On Thursday (22/8), the Indonesian Embassy Team attended the Closing Celebration of the 2023 Academic Year of the International University of Africa-Sudan held at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Engineering, Red Sea University.
This activity is a form of appreciation from the IUA-Sudan campus for all parties who actively contribute to efforts to continue campus activities, both from the teaching and learning process and the completion of administrative and student affairs. The event was opened with remarks from representatives of IUA-Sudan alumni and the IUA Vice Chancellor for Academic and Cultural Affairs, Prof. Taha Abdeen Taha Mohamed.
On that occasion, the Indonesian Embassy work team expressed appreciation to the Vice Chancellor of IUA for his commitment to completing the 2023 Academic Year. The Indonesian Embassy also prayed for the smooth implementation of teaching and learning activities for the 2024 Academic Year. The Indonesian Embassy is also committed to providing facilities and support to help meet the needs of Indonesian students who are studying at IUA.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Khartoum, Sudan.
Tensaye Desalegn, a graduate of Addis Ababa University in Electrical and Computer Engineering, has emerged as a prominent figure in Ethiopia’s rapidly growing financial technology sector. With a robust background that includes eight years as General Manager of Zowitek Electrical Engineering Technology Company, where he managed over 15 major projects including popular taxi services and fuel management systems, Tensaye has demonstrated exceptional leadership and innovation. Currently, as the CEO of SantimPay Financial Solution, he has been at the forefront of advancing digital payment systems in Ethiopia, collaborating with more than 10 banks and five mobile money companies. In this exclusive interview with Capital, Tensaye shares insights into SantimPay’s vision, challenges, and future plans, highlighting the company’s commitment to financial inclusion and digitalization in Ethiopia. Excerpts
Capital: Can you describe SantimPay’s vision and how it aligns with the broader goals of financial inclusion and digitalization in Ethiopia?
Tensaye Desalegn: To be one of the leading creators and providers of payment systems that are limited neither by time nor by international boundaries. Ethiopia is now working toward digitizing payments, and our national digital payment strategy for 2025 lays out a clear path forward. Santimpay is doing a fantastic job in this area to support this plan by offering the ecosystem a variety of payment options.
Capital: What are the key differentiators of SantimPay compared to other payment solutions available in the country?
Tensaye: Our payment solution is simple and custom made to our society.
Capital: How does you ensure that your payment solutions remain secure and reliable for its users?
Tensaye: National and international security firms regularly evaluate our platform, and we hold a PCI DSS security accreditation. In addition to dependability, our team constantly updates and modifies our platform based on feedback from businesses and customers.
Capital: Can you provide an example of a challenge SantimPay has faced in its journey and how it was overcome?
Tensaye: We have a trust challenge with banks and customers because we are local companies and everything was created here. However, eventually, everyone starts to utilize our payment method after they try it out and realize how easy and safe it is.
Capital: How do you measure the success and impact of its financial solutions on the Ethiopian economy and its users?
Tensaye: User base and transaction volume, in my opinion, can serve as the metrics.
Capital: Can you explain the technology behind SantimPay’s POS solutions and how it enhances transaction efficiency?
Tensaye: Our team in Ethiopia designs the hardware and software for our point-of-sale devices. It may therefore be integrated with various software systems and is scalable. Additionally, the devices’ network performance is 65% better than that of the similar devices now in use in Ethiopia.
Capital: How does SantimPay integrate Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and QR Codes into its platform, and what benefits do these features provide to users?
Tensaye: In order to assist the merchant in settling payments into a single bank account, we developed a unified QR that accepts payments from several banks and mobile money networks. The user-merchant transaction becomes more straightforward as a result. Additionally, the user merely needs to use their phone’s camera to pay using our QR platform. This helps both users and consumers by making the payment process straightforward and dependable.
Capital: Describe the process of implementing a new payment solution, such as Share Selling or School Fee Payments, within Santimpay ecosystem. What are the key considerations?
Tensaye: The demand from the client base and the inability of various software platforms to scale are the most important factors. We would like to interface with various educational systems, share sales platforms, and other platforms; however, both domestic and foreign suppliers are unwilling or unable to do so. We developed our platform in accordance with our preferred business scenario by integrating it with our payment solution. So, growing our payment platform is the main factor to take into account.
Capital: What are the main factors SantimPay considers when tailoring its payment platforms for different use cases like Remittance or Event Ticketing?
Tensaye: Problems are the primary causes. The fundamental elements of a business are problems, and a successful enterprise is one that finds a solution to its problems. Furthermore, the difficulties facing Ethiopia today are not just a platform; they are a platform that can precisely address societal issues. Considering this, we may expand our business by customizing our platforms to meet societal needs and the other factor is, as I indicated in the section above, the expansion of our payment system.
Capital: How does SantimPay handle scalability and performance issues to ensure its platforms can support a growing user base and transaction volume?
Tensaye: Our platforms will inevitably scale since our team develops and designs them. Keeping up with the expansion of transactions to expand our surroundings is our daily responsibility to ensure scalability.
Capital: How does SantimPay gather and incorporate user feedback to improve its payment solutions?
Tensaye: We gather feedback using internal and external feedback loops. These feedback loops involve gathering feedback from the development team and outside sources like customers or users through our call center and other means. These steps are important in identifying and fixing issues early on, increasing customer satisfaction, and improving overall quality of our payment solutions.
Capital: Can you discuss a specific feature or service that was developed in response to user needs or market demands?
Tensaye: I believe customers require your product or service to function in a manner that meets their needs and resolves their problems or desires. We have developed an Event Ticketing platform, which enables event attendees to conveniently purchase their tickets online through our secure gateway, thereby eliminating the inconvenience of manual ticket purchasing. This platform also simplifies the process for event organizers by streamlining the management of their events.
Capital: What strategies does SantimPay employ to educate and onboard new users to its various payment solutions?
Tensaye: We offer a range of payment options as our key value proposition. Our users can easily make payments using multiple convenient payment methods. This addresses the problem of limited payment options. In addition, our payment solutions are easy to integrate with any system and simple for users to navigate.
Capital: How does SantimPay address issues of accessibility and usability for users who may not be technologically savvy?
Tensaye: All of our products and services are designed to be easily accessible and usable for users. For instance, our QR code and payment gateway services provide simple, intuitive steps that are easy to follow. People with both basic and advanced smartphones can access these solutions. Our development team has considered the local context, ensuring that our solutions are locally relevant and cater to the needs of the Ethiopian market. This includes making our products and services easy to use, even for those with limited technological expertise.
Capital: What measures are in place to ensure customer support is effective and responsive across SantimPay’s diverse range of services?
Tensaye: We embrace an Omni channel approach to customer service. We create connected and consistent customer interactions across all touchpoints, from online customer service to 24/7 active Call Center Service. This allows us to meet our customers where they are and deliver personalized customer service.
Capital: What are SantimPay’s short-term and long-term goals, and how do they align with the company’s mission of promoting financial inclusion?
Tensaye: Our short-term goals are expand the availability of SantimPay’s digital payment services to underserved communities and populations with limited access to traditional banking and increase adoption and usage of SantimPay by partnering with more local merchants, small businesses, and service providers to accept the digital currency for payments.
Our long-term goal is to become a leading provider of Digital Financial Services (DFS) across emerging markets like Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), enabling more people to participate in the formal economy.
Capital: How does SantimPay plan to expand its offerings or enter new markets in the coming years?
Tensaye: Expanding into new markets can be an exciting challenge for any business. I believe the crucial thing is to figure out what that specific market needs which in return generates most value and leads to better offerings and growth.
Capital: What partnerships or collaborations does SantimPay seek to strengthen its position in the financial technology sector?
Tensaye: We aim to collaborate with businesses, governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders to integrate SantimPay into different programs and services, further extending financial inclusion.
Wegagen Bank has officially launched its International Pre-Paid Visa card service, enabling customers, embassy staff, and international organization employees to make global payments without carrying cash. The launch ceremony, held at the Planet Hotel in Mekelle, was attended by dignitaries including Atsbeha G/Egziabher (PhD), Head of the Bureau of Culture and Tourism under the Interim Administration of Tigray, Wegagen Bank’s Board of Directors & Senior Management, Visa Inc. representatives, members of the Ethiopian Diaspora, and other distinguished guests.
The new card service, a collaboration between Wegagen Bank and Visa Inc., allows customers to transfer funds and make payments at ATMs and Point-of-Sale (POS) machines worldwide. It also facilitates online e-commerce transactions and provides an alternative digital means of sending money from abroad to loved ones via top-ups.
Atsbeha G/Egziabher (PhD) commended Wegagen Bank for its commitment to digital banking solutions and urged the Ethiopian diaspora to actively participate in the region’s tourism and investment opportunities.
Solomon Tesfaye, Deputy Chief Executive Officer- Technology of Wegagen Bank, highlighted the convenience and security of the new card service, emphasizing its role in expanding financial access for customers.
Yared Endale, Country Manager of Visa Inc., emphasized the importance of digital transformation for economic growth in Ethiopia. He stated that Visa Inc. has established local operations in Ethiopia, one of 10 offices across Africa, to support and strengthen the local financial ecosystems.
The Visa card, according to Yared, enables individuals to fully engage in the mainstream economy by broadening access to international financial services and offering convenient global payment options. He added that Visa Inc. is committed to collaborating with Wegagen Bank to provide a range of accessible digital services to the community.
Wegagen Bank, established in 1997, has grown significantly, with a paid-up capital exceeding Birr 5 billion and a total capital of Birr 10 billion. The bank offers a variety of banking services, including conventional and interest-free Wegagen Amana banking, through its extensive network of branches, ATMs, POS machines, agents, and digital platforms. The bank recently launched a digital loan service application called Efoyta, designed to support micro, small, and medium enterprises.
Ethiopian Electric Power (EEP), the state-owned power producer, anticipates that the Koysha Hydroelectric Dam, one of its massive projects, will receive a non-concessional loan based on the government’s most recent exceptional green light.
Unlike other comparable renewable energy projects, the project being built on the transboundary Omo River in the South West Ethiopia region has had difficulty obtaining concessional loans. The other project, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, is being built on the Abay (Blue Nile) River a short distance from the Sudanese border and is entirely financed by local resources.
The administration recently said in a conversation with foreign partners, “Despite sustained efforts, we have not been able to secure concessional financing to finalize this project, which is critical for our medium-term growth and poverty-reduction strategy.” In order to carry out the Koysha project, the government was compelled to obtain local funding when it decided to halt taking out commercial loans.
Nevertheless, despite the government’s repeated pledge to halt all concessional funding, special measures have been made to associate a fund with the completion of the 2,160 MW installed capacity project. Ashebir Balcha, CEO of EEP, reports that at the conclusion of the previous fiscal year, the project’s achievement rate was 67%. “However, more funding is needed for the remaining work at the site,” he told Capital.
It is anticipated that the project will require more than $950 million. According to the CEO, the government has made the decision to get a commercial credit in order to complete the project, which started in 2016. In order to obtain the commercial credit, the Ministry of Finance is now working, and “we hope the process will end very soon.”
The government of Ethiopia reaffirmed its unwavering resolve to suspend non-concessional loans in light of the most recent macroeconomic reform that the country is carrying out with the assistance of foreign partners. According to the agreement the government reached with foreign partners, “an exception is applied for new non-concessional external debt contracted or guaranteed by the government for the Koysha dam project, which is capped at USD 950 million over the duration of the program (it is about four years)”.
According to the government, in order to prevent contractual penalties for delays, possible termination, and total construction cost rises, finding external finance and starting work again are essential. One of the main partners in implementing the economic reform, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), announced that the authorities had asked for one exception from the zero-limit on new non-concessional borrowing in order to finish the Koysha Hydroelectric Dam project, for which concessional financing is not available.
The Italian export credit guarantee agency (SACE) provided non-concessional financing for the project, which was initially financed by loans totaling about 340 million euros from three banks. There have been delays despite the project being 67% completed due to a lack of outside funding. According to the IMF, the authorities have failed to get concessional loans, and the anticipated gap is $879 million. The IMF estimates that it will take an extra three to six years to complete.
A 6,500 million cubic meter reservoir with a crest length of 990 meters and a height of 180 meters is part of the roller-compacted concrete (RCC) gravity dam project, which is situated approximately 370 kilometers southwest of Addis Ababa.
