When community health workers announced a mass polio vaccination campaign in Karongi, on the eastern shores of Lake Kivu last year, mother Marie Claire Umutoniwase knew this was her opportunity to protect the health of her now nine-month-old daughter Ornella.

Umutoniwase had learned from community health workers the devastating effects of polio and says, “I feel at peace knowing my daughter is vaccinated.”

Following the declaration of a circulating variant poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreak in Rwanda´s neighbouring countries, including Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Tanzania, Rwanda embarked on an immunization campaign to protect every one of the country’s children from the virus, and its consequences. 

Although the last polio case in Rwanda was reported three decades ago, the vaccination campaign aimed to reach all children under the age of seven regardless of their previous immunization status.

In close collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, Rwanda’s Health Ministry conducted two countrywide immunization rounds with 2 754 831 vaccines administered between 24 and 28 July 2023 and a further 2 915 598 between 11 and 15 September 2023.

Vaccinators went house to house to ensure all eligible children were reached, with efforts complemented by pop-up sites at markets, parks, health facilities and schools. The two rounds reached 106% and 99.7% of their respective targets, while 44 of 46 district hospitals were deemed to have met the WHO criteria for a high-quality polio vaccination campaign.  

“Before the campaign, people mostly knew little more than the name of the disease. We went door to door to educate everyone about polio, about the importance of accepting the vaccine and the potential consequences for children who contracted the virus,” says Martin Mbasabagukizwa, a community health worker who actively participated in the campaign.

Overall, 14 424 trained community health workers were involved in the campaign, with supportive supervision by teams from health centres and district hospitals. WHO worked with the Ministry of Health to train national and district supervisors, who then cascaded their knowledge to health centre teams, ultimately equipping and supporting community health workers to administer the vaccine. 

WHO employed an innovative digital payment platform to ensure timely payments to the 17 865 personnel involved in implementing and evaluating the campaign. 

“Community health workers played a key role in the campaign, administering vaccines in households, tracking children who had missed a vaccine and following up on any adverse events following immunization,” says Hassan Sibomana, Director of the Vaccine Programmes Unit at Rwanda Biomedical Centre. 

Emphasizing the broad range of players necessary to make any vaccination campaign a success, he adds: “The successful polio vaccination campaign was the fruit of good collaboration between all actors.”

At the request of Ministry of Health, WHO, in collaboration with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, deployed a team of local and international experts to the country before, during and after the campaign to provide technical support to the Rwanda Biomedical Centre in the planning and coordination for the campaign. WHO also provided technical expertise to verify the use of the polio vaccine, working with the Rwanda Food and Drugs Authority.

Dr Marie Rosette Nahimana, WHO epidemiologist and Expanded Programme on Immunization team leader, says “Rwanda’s urgent and successful vaccination campaign reflects a proactive approach to preventing the spread of polio and protecting the well-being of the nation’s children. This comprehensive strategy, with its focus on community education alongside vaccination efforts, exemplifies best practices in public health campaigns,” she adds.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Health Organization (WHO) – Rwanda.

In a historic show of unity, 19 African Heads of State assembled at a major summit committed to focusing development aspirations across the continent. This ambitious agenda, aiming to dramatically improve lives and create new opportunities, positions the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) as a cornerstone for success.

Beyond pronouncements, the summit witnessed the birth of a significant partnership—a coalition uniting civil society, foundations, the private sector, and young people. The new coalition will champion a robust and ambitious replenishment of IDA’s resources, fueling Africa’s development engine.

A post-summit communique detailed leaders’ unwavering commitment to strengthen governance, unlock private sector potential for job creation, mobilize domestic resources, and deliver on climate change promises. Additionally, they prioritized increased energy and digital access, alongside enhanced resilience to climate change and conflict.

The Government of Kenya and the World Bank Group co-hosted the summit, and each emphasized the critical role of both IDA— the World Bank Group’s fund focused on those most in need—and the global community in supporting Africa’s aspirations.

Dr. William Ruto, President of Kenya, underscored the continent’s urgency for change and its desire to capitalize on this pivotal moment of opportunity. He passionately advocated for stronger donor contributions to IDA21, emphasizing its role in driving transformative change not just in Africa but around the world.

“Our people and we, the leaders of Africa, are impatient for change and we want to transform the continent at this moment of tremendous opportunities,” President Ruto said. “IDA has been and must remain a dependable development partner for Africa, and we urge stronger donor contributions to IDA21 so that together we can drive transformational impact not only for a better Africa, but also for a better world.” 

World Bank Group President Ajay Banga echoed these sentiments, stressing the need for unwavering global support, particularly from IDA, as Africa charts its course toward a prosperous and progressive future.

“We are united by a shared vision for the future of Africa—a continent rich in diversity, culture, and potential, thanks to its young people and natural resources,” Banga said. “These are the ingredients that can power our future. The International Development Association has been a steadfast partner in Africa’s development journey, and this summit symbolizes our collective commitment to accelerating progress. This will require more from IDA, more from the World Bank Group, more from governments, and more from the private sector.”

For decades, IDA has served as a powerful engine for economic growth across Africa. It empowers progress through grants and highly concessional loans, fueling strategic investments in building a skilled and healthy workforce, and nurturing job-generating industries like agriculture. Recent efforts to streamline access have further enhanced its effectiveness.

Currently, IDA supports 75 nations, 39 of them in Africa. Over 70 percent of its resources are directed toward the continent, playing a vital role in achieving the World Bank Group’s goal of bringing electricity to 250 million Africans by 2030.

The call for replenishment comes amid a multitude of interconnected hardships: pandemics, climate change, food insecurity, fragility, and conflict. Yet, Africa is also brimming with potential: vast natural resources, abundant sunshine, and the world’s fastest-growing youth population.

Amplifying united support for Africa’s bold vision and leveraging the strength of the newly formed coalition can help ensure an undeniably bright future for the continent.

Leaders representing a coalition of global youth, the private sector, and civil society stressed the need for a robust IDA21 replenishment and committed to work in partnership.

Ndidi Nwuneli, President and CEO of the ONE Campaign, said “IDA21 must be different. It must be transformative. This means that we must collectively work to make sure IDA21 is robust and ambitious and is delivered with transparency and accountability for Africa’s citizens, ensuring that we build stable and resilient economies for the future.”

Sellah Bogonko, CEO of Jacob’s Ladder, who represented a cross section of African youth, said “True leadership is not just about those in position but each one of us doing the impossible, every day, in our own little way. We young people are not merely asking what you can do for us. We are available to co-create solutions together with you—our elected leaders—with support from IDA.”

James Mwangi, CEO of Equity Group Holdings, said “This event is a testament to our commitment to driving sustainable development and financial inclusion. Together, with IDA we are paving the way for economic empowerment and transformation in our communities, shaping a brighter future for all.”

Nir Bar Dea, CEO of Bridgewater Associates, said “Africa is expected to have the largest workforce within the next decade, and by 2075, one-third of the world’s population will be African. Yet today, there are challenges in accessing key resources that are essential to economic growth that the IDA replenishment can help secure. We are building on Bridgewater’s mission to understand the world and turn our insights and research into results by providing a deeper understanding of how IDA21 will shift the economic trajectory of African nations and global markets and economies.”

Hugh Evans, Co-Founder and CEO of Global Citizen, said “Africa has the youngest population of any continent, and presents the world’s biggest development opportunity of the next 30 years – but only if the world’s richest nations stop cutting foreign aid and invest the financing necessary to address energy poverty. Through a fully funded and functional IDA, the continent’s young people stand to achieve their full potential.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.

As next-generation financial services platform Mukuru (https://www.Mukuru.com) marks the major milestone of being in business for 20 years, FCX Intelligence has announced that it has made the list of Top 100 Cross-Border Payment Companies for the fifth successive year. The award goes a long way in demonstrating how Mukuru has remained relevant for two decades while still innovating to remain so in the future.

FXC Intelligence is the industry leader in cross-border payments data and intelligence. FXC Intelligence founder and CEO Daniel Webber says: “Mukuru’s presence among the Cross-Border Payments 100 for five consecutive years underscores its dedication to providing innovative financial solutions across borders. Its commitment to leveraging technology and fostering financial inclusion has positioned it as a key player in the industry, recognised by FXC Intelligence for its impactful contributions.”

Mukuru’s CEO Andy Jury says the recognition is validation of the business’s customer-centric and solution-oriented approach. “It is humbling to be recognised in the company of many esteemed businesses that have been in existence far longer than us. These businesses have transformed the financial services landscape globally. It is testimony to the hard work we have put in collectively, which we call the orange energy coursing through our veins – a metaphor for the passion to grow and deliver value to our customers.”

Despite being named on the list for five straight years, Jury says that Mukuru is not static and in its 20th year will continue striving towards reaching more customers in more markets. “While the recognition is great validation of our approach and vision, we really feel that we have only scratched the surface and our work is still in its infancy. Our orientation is to continue to focus on how we can scale our business, how we can solve problems for our customers, and how we can partner with many of the other esteemed businesses named on the top-100 list to continue to improve the lives of our customers.”

Jury says that one of the key ingredients to remaining relevant for 20 years has been the entrepreneurial spirit that forms part of Mukuru’s DNA. “In an emerging market environment you are always confronted with new challenges. You simply cannot rest on your laurels. There needs to be a perpetual focus on solving challenges and addressing customer problems. This has kept us true to our mission, and young and entrepreneurial at heart. It means we focus less on yesterday’s success because our focus must be zeroed onto what’s coming over the horizon,” says Jury.

Looking back, Jury believes that because the business was founded with a single use case it was able to build scale and runway to develop into the successful financial services platform it has become. “We started with a fairly deep but narrow challenge. That was remittances. This enabled us to build scale without needing to manage the complexity that comes with multiple geographies and customer types. It was an homogenous focus on a single problem that was built in a modular way to be re-used in new use cases. That efficiency meant there was value coming in through the front door so we could bootstrap ourselves up off of that,” he explains.

Jury says that this focus was vital over the past 20 years as Mukuru bootstrapped itself without the benefit of outside funding in its formative days. “We have had to remain focused and learn to prioritise because we are a business that has always paid for ourselves. We needed to generate value to keep the lights on and continue growing. This ensures a sharp focus, especially in head winds.”

Shifting his gaze to how the business has evolved from a remittance business to a next-generation financial services platform, with various financial products and services for different customers in different markets, Jury says the modular approach birthed in the early days – of developing solutions for similar but slightly different customer bases and then expanding that network in terms of geographical reach and associated accessible markets –  enabled this.

However, despite this, Jury believes that a fintech’s success is directly proportional to how it listens to its customers and addresses their needs. “What was very important to us from day one with five customers to today with more than 16-million customers hasn’t changed. It is the notion of walking in the shoes of our customers: Understanding their needs, wants and challenges and then building solutions to address those as opposed to starting with a nice shiny product and then trying to force it onto a customer base.”

With the knowledge and insight that comes from being at the helm of a 20-year-old business that is growing and continually deploying new products and services, what advice does Jury have for fintechs?

The key is focus, the ability to prioritise and an understanding that everything must exist in a sense of balance. Focus on what you are good at, focus on the problem or opportunity you are addressing, and don’t forget the customer. Focus on something that has a deep addressable market that is going to allow repeat touch points, and then, very importantly, try not to be too distracted by shiny innovations as they may be just that: distractions.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Mukuru.

About Mukuru:
Mukuru is a leading next generation financial services platform in Southern Africa that offers affordable and reliable financial services to a customer base of over 16 million+  across Africa, Asia and Europe.

With over 100 million transactions to date, our core was built providing international money transfers and from this base, we’ve developed a set of services to address the broader financial needs of our customers. We now operate in over 60 countries and across over 500 remittance corridors.

We are a business that puts the customer at the centre of everything we do, and for that reason, we serve clients across physical and digital channels, by various payment methods (cash, card, wallet) as well as a range of engagement platforms including WhatsApp, USSD, contact centre, App, website, agents and a branch and booth network.

Mukuru has, for the fifth consecutive year, been listed as one of the top 100 Cross Border Payments businesses in the world in the 2024 FXC Intelligence Top 100 Cross-Border Payment Companies (https://apo-opa.co/48HwI0k), one of only six African companies to receive this accolade.

In 2023, Mukuru officially ranked sixth on the LinkedIn Top Companies List in South Africa.

Mukuru was celebrated for innovation and excellence at the 2023 Africa Tech Festival Awards, receiving the Fintech Innovation of the Year Award – an acknowledgment of the transformative power of financial technology in driving economic growth, financial inclusion, and digital transformation.

Further information can be found at https://www.Mukuru.com.