South African-born Dave van Niekerk is the founder and CEO of MyBucks, a fast-growing African Fintech company that successfully delivers seamless financial services to banked and 'unbanked' consumers alike using next-generation technological platforms.
MyBucks, which is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, has a broad portfolio of virtual banking products which includes lending, insurance and banking, and is supported by services such as mobile banking, credit reports with credit education features, financial budgeting, and emergency cover through insurance. The company operates in 12 African countries and has offered loans to over 700,000 customers.
I caught up with him recently and we talked about how FinTech will play a role in Africa’s next phase of growth, and MyBucks future plans.
Dave van Niekerk
What pivoted you towards FinTech as an enterprise?
Having managed and grown banking and financial institutions the old fashioned way with “bricks not clicks”, the inspiration behind MyBucks was both to capitalize on the growing Financial Technology industry with the goal of providing financially inclusive products digitally, to both the formal sector and to the previously unbanked or under banked across Africa. Financial inclusion is a unique challenge and would simply not be viable in the long term without technological advances. The investment and social impact opportunity in creating MyBucks was, and remains wholly worthwhile.
Your company recently launched its IPO on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Concurrently, as the 'Brexit' fallout continues, it looks as though Berlin may be stepping up to replace London as Europe's top FinTech capital. What was the motivation to list publically, why Germany and where do you see MyBucks going from here with regard to European integration?
Long before 'Brexit', we viewed Germany as an ideal financial hub for launching our Initial Public Offering. The nation has a reputation for strong governance, which will in turn create a measurable and transparent valuation of our company, metrics that investors internationally will look for when making a decision on an outfit operating within an industry as innovative as FinTech.
Read more: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2016/07/19/meet-the-man-championing-fintech-in-africa-dave-van-niekerk-founder-of-mybucks/#5678fc9462a1