Afrigather 
Regardless of a weak native economic system, a forex in free-fall, and tight market circumstances globally, Bamboo, a Nigerian-born retail buying and selling app retains optimism about its new Ghana operations. Nevertheless it’s not the identical story for everybody—non-payment fintechs with particular person and SMEs shoppers have been hit onerous.
A number of months after Bamboo, a web-based brokerage app, launched in Nigeria in 2020, CEO Richmond Bassey mentioned it was flooded with emails from Ghanaians requesting entry to the app. The ready listing from Ghana grew to 50,000. Two years later, this September, Bamboo opened entry to Ghanaians after securing permission from Ghana’s Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC).
Worsening native and world financial circumstances imply non-payment fintechs could face extra headwinds. However Bamboo’s CEO says he’s unfazed by the downturn.
Headwinds construct up
Earlier than this spherical of crises put stress on Ghana’s economic system, an unpopular 1.5% levy on digital funds had put stress on revenues for cost firms.
Ghana’s public market has ranked within the prime ten finest inventory exchanges in Africa up to now three years. Within the year-ended 2021, Ghana’s inventory market was the second-best performing public market in Africa (buyers recorded a 38.59% return in US greenback phrases, or +43.66% in native phrases). This robust efficiency has undoubtedly inspired native funding in Ghana’s publicly traded firms and funds. Nonetheless, the native bourse has declined by 11.78% between November 2021 and November 2022.
Coupled with raging inflation and a spiralling cedi, it’s a honest assumption that buyers could also be reassessing their investments or a minimum of investing in additional enticing markets just like the US.
Bamboo seems to be banking on this. “Regardless that the market isn’t doing properly, I’d prefer to suppose that we’re rising as a result of we’re educating those who despite the fact that it’s not doing properly, there are alternatives to take a position,” group engagement officer, Deola Adebiyi, informed African Enterprise in September.
Defying the destiny of Robinhood?
Impressed by US retail buying and selling app, Robinhood, Bamboo gives customers academic instruments together with free premium content material from common funding training web sites, Motley Idiot and mywallst.com. However its essential providing is a partnership with US-based DriveWealth LLC that permits Bamboo to purchase fractional shares in US-listed firms and funds. Media reports put the variety of Bamboo customers at 500,000.
In accordance with Crunchbase, Bamboo has raised a complete of $32.6M in funding over 5 rounds, together with a $15 million Sequence A fundraise which was introduced in January this 12 months.
However Bamboo’s inspiration, Robinhood, isn’t doing very properly. After peaking at 21.3 million within the second quarter of final 12 months, the app’s month-to-month lively customers declined to 13.3 million in August this 12 months. Robinhood’s customers are additionally buying and selling lower than they did a 12 months in the past and the corporate failed to succeed in income estimates within the final earnings name held simply three weeks in the past.
With the downturn in publicly listed firms within the US, Bamboo customers have gotten extra cautious. “Folks wish to make investments for the long run,” CEO Bassey informed TechCabal. Customers now spend extra time within the app however are shopping for much less of extra, he says. Alternate-traded funds (ETFs) like Vanguard are a rising favorite.
In contrast to RobinHood’s public filings which present a decline in engaged customers, Bamboo’s CEO says Bamboo customers spend about eight hours month-to-month on the app, up from simply over 5 hours from the second half of final 12 months.
An internal report launched by the corporate signifies that customers are certainly shopping for extra (by way of quantity) than they’re promoting. The report doesn’t point out the worth of those transactions.
The financial circumstances are “impacting how a lot individuals wish to make investments, not their willingness to take a position,” Bassey says. “What we’re seeing is that volumes have grown. Within the first half of 2022 we’ve seen that commerce values have lowered, not the volumes,” he added. For extra risk-averse buyers, Bassey says his firm is contemplating providing an 8% fixed-yield product to Ghanaian customers. The product is presently solely obtainable in Nigeria.
Within the meantime, Bamboo seems to be doing properly normally, however it’s not clear if it may well replicate its Nigerian efficiency in Ghana. Bassey believes that development in new account openings reinforce his perception that there’s nonetheless robust demand particularly since most customers seem like buying firm shares for the long run.
It’s nonetheless conceivable that Ghana’s worsening economic system can pressure customers to be extra conservative because it definitely has for Bamboo’s older peer within the US.
An economic system out of order
Ghana is struggling a twin debt and forex disaster. The economic system can also be struggling by document excessive 37% inflation. In October, merchants closed their outlets for 3 days to protest rising inflation. Joseph Obeng, the chief of the Ghana Union of Merchants Affiliation, the nation’s largest lobbying group for retailers, told local media that the mixed results of excessive inflation, alternate and rates of interest have “deeply eroded” enterprise house owners’ capital by over 50% this 12 months.
From raids on international alternate bureaus to Nigerian-style bans on meals imports, Ghana’s authorities is desperately attempting to rein within the economic system.
The nation’s debt servicing is anticipated to take up 47% of income in 2022. Negotiations for a $3 billion IMF rescue program are ongoing as the federal government scrambles to shore up falling revenues and prop up the worth of the Ghanaian cedi. A part of the federal government’s plan contains encouraging “merchants to tone down profiteering which is contributing to inflationary pressures” even because the rising value of products bites into income.
“The sudden main fall of the cedi resulted in panic withdrawal as extra prospects resorted to transform their investments into {dollars},” Richard Duodu, CEO of Monetary Cell Suite, a monetary providers firm with merchandise that span wealth administration, lending, tax administration and funds informed TechCabal. Finally, the withdrawals slowed down after the enterprise shoppers Duodu’s firm serviced carried out “hair cuts”.
“Steadily, prospects are getting used to this new actuality and may solely hope the IMF deal which seems to be like our solely final resort works out the magic we’re all praying for.”
However an IMF mortgage will come at a steep worth—a default on $14 billion price of international bonds (principally debt) the federal government bought to buyers in Europe, Africa and world wide. And deep cuts to the federal government’s funds. Overseas buyers aren’t taking this information kindly. This IMF programme can be Ghana’s seventeenth since independence in 1957.
IMF’s signature austerity measures may take time to yield advantages—if any. Within the brief time period, nevertheless, Ghanaian residents and residents will really feel the pinch.
One fintech founder informed TechCabal by way of textual content, that one among his firm’s shoppers, a frozen meals enterprise, noticed as much as 70% discount in gross sales as a result of hyperinflation. “Additional investigation confirmed that the fast-food companies who principally patronised this SME couldn’t afford the worth of cooking oil—the primary ingredient to fry the rooster. It is because oil costs had gone up by 200% within the span of every week. [Cooking oil] is presently promoting at 500% YTD,” this founder mentioned.
