Episode 125
Rajesh Savji Parmar — Embedded Finance, Pay2Nature, and the Next African Fintech Wave
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In this episode, host Igor Tomych sits down with Rajesh Savji Parmar, founder of Indelible, to explore how embedded finance is reshaping the future of African fintech.
Africa is home to the world’s largest mobile money ecosystem. With 1.1 billion accounts and $1 trillion in annual volume, the continent leapfrogged banking infrastructure to achieve financial inclusion through telcos like Safaricom (M-Pesa) and MTN MOMO. But what comes after mobile money?
Key Insights from the Conversation #
- M-Pesa’s Origin Story: How a 2005 UK aid project turned into the backbone of African finance.
- Leapfrogging Banks: Why telcos, not banks, became the real fintech disruptors in Africa.
- Crowdfunding Lessons: Why donor-driven platforms struggle to scale without massive marketing spend.
- The Pay2Nature Model: Rajesh’s vision to embed micro-donations into payments, enabling everyday transactions to support conservation and biodiversity projects.
- Market Entry Advice: Why Ghana is the best launchpad for African fintech, and why interoperability across telcos and banks is critical.
- Challenges to Watch: compliance, fraud, cyber risk, cultural differences, and infrastructure barriers that can slow startups for years.
Beyond Transactions: Fintech with Purpose #
Rajesh emphasizes that Africa’s fintech opportunity is not only financial but ecological. With biodiversity under threat and nature loss accelerating, fintech can channel billions into conservation. Indelible’s mission is to ensure that financial rails also become sustainability rails—giving every consumer the chance to contribute to the planet through the act of payment.
Why Listen #
This episode goes beyond the usual fintech hype. It’s about how technology, culture, and purpose collide in Africa—and what lessons global founders can learn from building in one of the world’s most complex but promising markets.
Our guest offers a fundamental perspective on embedded finance, mobile money, and the role of fintech in building a sustainable future.
Guest Appearing in this Episode
Rajesh Savji Parmar
Founder, Building The Infrastructure Layer Embedding Finance & Nature
Rajesh Savji Parmar is an early mover into digital payments in Africa, a thought leader, and trusted advisor to governments, central banks, banks, telcos, and startups in the global south. Passionate about biodiversity and building ventures to support sustainable outcomes for nature. 🦏🐘🐻❄️🦧🐅🐳 He sits as a committee member of a UK government initiative called the 'UK-Africa FinTech Investment Group'. The group was originally set up by DFID (The Department for International Development), now the FCDO. (Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office).
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