“In the middle of the den of coding lies a pool table that allows software engineers to blow off steam when coding nights get hectic! This is Probase”
– Founder Financial Insight during a visit to Probase HQ
As part of our “fintech rising series”, we had the opportunity of visiting one of Zambia’s biggest fintech companies. Now, you may have heard about them, you may have seen their brand but few know exactly what this particular fintech’s role has been in the development of a sector that has fast become the backbone of financial transactions in Zambia.
Established on 25th March 2021, Probase Zambia has been building the software that has formed the backbone for electric financial transactions processing for entities ranging from tax authorities to pension houses to banks.
At present, the company specializes in developing solutions for electronic funds transfer, mobile money integration, web development & hosting, e-commerce integration and bespoke software development. All this technology has been and continues to be developed using a bespoke methodology regardless of the client type they serve. Research and Development is akin to Probase.
The company’s pride is its human capital. The company is armed with a staff compliment of over 80 software developers. The founders of the company have created a Silicon Valley type of working environment that they believe is the heart beat of innovation for the company. Probase is its people.
When technology companies place a premium on their human capital, it signals to the market that they are in the game technology for the long haul. What may have started out as providing solutions to individual institutions has seen the company grow its footprint in terms of integrated product offerings that is not only at a national level, but regional as well. The African region is Probase’s arena.
When governments encourage private sector to take the lead on innovation, Probase is a leader in the pack of disrupters. When Financial Insight spoke to founder Roy Muyelu recently at the technology company’s head office in Lusaka Zambia, he shared glimpses of a game changing product that would yet again disrupt the market. Disruption, is at the core of Probase’s DNA.
Having achieved scale, the tech company can dare to dream and through its strategic vision it desires “to be the leading Fintech and Technology Company in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2026. Its leadership now sits at the helm of the rising group of “tech minded” professions at the Payments Association of Zambia (PAYZ) which is currently partnering with ICTZA for the first ever technology summit on the 22-23 of September 2022 that will bring together local and international policy makers as well as private sector. The company understands that building a digital future requires that its stewards take the stand and provide Thought leadership to a sector that is ranked third in Zambia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contribution.