Fidèle Nsadi on his entry into Kinshasa’s fintech space

In this interview for TechCabal, Noel K. Tshiani, founder of the Congo Business Network, interviews Fidèle Nsadi about his foray into the fintech space in Kinshasa.

Can you tell our readers a bit about your professional background?

I would say that my entry into the professional world started quite early, at the same time as my passion for computers. While I was in school (in humanities), one of the jobs I had was in information technology (office automation) where I had to write texts on a computer for clients in internet cafes.

After my high school diploma, I started studying computer engineering at the University of Kinshasa. During my studies I worked as an IT consultant for some non-profit organizations for a few years. In 2020, while still a student, I decided to become an entrepreneur by founding Faithful LLC with my brother and friends from university. Faithful LLC is a technology company with the mission to solve the problems of African populations through its projects with strong social impact.

In the same year, I was incubated in the second cohort of the Orange Corners program, an international support program for young entrepreneurs funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands. I then joined the “Masolo” project, born under the initiative of two professors from the University of Kinshasa with the aim of creating a Congolese instant messaging application.

At the end of 2021, with Faithful LLC, we created a fintech application called Express App, which aims to solve the problem of financial inclusion in the Democratic Republic of Congo. I have been the CEO of this startup since 2020.

What is the solution you are working on now and what inspired you to launch it?

We are currently working on Express App, a mobile fintech solution that solves the problem of quick and easy access to financial services in the DRC. In fact, the banking penetration rate is less than 15% in the DRC and the internet penetration rate is less than 25%. For most of the population, the traditional banking system is still quite cumbersome and the proposed fintech mobile solutions are dependent on the Internet.

Express App is a mobile fintech solution that aims to accelerate financial inclusion by providing a range of financial services in the DRC and the rest of Africa in an easy and fast way. The peculiarity of the Express App is that it works without an Internet connection, to give a large number of people access to financial services such as mobile money, mobile banking and the purchase of credit through a mobile application, even if they do not have access to the Internet, if the penetration rate is still very low in the DRC and in many other African countries.

Thanks to the technology based on the automation of USSD technology, Express App allows users to benefit from financial services in an easy and fast way and provides them with a highly intuitive user experience.

How would you rate the startup ecosystem in Kinshasa today, and is it growing?

The startup ecosystem in Kinshasa is in its infancy, but is maturing, with startups becoming aware of the challenges and issues.

Several innovative startups are emerging and offering interesting solutions. In addition, we can also feel the government’s willingness to support this movement, especially with the recent adoption of a new law on startups, the Startup Act.

There is also a great dynamic from incubators and especially venture capital funds, which are starting to take a growing interest in the Congolese ecosystem.

What are the main resources startups need today to develop in the country? Are they incubators, accelerators, investment funds or government support?

It requires everyone’s contribution. Excellent support is essential to help startups thrive and create great Congolese success stories.

For the Congolese context, I would put support from incubators first because entrepreneurs are asked to make important decisions while learning, and to do so they need guidance. At a certain point, startups will of course need funding to grow.

The government can support entrepreneurship by creating the right conditions for the ecosystem to grow so that the country can become a startup nation in the heart of Africa.

Based on your entrepreneurial experience, what advice would you give to someone who wants to become an entrepreneur on what to look for or what mistakes to avoid?

I would say that it is necessary to take up entrepreneurship for the right reasons because it is a path that requires a lot of sacrifice and patience. I would also say get to know yourself well: your strengths and weaknesses. It is also necessary to surround yourself well and be passionate about what you want to achieve and why you want to achieve it.