Elijah Chirwa

PhD project

Fintech, a portmanteau of the words ‘financial’ and ‘technology’, represents a paradigm for technological financial innovation.

Fintech innovations have provided alternative platforms to access financial services, which potentially assist to deepen financial inclusion, especially in the Global South.

The World Bank and United Nations tout financial inclusion in achieving different Sustainable Development Goals, as it creates opportunities that reduce poverty and increase economic growth.

Studies state that to understand the success of technological innovations, it is essential to examine the innovation process. Furthermore, for technological innovations to address people’s needs at the bottom of the pyramid, it requires an understanding of their role both as consumers and producers of innovations.

Thus, this study aims to achieve an understanding of the fintech innovation process using an ecosystem perspective in an LMIC context in Malawi. This will consider fintech innovation to be a subset of technological innovation

 The study will use the resource-based fintech evolutionary model to explore key drivers of the innovation process; coupled with the use of the social learning in technological innovation to examine the role and ability of various actors within the fintech ecosystem to co-create value and participate in the innovation process.

Supervisors

• Pamela Abbott
• Jonathan Foster

Research interests

• Fintech
• Technological innovation
• Value co-creation
• Innovation ecosystem
• Knowledge management