- Ukheshe has launched Ukheshe Labs.
- This division will focus on research and development in the digital payments market.
- The lab is already working to try keep legacy tech relevant through cloud solutions.
When the likes of M-Pesa shuttered in 2016 it seemed that nobody in South Africa was interested in mobile money and digital payment solutions. Fast forward to 2023 and fintech solutions that give customers more freedom are more popular than we, or indeed Vodacom could’ve foreseen.
One fintech firm leading the charge is Ukheshe. The firm has launched digital wallets, know your customer (KYC) solutions for businesses and various payment solutions since its launch. Now, rather than resting on its laurels, Ukheshe has announced the launch of a new innovation effort.
Ukheshe Labs is that effort and will allow the firm to focus on research and development in the digital payments market.
“As a company grows, there is often a very structured process for business as usual. When that happens, it’s easy to become stuck in mundane processes, leaving product development by the wayside. The idea behind Ukheshe Labs is to prevent this by bringing together highly skilled individuals, people who can think outside the box, to focus on innovation as the company grows,” co-founder and newly appointed head of Ukheshe Labs, Jason Penton (pictured) said in a press release.
The innovation lab will support the entirety of the Ukheshe brand and business units will be able to use the lab to solve challenges. To that end, the lab is exploring ways to give legacy tech more longevity by moving operations to the cloud. This could make the cost of operations lower as well as improve security efficiencies.
“Another challenge Labs would tackle is complying with certain regulations when technologies eventually reach their end-of-life cycle,” explains Penton.
“At Ukheshe, we value security and compliance. One of our business strategies is to be cloud native and not operate on physical hardware, but this isn’t always possible given certain compliance requirements. To tackle a challenge like this, Ukheshe Labs would define the problem, brainstorm the issue, and evaluate the feasibility of each option by looking at the required technologies, costs, risks, and more. After creating a shortlist of potential solutions, each would be tested and monitored before implementing the best solution,” the co-founder adds.
We’d be curious to see if Ukheshe Labs expands its service offering to other businesses but for now we’re looking forward to see what other innovations come out of the company.
