partnership with FPM, a government entity in charge of financial inclusion.
We are currently working with the Central Bank of the DRC because financial inclusion requires that the country be interoperable. Because the country has two different currencies, we are working with the central bank to support their interoperability switch plans where Visa can bring in-depth experience and expertise, added value solutions as well as robust security to the project.
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