Unblocking Payments for Growth in Cameroon

March 25, 2022 | 3-min. read

Kappa aims to transform how businesses within Cameroon and the diaspora make transactions in-country and across borders. Only then can businesses reach their full potential and become the engine of growth that moves the region forward.

In the future, a seamless way for businesses to make payments could be the engine that powers economic growth and stability in Cameroon. The rudimentary payment solutions that exist today aren’t adequate to meet the needs of a tech-savvy population aching to take advantage of being fully connected to the global economy.

Seventy-two percent of Cameroonians own smartphones but antiquated mobile money solutions from telecom giants are expensive and full of friction. Despite their early success, they haven’t solved the problem for an economy that’s still heavily reliant on cash. Peer-to-peer payments have improved with the advent of companies such as TapTap Send, which have streamlined inbound remittances for personal use. But there’s still no easy way to move money between businesses, either locally or across borders.

Requirements of in-person documentation delivery by banks, long waiting periods by wire services, and the absence of a transaction method that guarantees a precise payment amount in a well-defined period of time have business owners biting their nails. It’s no wonder the majority of today’s transactions flow through the black market, which offers faster transfer times and lower rates (but with inherent trust and security issues).

To solve this challenge, Kappa is working across the spectrum of telecom providers, banks, regulators, and business leaders to put a high-tech, risk-free solution into the hands of Cameroonian business owners. Kappa offers rapid settlement times, a secure operating environment, and low fees with transaction limits designed for businesses. By eliminating the triple friction of time, risk, and cost, businesses will have a better chance to succeed and thrive.

Solving the payments conundrum in Cameroon and other African countries will take more than great technology, however. Banks will have an important role to play in providing the underlying infrastructure for fintech products and the know-how to enable bi-directional flows. Government authorities will need to provide their support for bright ideas to take hold. And business owners who thirst for innovation must step forward to showcase their commitment to try new technologies that enable better ways of doing business.

One such innovator who is intrigued by the possibilities of Kappa is Bessem Enonchong, an expert in Cameroon’s Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) sector. “If payment cannot be made to replace a spare part at an LPG filling plant, it can shut down production of gas cylinders and generate a safety issue,” says Bessem, the Director of Central Africa for the Global LPG Partnership. “This carries not only economic risk but could also lead to civil unrest. It demonstrates just how important it is that we solve the payment problem.”

The International Monetary Fund forecasts 4.5% economic growth for Cameroon in 2022 and 4.8% in 2023. Imagine the additional contribution that those participating in the country’s economy could make — from small mom-and-pop shops to large-scale importers and exporters — with a better functioning, purely digital payment method.