When Jean-Hubert Ishimwe Nkurayija started working, one thing that perplexed him was how he spent his money. Much as he was earning a salary, he never really understood how that money was spent and barely managed to trace all of his expenditures. That, he said, would hinder his saving plans and how to budget efficiently. In February this year, a few months after he got married, he craved to learn more about money management, bearing in mind that the skill would influence the development of his family. After acquainting himself with certain skills, he created a budget by use of Ms Excel. He wanted to trace all his expenditure, yet even with this move, he would still forget to record some expenses. Nkurayija hence desired a more effective approach that could not only help him budget but also control and categorise his family’s expenditures. As a mobile application and software developer, Nkurayija was aware that several budgeting apps were already in place which compelled him to ponder on the value he could add, propelling an innovation. “I realised that my wife and I could use one wallet for the things we shared – like buying goods at the supermarket. I was like, instead of sending her money via mobile money, why not top up the wallet and specify what the money is for,” he said. “I had also realised that I was sending money to some people but they weren’t spending it on what it was aimed for. I thought of creating an application that would contain a feature that makes it impossible for users to withdraw money from the wallet to be spent on other things.” A digital wallet, also known as an e-wallet, is an online service or software program that allows one party to make electronic transactions with another party bartering digital currency units for goods and services. Nkurayija developed an application named Kashiresi app; an end-to-end cashless dedicated payment platform which categorises expenditures per person and with categories such as groceries, transport, etc. “With Kashiresi mobile app,” added Nkurayija. “We are easing the process of having more than one person in your wallet and knowing the spending of every member. The wallet owner has a right to indicate the payment categories members are eligible to pay for. “Additionally, the app categorises all expenditures. For example, out of Rwf 500,000 spent in October, the app will let you know that 45 per cent of the money goes into shopping, 10 per cent into fuel, 15 per cent in groceries, etc.” The app also has a ‘group shared wallet’ feature that enables users to have one wallet and allows them to budget for monthly expenditures. Nkurayija, who developed the application through his fintech startup, Favouriapps Ltd, says he released its debut version in July 2022 and received positive feedback from the beta users (a limited public audience who test your product before you officially launch it) who also encouraged him to maintain the pace. Currently, the app carries features of “no withdraw shared wallet”, money control, expenditures classification as well as end-to-end cashless transactions which align with Rwanda’s vision of having a cashless economy. The second version of Kashiresi App is being finalised and will contain a feature of dividing an e-wallet into segments, allowing some people in a group to spend money on something specific and others on the other. (An adult to spend money on alcohol but not a child). Tackling the next step, Nkurayija said that after securing a license from the Central Bank, he will roll out Kashiresi app on the market and start working with categorised merchants based in Kigali. The app is currently mobile-based, but Nkurayija is planning to have its USSD version for people without smartphones.
