Nigeria - Startup under 3 years old

Describe your project or startup in a few words

We offer a tool for employers to offer their employees access to their earned wages without putting strain on their cashflows

01.01 Describe your startup in more detail

At Incash, we empower hardworking individuals by providing convenient access to earned wages before payday while protecting them from predatory loan companies. With our innovative platform, workers can take control of their financial well-being, bridging the gap between financial obligations and pressing needs. The impact of our work is evident in the lives of low income earners (mostly breadwinners) who often migrate from one state to another to work on construction sites like the recently launched Dangote Refinery. With our service, they are able to send money home to their families to sort bills such as school fees, rent and hospital bills without having to wait till the end of the month.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

Employees need cash between paychecks, which puts a strain on the relationship with their employers leading them to fall for expensive payday lenders on the other hand employers feel uncomfortable in discussing the financial challenges in the life of their employees

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your startup provides (at least 3).

Incash is changing the way employees in Africa get paid. We make it possible for them to access a portion of their earned wages at anytime of the month. Our goal is to become the choice Neo-bank for employees by giving them access to savings, investments, credit, insurance and more on one platform We help employers that offer our services to employees as benefits become attractive to top talents and a place where everyone would want to work in. We offer two lines of credit to employees 1) Incash gives Earned Wage Access(a portion of their accrued income) to employees of Sme's and large enterprises so employees can have a cover in case of any emergencies at a nominal cost 2) Incash gives long term credit to employees of smes and large enterprises so they can build assets and manage some long term expenses

01.04 Please describe who exactly your startup’s product/service is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

Incash primarily focuses on serving low-income employees who face financial challenges due to various factors, including irregular income, unexpected expenses, and limited access to traditional financial services. By focusing on these customer segments, we aim to directly impact the lives of those who often find themselves vulnerable to financial stress and in need of a reliable and accessible financial solution. In future, we hope to expand our offerings to include; savings, investments, insurance, credit etc and cater to all categories of employees in Africa.

01.05 When was your company established?

2022-01-07

01.06 Are you already selling your product/service?

Yes

01.07 How many other owners are there within your startup?

2

01.08 Among the other owners, how many are female?

0

01.09 Please describe the profile of the other owners within your startup (skills, experience, etc.)

Ujiwal is an entrepreneur at heart. He started his entrepreneurship journey when he was in college with a small brand which was in security solutions. During his first venture he discovered the logistics problems in India and hence founded a tech logistics company which was recognized at E-Summit of IT Roorkee. He is a finance graduate from University of Delhi with a flair for product management and focus of operations. Sudhanshu is an experienced professional with over three decades of involvement in the Nigerian market. With a CFA charter degree and prior work at Deutsche Bank's equity research team covering tech companies, he brings valuable financial expertise. Sudhanshu's key strength lies in his deep understanding of operating in the Nigerian market, gained from working in the construction, distribution, and engineering sectors

01.10 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link(s) here:

https://incash.africa/

01.11 Which industry best describes your project?

g) Financial services

02.01.01 My startup contributes to the No poverty goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification for my startup

1.4 Equal Right to Economic and Financial Services 1.5 Reduce exposure to economic and social shocks We have our Theory of change and Impact Tracking metrics ready and we understand the impact we are creating with Incash https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fc3RfcIp2jxi5LJy_G_Cc0Hc0pHTSK2r?usp=sharing

02.02.01 My startup contributes to the Zero hunger goal

2

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification for my startup

02.03.01 My startup contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

2

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification for my startup

02.04.01 My startup contributes to the Quality education goal

2

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification for my startup

02.05.01 My startup contributes to the Gender equality goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification for my startup

5(a) Give women equal right to economic and financial services 5(b) Enhance the use of enabling technology, to promote the empowerment of women We have our Theory of change and Impact Tracking metrics ready and we understand the impact we are creating with Incash https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fc3RfcIp2jxi5LJy_G_Cc0Hc0pHTSK2r?usp=sharing

02.06.01 My startup contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification for my startup

02.07.01 My startup contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification for my startup

02.08.01 My startup contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

7 - Strongly Agree

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification for my startup

8.3 Promote decent job creation anddevelopement for SMEs through access to financial services 8.5 Achieve achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for young people and persons with disabilities We have our Theory of change and Impact Tracking metrics ready and we understand the impact we are creating with Incash https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fc3RfcIp2jxi5LJy_G_Cc0Hc0pHTSK2r?usp=sharing

02.09.01 My startup contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

7 - Strongly Agree

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification for my startup

9.3 increase the access of small-scale industrial and other enterprises, particularly in developing countries, to financial services including affordable credit We have our Theory of change and Impact Tracking metrics ready and we understand the impact we are creating with Incash https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fc3RfcIp2jxi5LJy_G_Cc0Hc0pHTSK2r?usp=sharing

02.10.01 My startup contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification for my startup

10.1 progressively achieve and sustain income growth of the bottom 40 per cent of the population 10.2 promote economic and financial inclusion for all We have our Theory of change and Impact Tracking metrics ready and we understand the impact we are creating with Incash https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1fc3RfcIp2jxi5LJy_G_Cc0Hc0pHTSK2r?usp=sharing

02.11.01 My startup contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

2

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification for my startup

02.12.01 My startup contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

2

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification for my startup

02.13.01 My startup contributes to the Climate action goal

2

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification for my startup

02.14.01 My startup contributes to the Life below water goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification for my startup

02.15.01 My startup contributes to the Life on land goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification for my startup

02.16.01 My startup contributes to the Peace Justice and Strong Institutions goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.16.02 Peace Justice and Strong Institutions- Justification for my startup

02.17.01 My startup contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification for my startup

06.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

3

06.02 The product/service represents an entirely new type of product/service.

6

06.03 The product/service could be described as a new technology.

2

06.04 The product/service is an improvement on an existing product or service.

6

06.05 The product/service could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

3

06.06 The product/service responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

3

06.07 The product/service is a new version of an old product/service.

6

06.08 Justification for my startup

06.09 Competitive Analysis

We would divide our competitors into two parts A) Credit Providers: Banks, Loan Sharks etc B) Other EWA Providers We have a very strong competitive edge over credit providers as we are faster, cheaper and more reliable and our users always prefer Incash over any other credit provider. Our Nigerian direct competitor is Earnipay (https://earnipay.com/) We understand that this product is required by people who are at the bottom of the pyramid and are living on paychecks to paychecks. Most of these people work in legacy industries like Manufacturing/Retail/Construction/Hospitality and our approach has been to target such industries. We are developing tools for employees of the enterprises because we believe that it reduces our lending risk and However our competitors are focusing on SME sector hence they are offering payroll to SME's to increase stickiness, we on the other hand see payroll providers as our partners and don't want to offer payroll instead we want to be employee first bank

11.05 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

We were a part of Seedstars- Financial Inclusion for women affected by Migration program, Here is the link of our interview in which we have explained the impact of Incash in the lives of women Link: https://youtu.be/MGxc_OKl5zA?feature=shared