How do you build agility in the workplace? Like the damp-proof course (DPC) in civil engineering, agile firms must have a solid foundation that powers 4 critical pillars. I will explain those elements. Join us at the temple where innovators and project champions master the mechanics of business. Let’s meet in class; Zoom link in the Board.
Tekedia Mini-MBA – registration for the next edition is ongoing. Register here.
I believe in speed and speed matters in business. In business, I consider two scenarios as I make a decision – is that decision reversible under managed risk? If so, then, I can make it without fully understanding all associated components. Simply, I do not have to do much research and studies (it is a two-way door, I can enter and come out). But where the decision is not reversible, it means the stakes are high. On that one, I have to spend more time to understand all critical components (one-way door).
When I write on LinkedIn, on a business topic, I see it as a two-way door (can edit quickly or delete). The business updates are reversible and I can write them without much effort, in minutes. But if Harvard Business Review asks me to review an upcoming book, the stakes are high, because once I send that review, I have no way to reverse my work. In that case, it is a one-way door.
Join me tomorrow at Tekedia Mini-MBA as I explain Agility in Workplaces. You can move fast and accomplish a lot in a day if you efficiently adopt the two-way and one-way door scenarios. Most times, we waste time at work on things we should not waste time, on the pretense of “understanding well”! If you cannot make calculated risks for two-day door scenarios, you may struggle to lead an agile team in this knowledge fast age.
Time is 7pm WAT (Thursday)
The most prevalent start-up business models are no doubt Fintech start-ups, as they continue to provide solutions to payments, savings, and mobile money transfers. The Global fintech market size has been predicted to reach USD 332.5 Billion by the year 2028.
Fintech company SendSprint, a money switch start-up based in the UK with operations within the US and Nigeria, has launched with a distinctive feature of a $5 flat fee for all transfers.
SendSprint enters the remittance market that is dominated by business veterans such as MoneyGram and Western Union, as well as the comparatively new fintechs like Zepz, Remitly, and Wise.
However, SendSprint’s $5 flat fee for all international money transfers might give it an edge over its rivals. The company targets three preliminary vacation international spot locations like South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria.
SendSprint is no doubt coming big into the fintech ecosystem, as it has already partnered with Africa’s highest valued start-up, Flutterwave with the company’s valuation at $3 billion.
This partnership is indeed a strategic one as it will help SendSprint to cross-border transfers to 34 of the continent’s 54 international locations. It will also assist the company in rapidly complying with laws in its international locations of operation.
The CEO of SendSprint Damisi Busari, who has been identified as a former staff of Flutterwave, disclosed that the Fintech start-up was set up to connect Africans in the diaspora to their loved ones, by enabling fast, simple, and hassle-free International transfers. From set up to transfer confirmation within minutes of signing up for an account, transfers with Sprint are completed in minutes.
In her words, “We understand the connection that people have with their home countries and the importance of sending money and gifts home to support loved ones. SendSprint is about connecting the African diaspora to their loved ones at home by enabling fast, simple, and hassle-free international transfers as well as an innovative gifting experience.
This is a product for the African diaspora. All of us at SpendSprint understand the multiple demands that Africans living abroad need. Our service recognizes and reflects this”
The company has already launched operations in the UK as its first step, as it plans to expand into the U.S and Canada in the coming months. With SpendSprint’s $5 flat fee for money transfers, as opposed to a sliding scale from other providers, it is safe to say that Africans in the diaspora will not hesitate to try them out and possibly make them their preferred option for money transfers back home.
The company has also partnered with top companies like Jumia, Game, Shoprite, St. Nicholas Hospital, Healthplus Pharmacies, and film house cinema among others.
The fintech industry has continued to gain momentous significance in the past few years, as the fintech ecosystem makes up a multi-billion dollar industry, with these start-ups providing high-tech solutions to financial products and services. The fintech market is significantly growing at a fast rate and is expected to reach almost $700 billion by 2030.
Case A: You sleep in your house, someone pumps oil in your backyard, sells it, and credits you $10 million at the end of the month. The economic activity for the production of the “finished goods”, in this case, crude oil at this phase, is $1 million. That $1m is the GDP – value added, created through the production of goods and services.
Case B: Another person cultivates palm trees, employs many people to weed, trim, harvest, process to palm oil, soaps, sells, ships, etc. The person deposits $2 million at the end of the month. But the economic activity for that translation is worth $5 million because many things are done within the area, generating massive economic activities. Here, there are jobs.
Have that in mind as you look at the GDP map of countries. Africa could be making money on natural resources but we are missing a lot on the economic activities. That explains why our GDP remains very small. We belong to Case A and account for a small component of the global economy.
