Zakhaa, a FinTech startup, emerged with a clear mission: to empower small and medium enterprises (SMEs), facilitating smoother and more efficient business operations. It offers customised tools and resources designed to tackle the challenges of debt management and Zakhaa epitomises innovation fueled by real-world market demands.
Its goal? To cultivate a stronger ecosystem where small businesses can not only survive but also flourish and grow.
Teboho Twala, the visionary founder and CEO of Zakhaa, has pioneered a tech solution revolutionising small business operations.
Zakhaa operates as software seamlessly integrated into devices tailored for small business needs. This FinTech marvel transcends traditional payment systems, catering to all, including those in low-income brackets without credit cards. Such inclusivity streamlines operations for small business owners, enabling effortless payment administration and tracking.
For many SMEs, access to technology and FinTech solutions remains elusive, stunting growth in township economies and hindering local wealth creation and employment opportunities. Identifying this gap as a pivotal barrier, Twala embarked on a mission to foster sustainability for SMEs. His vision birthed a transformative solution, poised to reshape the landscape of small business operations.
SME customers would ask for services or products and promise to pay part of or all the money due by end of the month which they never do and there is no collateral that a small business owner can rely on. This lack of trust and payment records costing small business owners to lose money because they lack a tracking system that monitors their incoming payments and customers end up not paying. T
Twala saw a need to formalise this relationship between small business owners and customers through a seamlessly cost-effective way for all parties involved.
“We understand the unique needs of Small businesses, and our solutions are designed to help you manage your finances more effectively. Our services include: financial inclusivity for unbanked businesses an lower SMEs, helping small business owners run their own banking operations without having to join any big banks and pay additional bank charges” says Twala.
Through this app, his aim is to assist small businesses in overcoming their cash flow hurdles. By digitising and empowering these businesses to establish trustworthy trading records, he anticipate that they’ll become eligible for short-term loans from traditional lenders. This infusion of capital will provide the essential cash flow small businesses require for daily operations as well as expansion, consequently fostering job creation.
Twala hopes to expand Zakhaa services across townships and to markets beyond South Africa.
In May they will be launching a beta programme with 100 merchants to test the other features followed by a mass launch around the fourth quarter of the year which will be a national campaign to reach small business owners in areas where they lack digital inclusion.
Here’s a practical illustration of Zakhaa’s functionality: Let’s say your car breaks down unexpectedly midway through the month, and you require the services of a mechanic. They estimate the repair cost at R2000, but you only have R500 available for immediate payment. You can settle the initial R500 upfront and agree to pay the remaining R1500 balance over three months. Using our card payment machine, the mechanic can effortlessly record this arrangement. Initially, they process the R500 deposit through the machine’s card payment feature, followed by separately capturing the deferred payment agreement on the same device.
Zakhaa cyber security team has put together stringent security measures that protect the information of their users, Both merchants and their customers. For instance, they have a verification process that links to home affairs and banks to ensure that no personal use of other people’s information to make purchases. They have also subscribed to Popi Act ,which governs personal information sharing. Their security systems are designed to protect merchandiser information with the consent of their clients.
