Chamasoft, a web app which enables investment groups to automate financial records has launched a new version for financial institutions such as Banks, MFIs and SACCOs.
Developed by Kenyan technology firm Digital Vision EA and dubbed Chamasoft Enterprise, the service will enable financial institutions to better manage the records of investment groups banking with them.
According to Digital Vision EA founder and Chief Executive Martin Njuguna,”The number of banks developing products targeted at investment groups is increasing rapidly due to the growing popularity of Chamas among Kenyans. Chamasoft Enterprise enables banks and other financial institutions working with Chamas to efficiently manage their clients and deliver quality services that fit the needs of each Chama.”
The installable and customizable version of Chamasoft enables easy integration with existing banking systems and mobile money systems.
Chamasoft http://chamasoft.com/ won this year’s prestigious Vision 2030 ICT Innovation Award in the Financial Services category. The Vision 2030 Innovation Awards celebrate Kenyan entrepreneurs that have launched new ICT products and services.
The software was one of 10 winners in different categories in the competition which attracted 229 applications. The winners were announced at the Connected Kenya Summit held on April 14th to16th.
The savings and investment group financial management software was recognized for its innovation which enables groups, popularly referred to in Swahili as ‘Chamas’, to monitor collection and investment of funds and track group income and expenditure.
Njuguna thanked the ICT Authority for organizing the awards adding that the firm would stay put on its mission to innovate and enable Chamas operate efficiently.
He added that the new product, Chamasoft Enterprise, has numerous features which make it ideal for corporate clients. These include:
Network Management: Chamasoft Enterprise enables financial institutions including Banks and MFIs to track new Chama registrations and monitor and analyze how its Chama clients are performing right from the branch level.
Portfolio Management: Chamasoft Enterprise is also able to track loans and savings portfolio of various groups and individual as well as track repayments and trigger alerts on missed repayments.
Membership Management: Chamasoft Enterprise keeps a record of all members registered by Bank or MFI officers to the system and each group has its own profile and directory accessible to officers for reference and follow-up purposes.
Chamasoft was developed a year ago to enable investment groups overcome challenges they face such as lack of transparency, poor communication and the lack of a simple system where members can check their balances and receive automated reminders on group activities.
Through the cloud based software, Chama members are able to view group accounts on a dashboard such as their group statements, how much they contributed throughout their Chama lifetime, penalties contributed and all other financials pertaining to the members and group.
The service is available for a starting price of Ksh499 (US$5) per month for a group of five people. To view full pricing details log into the Chamasoft website pricing page http://chamasoft.com/pages/view/pricing .
To use the service one has to log into the Chamasoft website http://chamasoft.com/ and register their group. They will then receive a notification via email and SMS. One would then be able to invite their group members to register and personalize their Chamasoft account to indicate how often they meet, upload their current financial records, state rules for penalties and loan application files.
CAPTION: Martin Njuguna, CEO of Digital Vision EA (Left) receives the Vision 2030 ICT Innovation Award in the Financial Services category from Nik Nesbitt, Country General Manager, IBM East Africa at the 2014 Connected Kenya Summit.