To better digitize banks across Africa and facilitate the emergence of a fully automated and connected financial ecosystem, Appzone, a Pan-African fintech software provider group, announced the separation of its Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform from the existing business into a new business entity (named Qore).
Previously a grouping of four separate business units, the organization is accelerating the growth of entirely digital products for the financial institutions on the continent. Its platform can be used by some of the top Commercial Banks, Fintechs, and Neobanks to supply cutting-edge speciality products.
During a recent press conference in Lagos, Qore co-founder and CEO Emeka Emetarom declared that the company would keep helping African financial institutions excel and lead the globe in innovation.
“As a revolutionary banking innovator, Qore is enabling significant progress for a new era of fully digital Banks in Africa. Over the last decade, we have played a remarkable and active role in driving the digitization of Nigeria and Africa’s financial services ecosystem.
We are excited about what the future holds for us and for digital banking in Africa, especially since we will now operate as a BaaS-focused business entity going forward.
Qore’s unique advantages are market fit and cost-effectiveness, which allow financial institutions to deliver highly relevant products at a fraction of the cost. We are also leveraging the platform’s numerous integrations with mainstream payment systems to achieve instant interoperability with other industry players at no extra cost,” Emeka added.
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The Opinion of Another Executive of Appzone
Co-founder and COO of Qore, Mudiaga Umukoro, says Qore has created the only truly African cloud-native core banking and integrated channel solution tailored specifically for the African market when discussing how the company is delivering value for the diverse scale of financial institutions in Africa.
“We understand the realities of the African financial ecosystem, alongside the limitations that are preventing financial products in Africa from reaching their full potential and solving once and for all, the age-old Financial Inclusion challenge. This is why Qore is refocusing its efforts towards powering effortless and limitless banking across the continent. Says Mudiaga
“Having completely digitized and automated the operations and products of almost 500 Financial Institutions on the continent, we are ready to take on the rest of Africa” Mudiaga added.
In the last five years, digital banking has been actively embraced by Africa’s financial sector, with more people and businesses choosing self-service options on digital devices over physical structures, paper trails, and physical cash. Challenger and traditional banks in Africa are now restricted from utilizing foreign technology solutions created for Western markets, many of which are hampered by expensive costs, a lack of market fit, and a dearth of local technical assistance.
Appzone’s Operations Across Various Countries
With offices in Nigeria and Kenya and clients in Ghana, the Gambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Tanzania, and Senegal, Qore is assisting traditional banks with their digital transformation efforts. Many of these banks are still using outdated systems that limit their ability to compete effectively.
“Since investing in Appzone, it has been remarkable to witness the business growth and transformation that has now led to the emergence of Qore. We are even more excited to have a front seat at the table as Qore sets the course for redefining the future of digital banking across Africa. We are confident in the team’s ability to deliver on its audacious vision of setting the pathway for delivering effortless, limitless banking for all across Africa” said Yomi Jemibewon, Partner and Managing Director of CardinalStone Capital Advisers Limited.
Along with supporting merchant services, Qore also enables an omni-channel self-service platform, USSD interfaces, Payment ecosystem connectors, and fast card issuance. Additionally, the platform offers clients modules that facilitate Agent Banking, end-to-end loan automation, and direct debit collections from various accounts. These features are accessible to traditional banks like Commercial Banks, MFIs, Mortgage Banks, and Consumer Lenders, as well as Fintechs like digital lenders and neobanks.
Qore has identified itself as the only African Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) Platform and the de facto provider of banking technology in the OFI segment, attributed to its remarkable impact on the Nigerian and African financial services ecosystem over the past ten years.
Among the company’s other notable accomplishments are the creation of the first cloud-based Digital Core Banking and Omni-channel software for Africa, the introduction of Africa’s first self-service platform for instant debit card issuance, and the creation of the first and only Correspondent Banking automation platform with integration from all Nigerian commercial banks.