Rajesh Savji Parmar on Embedded Finance, Mobile Money, and Africa’s - Fintech Garden Episode 125

In this episode of the Fintech Garden podcast, Igor Tomych speaks with Rajesh Savji Parmar, founder of Indelible, about Africa’s unique path to financial inclusion and why embedded finance is the next frontier for the continent. Rajesh’s journey from building remittance startups to launching Pay2Nature reflects not only Africa’s fintech evolution but also the growing role of sustainability in shaping financial services.

From Remittances to Embedded Finance

Rajesh has spent more than 17 years in African fintech. His career began with a remittance startup in collaboration with senior telecom executives from Ghana and Nigeria, just as M-Pesa was transforming Kenya into the birthplace of mobile money. With African roots and European experience in Barcelona and London, he witnessed firsthand how telcos leapfrogged traditional banks by embedding payments into everyday life.

• M-Pesa Impact: launched in 2007, now serves 40M+ Kenyans and handles 100M transactions daily.
• Telcos as Fintechs: networks like MTN MOMO became financial powerhouses, leaving banks to follow.
• Market Scale: Africa hosts 1.1B mobile money accounts—half of the global total—making it a $1T+ economy.

Indelible and the Pay2Nature Pivot

Indelible began as a crowdfunding platform connecting conservation projects with global donors. But as Rajesh explains, acquisition costs were high and donor attention was limited. The pivot came when he saw the opportunity to embed micro-donations directly into payments— creating Pay2Nature, a B2B SaaS platform that works with banks and telcos.

• Consumers can add 10 cents, $1, or $5 to their everyday transactions.
• Banks integrate Pay2Nature into checkouts and report real-time impact to regulators.
• Conservation projects gain sustainable financing without relying on one-off donations.

Challenges and Opportunities

Africa offers immense growth potential but requires patience, compliance, and cultural understanding. Rajesh highlights:

• Regulatory Depth: Central banks in Africa treat fintech licensing seriously, demanding capital and compliance frameworks.
• On-the-ground Presence: success takes years of trust-building and local partnerships.
• Infrastructure Gaps: fragmented markets, limited internet, and reliance on mobile agents add complexity.
• Scaling Path: interoperability is key; solutions must connect across multiple banks and telcos.

Why This Episode Matters

Rajesh believes fintech must go beyond remittances and payments to address bigger global issues — nature, biodiversity, and climate. He highlights The Sixth Extinction, a book by Elizabeth Kolbert, as a wake-up call to entrepreneurs: success is not just about ARR and exits, but about building systems that sustain life and opportunity for billions.

Whether you’re a founder eyeing African markets, an investor curious about emerging fintech rails, or a professional exploring embedded finance, this episode gives a rare, insider view of building fintech in Africa’s trillion-dollar mobile money economy.