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By Staff Writer
The Fin-tech Industry is currently one of the most preferred sector by founders around the globe. It is projected to have an annual growth rate of 25% until 2022, to $309.98 Billion. The sector has resulted in the rise of some billion-dollar start-up such as Brex, Carta, Hippo, Plaid, Chime only to mention a few. Back home we have EcoCash.
In this industry, Jonah saw an opportunity and co-founded MICC Financial in 2020. The 26-years old entrepreneur was born and raised in Zimbabwe and moved to Canada in 2004 to study Business and Finance at the University of Prince Edward Island and graduated in 2018.
“After graduation, I attended the United Nations Youth Assembly in New York to discuss the 17 Sustainability Goals and got involved with World Bank. From there I was inspired to launch a financial services platform that helps expand access to credit products here in Canada,” said Jonah.
Jonah’s experience inspired the idea that MICC Financial is worth pursuing. “I started a business after experiencing first-hand how difficult it was for newcomers coming to Canada to gain access to affordable financial products and build wealth,” recalled Jonah
MICC is a digital wallet that helps people collaboratively manage their day-to-day finances. It comes as a mobile app and MICC Mastercard which allows users to spend, save, pool money with friends, and build credit scores.
“MICC financial was built out of hard work and perseverance as the team has to start from scratch, Building a business from ground up is hard and as an immigrant its way harder. You have to start from scratch – building relationships, developing partnerships, navigating cultural differences,” Jonah said.
On the other hand, there are support systems and business incubators that helped us navigate this and directed us to the right resources.” Jonah told The Entrepreneurial Magazine.
According to MICC Financial C.E.O, Jonah Chiwanga, MICC Financial has intentions to expand in Zimbabwe,” We are closely monitoring the infrastructure development in terms of internet access, policy, and regulations,” said Jonah.
Jonah’s advice to start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs is willingness to learn, “Be willing to try and learn. Be obsessed with understanding your customer’s problem and find the right people to work with. Teamwork is so important that it is almost impossible for you to reach the heights of your capabilities without becoming very good at it.”
This article was first published in the August Issue of the Entrepreneurial Magazine under the headline, “Zimbabwean Entrepreneurs breaking the ceiling glass in the diaspora.”
