NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 15-Kenyans can now invest as little as Sh5 on their mobile phones with the launch of Chumz, a new platform developed by Moneto Ventures Ltd in partnership with Nabo Capital.
Chumz is an app that enables anyone with a mobile money account to create financial goals as an individual or as a group and invest their money towards the goals, track progress and earn interest.
CEO Moneto Samuel Njuguna said once a user is registered on the platform, they will be able to create saving goals as an individual or with a group.
The app will then send prompts to the user to invest towards their goal and offer advice on investing based on spending habits.
“Our journey began when we observed that Kenya has numerous lending apps which are fueling a consumerism culture and limited investment solutions. We set out to find why customers were not taking up investment options in our developing market and learnt three things; most people are unbanked or under-banked. There is also heavy investment jargon by the financial sector that makes potential clients shy away from investing. Lastly, the current solutions lack methods to keep the people engaged in saving,” said Njuguna.
He said the research also highlighted that Kenyans lack awareness on investment channels they could easily access and track their investment with minimal friction in terms of time and financial cost in making the investment.
“With most people transacting on mobile money it would be easier to have a comprehensive saving and investment solution on their phone, the reason we got inspired to develop Chumz.”
Speaking at the launch, Nabo Capital Managing Director Pius Muchiri noted ‘that there are about 200,000 active investment accounts in the capital markets compared to over 34 million active bank accounts. He further noted that bridging this gap is the most important key to accelerating our economic growth.
“Through Chumz, we will enable Kenyans to achieve any aspiration including education, travel, home-ownership and so on. Our partnership is grounded on one desire: to democratize investment by giving people access to opportunities with competitive returns,” said Muchiri.
