The South African entrepreneur is proposing a simple solution tailored to local realities. His approach is transforming payment practices across Africa in a context where hurdles are slowing financial inclusion.

South African technology entrepreneur and blockchain engineer Julian Kanjere is co-founder of Mandla Money, a company reshaping how people transact across Africa by focusing on simplicity and accessibility.

Founded in 2019, Mandla Money operates on an alternative model, bypassing complex applications and bank cards. Instead, users can send and receive digital money via WhatsApp or SMS, making transactions possible even for those who only own basic feature phones.

Mandla Money has expanded beyond simple digital wallet functionality to address concrete needs on the continent. Its web application allows governments and humanitarian organizations to quickly distribute financial aid simultaneously to thousands of recipients.

The technology also facilitates cross-border money transfers. This enables a worker in South Africa to send funds to family in Zimbabwe or Mozambique, circumventing traditional, often costly and slow, transfer services.

In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, Kanjere is a blockchain engineer at South Africa's Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He also serves as an adjunct lecturer at the University of Cape Town, where he teaches on financial technologies and cryptocurrencies.

Kanjere began his professional career in 2013 as a software developer at the investment management firm Allan Gray Proprietary. From 2015 to 2020, he held roles as a software engineer and later as a technical sales and projects manager at the technology company Hexagon Asset Lifecycle Intelligence.

Melchior Koba