The first ever of the usage of financial technology now perceived both as a disruption and as an opportunity that came a little too early in context to regulation. “We are also looking to you to help engage to understand some of the challenges that innovators have with respect to product development and also to come up with legislation and a policy space that allows us to grow the industry and ultimately put Uganda at the forefront of the investment landscape when it does come to Information Technology more broadly.” Said, Jacqueline Musiitwa – Executive Director – Financial Sector Deepening.

With an already wanting financial literacy levels in Uganda, industry players believed that in Financial Technology lay top demand for the majority of the unbanked population. “When you deliver well timed educational modules as you deliver a financial service, well some research shows that it has improved savings and also repayment rates.” Bank of Uganda was, however, admitting on the need for extra caution on the use of financial technology related products from mainstream to the retail end. “The learning curves sometimes can be very stiff, so we need to get that deep understanding of this emerging technologies and also appreciate the risks and opportunities that they present. So we should not as regulators are afraid to collaborate or to work with fin-tech.” Said, James Ssettimba – Deputy Director, Financial Inclusion – Bank of Uganda. And for now, the message from developers was that while regulation might aim at protecting the users, they should not strive for consumer focused innovation.