MasterCard has joined forces with Johannesburg-based fintech company SAVA to support Small, Medium, and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt. Through this collaboration, the two entities aim to provide SMMEs with an online platform, powered by SAVA’s Payment Transaction System (PTS). The platform will include digital bank accounts and accounting integration tools to help these businesses manage their expenses more efficiently. By simplifying financial management for SMMEs, SAVA aims to enable them to scale their business operations. As part of the partnership, SAVA will offer SMMEs virtual and physical cards, allowing budgets to be pre-configured and managed via the SAVA app. Integration with accounting packages will provide customers with better control and management of employee card spending, automating reconciliations and saving time and money.
This collaboration aligns with MasterCard’s commitment to financial inclusion, aiming to bring 50 million SMMEs worldwide into the digital economy by 2025. The partnership is a step towards leveraging transformative technology and fostering sustainability to support small businesses, which play a crucial role in driving economic growth. According to Dimitrios Dosis, President, EEMEA, Mastercard, the collaboration with SAVA represents a significant move to support small businesses through efficient technology, contributing to the advancement of financial inclusion in Africa.
SAVA’s platform not only addresses the challenges faced by SMMEs in expense filing and management but also offers the issuance of physical cards for shoppers and centralized spending control through a dashboard. The platform’s capabilities extend to managing spending across various platforms and accessing a range of financial services, eliminating the need for cash transactions. Kola Olajide, CEO of SAVA, expressed excitement about expanding the utilization of this distinctive proposition, empowering SMMEs to manage their financial operations with greater control and meeting the specific needs of African markets.
