Following the introduction of the Digital Chikwama Awards in 2017, this year, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) has continued to celebrate the efforts of individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to advancing digital finance in Zambia.

UNCDF is focused on helping Zambians address their needs, wants, and aspirations and has found that reward and recognition can help accelerate strong performance in the market. These awards, combined with the DFS State of the Industry report, have contributed to strengthening the interest of financial service providers to serving more Zambians in new, affordable and exciting ways.

2017 was a period of significant growth and innovation in the DFS market in Zambia with several providers introducing and refining their digital wallet products, as well as other DFS products and services. The industry has also witnessed a rise in the level of innovation taking place with the advent of more FinTech companies playing a role in designing solutions that address various financial inclusion challenges.

Celebrating Achievement and Innovation in DFS in Zambia

The objective of the Digital Chikwama Awards is to recognize the increased growth of digital financial inclusion and the efforts of those individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to improving digital financial inclusion for Zambians.

The second Digital Chikwama Awards took place on 22nd November 2018 in Lusaka.

Nominations were based on data collected by UNCDF from the 13 DFS providers in Zambia, 7 Fintechs and 4 Media Houses. Where possible, the data was validated by Bank of Zambia. An independent panel examined the data and nominations received and helped choose the winners. Categories in this year’s Digital Chikwama Awards included:

Most Outstanding DFS Performance Award

Nominees in this category demonstrated the highest active customer growth rate in the market during 2017. It takes significant efforts in terms of innovation, marketing, customer education to attract and retain active DFS customers. This award recognizes the providers whose efforts have been the most effective.

The 2018 Digital Chikwama Award for ‘Most Outstanding Digital Financial Services Performance’ was won by Zoona.

Most Innovative DFS Provider Award

This Award was presented to the DFS provider who was judged to have exhibited creativity and innovation in the design and implementation of their products and services. The focus was on rewarding innovation in 2nd generation DFS products that have achieved the highest number of active customers. These products will also be evaluated in terms of uniqueness and relevance to the Zambian market as well as the design approach adopted e.g. a human-centric design approach.

The 2018 Digital Chikwama Award for ‘Most Innovative Digital Financial Services Provider’ was won by MTN Zambia.

Agent Value Chain Development Award

This Award was presented to the DFS provider who was judged to have dedicated significant amount of resources to the training and development of their agent networks and fostering agent value chain growth. The performance of the provider’s agent network was assessed in terms of: active agent growth rate, average number of transactions conducted by agents per month and monthly commissions earned by agents.

The 2018 Digital Chikwama Award for ‘Agent Value Chain Development’ was won by MTN Zambia.

DFS Private Sector Champion Award:

This Award was presented to a DFS professional from the private sector that contributed significantly to moving DFS forward within their organization and within the DFS Ecosystem. This nomination was made by each the DFS providers for one individual that contributed significantly to the organization by achieving their KPIs in the last year, which included but was not limited to:

· Leading innovative methods to increase customer awareness, registration and usage

· Leading the expansion of and support to improve agent networks

· Leading product development and promotion of new products that use human centric design approaches.

· Demonstrated leadership in creating and implementing a partnership with another Zambian DFS Ecosystem stakeholder

The 2018 Digital Chikwama Award for ‘Digital Financial Services Private Sector Champion’ was won by Ms. Janice Matwi (Kazang).

This year, two additional award categories were created, reflecting the trends observed in the DFS market. The new awards introduced were:

Emerging Fintech Award

This Award was presented to a non-DFS Provider, less than 2 years old in the Zambian market, who had exhibited creativity and innovation in the design and implementation of their products and services which have contributed to increasing the uptake and usage of digital financial services as well as addressing the needs, wants and aspirations of the Zambian market.

The 2018 Digital Chikwama Award for ‘Emerging Fintech’ was won by the World Food Programme for their Maano app, a digital marketplace connecting farmers to buyers and sellers.

DFS Reporter of the Year Award

This Award was presented to a media representative that has contributed significantly to moving DFS forward by producing high-quality journalistic pieces that address challenges in advancing digital financial inclusion. These challenges include: lack of awareness (customers do not know what DFS products are available or what the available DFS service offerings mean), lack of meaningful awareness (customers do not know the relevance of available DFS products to their lives), lack of trust in DFS products (customers are hesitant to use DFS products because of limiting beliefs around security, affordability etc.).

The 2018 Digital Chikwama Award for ‘Digital Financial Services Reporter of the Year Award’ was won by Mr. Brian Mwale (Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation-ZNBC).

Following the presentation of the awards, UNCDF also recognized institutions leading advancements in the following DFS sectors: Regulation (Bank of Zambia for the introduction of the Gazette removing unwanted bank fees and charges), 2nd Generation DFS (partnerships between DFS providers and Fintechs to introduce savings and loans products onto the market) and Energy (the growth of pay-as-you-go energy providers in Zambia including Azuri, Fenix International, Live Clean Initiative, Rent to Own and Vitalite).

The awards gala hosted key players in the Zambian DFS market including mobile network operators (MNOs), banks, microfinance institutions, third-party providers, fintechs, media houses, various donor organizations, as well as UNCDF’s partners and stakeholders.

The excitement among Zambian DFS providers and other stakeholders was palpable, with many participants indicating their ongoing commitment to DFS and anticipation of the 2019 Digital Chikwama Awards.

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