Online Reporter
Online Reporter
Diaspora investments in local property and other businesses is expected to increase following fintech solutions company, Kuva.com’s investment in modern technology to enhance cross-border payments and remittances in Sub-Sahara Africa.
This followed a period in which the market raised concerns about inconsistent customer experiences across Sub-Saharan Africa.
In recent months, the fintech company says it has been tightening delivery priorities, bringing in new management and aligning its product direction with what it calls real payment infrastructure needs.
At the centre of Kuva’s update is leadership focused on outcomes, with the company’s chief executive officer, Mr Andreiko Kerdemelidis, describing innovation as something that must remain reliable over time and useful beyond momentary demonstrations.
“Our innovation is not for headlines, it’s for sustainability,” he said. “We are building remittance solutions that stay reliable over time and we tailor service provision so customers across Sub-Saharan Africa get value that fits their real payment needs.”
Mr Kerdemelidis said Kuva’s shift was geared towards ensuring customers experience improvements as dependable service, not as intermittent performance.
As it continues with its stakeholder engagement, Kuva recently presented its position at the Real Estate and Tech Summit in Harare, hosted by Propertybook.co.zw, where it addressed a question Zimbabwe’s business community is increasingly linking to modern financial infrastructure, particularly how diaspora buyers move money and whether payment systems support or hinder that flow.
The company used the event to go beyond a standard presentation by staging a live demonstration that connected fintech performance to investment outcomes, particularly in transactions tied to timelines and certainty.
Kuva Business Development Lead based in the UK, Mr Emmanuel Mutete, presented the live demonstration of CBZ Fintech product, Zikicash, built and run by Kuva.
“Sustainability in fintech means building solutions that reduce friction consistently,” he said. “That’s why our approach is tailored, so cross-border payments can be faster, simpler and more dependable, not just once, but every time.”
Mr Mutete framed the demo as a practical explanation of how payments should clear and move through the chain, faster and with less confusion because diaspora-led investment decisions depend on predictable transfer behaviour.
Kuva also used the summit to highlight partnerships it says are aimed at strengthening Zimbabwe’s banking and financial services infrastructure.
One of the latest collaborations cited by the company is with CBZ Bank through the ZikiCash facility, which Kuva said has expanded to more than just peer-to-peer remittances to extend banking-as-a-service by allowing peer-to-merchant payments.
This payments gateway allows diaspora purchasers of property to make payments directly to bonafide property development companies banked with CBZ Bank.
The Kuva team shared that scaling fintech adoption requires alignment with established institutions.
“We align with partners that can help scale real adoption, so improvements in the payments chain reach customers the way they live and transact; positioning partnerships as part of execution rather than marketing,” said Mr Mutete.
Regionally, the company pointed to a partnership with South Africa’s PayInc, saying cross-border payments problems often stem from the entire chain, routing, system communication and settlement rather than a single technology layer.
Regional Project Consultant, Mr Nqobani Moyo, said the regional approach is intended to be a step ahead of the curve in terms of the transition of banking moving from the mainstream traditional banks to fintech led platforms.
“Partnerships like PayInc will help us scale performance across neighbouring borders because innovation that doesn’t work beyond your backyard is not scalable long-term,” he said.
Kuva’s next phase will focus on rolling out their technology to more local and regional Commercial Banks as they continue the push to become a key player in financial technology infrastructure providers for payments and remittances in Sub-Sahara Africa.
