Qatar-based financial technology startup, C Wallet Services, has successfully secured more than $500,000 in grants and funding in its first year. Having created Qatar’s first and only mobile application running on blockchain technology, it has been licensed by the Qatar Financial Center (QFC) as C Wallet International, and is now available at both the App Store and Google PlayStore with the ‘Payment’ function.
The brainchild of Michael Javier and his six Qatari partners, the innovative C Wallet app was brought to life under the guidance of the Digital Incubation Center (DIC), an initiative by the Ministry of Transport and Communications’to boost ICT innovation in Qatar, specifically with young people in technology-related businesses.
C Wallet targets the low-income, high-volume market such as migrant and domestic workers, as well as micro-entrepreneurs, and small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), giving them access to financial services such as payroll and payments. According to its website, their vision is to become a premier fintech influencer creating loyal fans in Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Asian region by providing services beyond digital wallets, remittance and payment solution in building a cashless society for all sectors including the bottom of the pyramid but not limited to unstable societies, unjust governments and even refugee camps in order to create jobs and micro entrepreneurs within the business ecosystem.
C Wallet’s founder, Michael Javier, while speaking at the Qatar Science and Technology Product Development fund signing ceremony, said, “Our goal is to financially empower those who are unbanked by providing a cheaper, more inclusive and cashless solution.” Mr Javier confirms that C Wallet 2.0 will be launched by Q3 2020 to enable users to directly buy and pay online using their C Wallet account. ‘Payroll’ and ‘Remittance’ services will be added thereafter.
Thanks to the new technology, individuals and businesses will be able to perform local and international financial transactions online, including paying and receiving wages and sending remittances to their home countries. Available in 9 different languages, C Wallet also succeeds in overcoming the communication challenges often faced by customers in the targeted markets.
Beyond 2020, the innovative startup is looking even further ahead, as it plans for growth and expansion well beyond Qatar’s borders. The establishment of C Wallet International aims to pursue opportunities in micro-financing and lending, white labelling its C Wallet blockchain technology, and seeking out affiliate partnerships, ensuring that this homegrown technology takes financial freedom and digital empowerment to underserved markets around the world.
Companies that have been developed in Qatar such as C Wallet as examples of innovations happening as part of the nation’s wider economic development transformation. Qatar’s National Vision aims that – by 2030 – Qatar becomes an advanced society capable of sustaining its development and providing a high standard of living for its people. Qatar’s National Vision defines the long-term goals for the country and provides a framework in which national strategies and implementation plans can be developed, according to its website.
