It was all shouts and jubilations in Rhode Island USA as Pebuu Africa, one of Uganda’s leading fintech firms scooped a prestigious Go Global Award for impact investment at the influential International Trade Council Annual Go Global Awards held in Rhode Island, USA on 8th November 2023.
Pebuu won in the category of Finance in Financial Technology for their Pebuu School Card solution which provides cashless payment for school-age-going children without access to mobile phones and who are traditionally left out of the cashless ecosystem.
Powered with a secure chip & pin option, students can receive payments from their parents remotely. Students are also able to spend at their school canteens cashless and effortlessly
Pebuu was one of the only three companies from Africa to have scooped the awards, the others being from Ghana and South Africa.
At the event were numerous officials from various world economies including USA Secretary of Commerce, former ambassadors of different US embassies and various dignitaries from all over the world.
Speaking at the event, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo congratulated all this year’s winners and highlighted their contribution to the US and all communities in the world. Deputy Director General at the U.S Dept. of Commerce, James Golsen said the importance of crucial networks in global supply chains was key and that the US was not competing with any country rather, it was simply competing better through a network of professional international business experts in more than 100 of its foreign missions.
The Pebuu Award was received by John Paul Ssemyalo, the Chief Executive Officer and Leonard Mutebi, a Director at the fintech firm.
Pebuu is well known for its pioneering financial technology and agent management solutions in Uganda working with some of the largest banking partners across the country.
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Simplified and efficient last-mile payment options for the financially underserved
Established in 2014, Pebuu® is a Ugandan-based electronic payment solution that allows for real-time payment settlement at a single portal. The Pebuu® system has been certified by NITA Uganda and is backed by an escrow account with dfcu Bank.
The company’s vision is to “be identified and acknowledged as a trusted electronic payment partner throughout Africa” as well as “being a consistent contributor to the society through progressive solutions reproduced by best of intellect and technology”. This, the company seeks to achieve through, “offering simplified and efficient payment options” with a focus on facilitating easy access to last-mile banking through value-added services and other financial inclusion products to the financially underserved.
Other than PEBUU® Schools, Pebuu’s other solutions, include: Fillengo- a fuel tokenisation product that offers tokenized micro fuel loans to the mass market on a “fuel now, pay later” per day loan. It focuses on riders and drivers in both rural and urban areas.
Other solutions are Paykondakita, a highly secured NFC Card with tap & go features and a mobile wallet that enables passengers to pay for their transport fares effortlessly.
PEBUU® Bills, on the other hand, is a bill payment system that enables customers to make payments conveniently through agents countrywide and mobile application that has been directly connected with several service providers. Through the Pebuu agents’ network, customers can pay for among other series, water & electricity, airtime & data, agent banking, school fees, pay-TV, and tickets (parking & events).