View the PDF version of this interview
Download the Lighthouse Research Report Fall 2021 Program Summary and Insights

Who would have thought that what started as a casual conversation between SPENN and Mastercard in Norway a couple of years ago would lead to a solid partnership? A key enabler for this was the Lighthouse MASSIV program, which SPENN joined (and then won) in Spring 2021. The Lighthouse team caught up with Mitchell De Young, Chief Product Officer of SPENN, and Mats Taraldsson, Head of Innovation Fintech and Impact-tech Engagements at Mastercard Nordics & Baltics, to talk about SPENN’s solution, the partnership with Mastercard and how participation in Lighthouse accelerated their success.

First, a short introduction to SPENN
Founded in 2014, SPENN has a vision of empowering people, “our mission is to give everyone equal financial opportunity” Mitchell tells us. The SPENN solution is accessed through a mobile phone app and combines chat, real-time payments, and bank accounts to enable users to manage their money, payments, and investments at zero cost. “SPENN is a wallet provider, leveraging blockchain technology to make things work frictionlessly; our solution also solves KYC and AML requirements for bank accounts,” Mitchell explains. “We want to create an ecosystem and therefore have one foot in the “traditional” world as well as one in fintech. We believe this is the best approach as we aim to bank the unbanked, which requires contact and partnering with local banks to ensure we are doing things correctly.” The approach is successful – the SPENN team has already grown to 160 full-time employees, over a million customers, and has enabled more than three million transactions. All of this while expanding to new countries, of which several are in Africa.

The founding story of SPENN – Mastercard partnership in Lighthouse
Although it took a couple of years to enter an actual partnership, the realization that the two companies could be a perfect fit was there from the beginning. “We were attracted to Mastercard from the beginning when meeting in Oslo. We share the vision of banking one billion people and we were both open to reach that target through innovative set ups”, Mitchell says. Mats agrees and adds “it was love at first sight; the MASSIV program has further acted as a perfect platform for us to elaborate on how to work together”. The opportunities for a collaboration soon crystalized, and the key was Mastercard’s wide global presence. “I could see the potential to use our network to help SPENN reach new markets, and we then managed to bring together six country managers of Mastercard in Africa for a conversation on how we could work together with SPENN,” Mats says. The conversations bore fruit and the collaboration started in Zambia. “We needed a sponsor bank that had a licensing agreement with Mastercard to operate in the country; it only took 1.5 months to get this in place”, Mitchell tells us. He has confirmed that development of a virtual card powered by Mastercard is already underway.

The Lighthouse participation also opened new doors for SPENN
Since the Lighthouse MASSIV program functioned as a bridge between the initial conversations and an actual partnership, we were curious to learn what other benefits came from SPENN’s participation. Mitchell says that he has many clear examples of the benefit of having close contact with Mastercard. Firstly, coaching from the advisors of the Lighthouse program prompted a big shift in how SPENN thought about their own solution. One consideration they had before Lighthouse was how to balance the vision of helping the unbanked, while at the same time becoming a profit-making company. “The coaching we got from the advisors helped us to realize that we could do both. The product could stand on its own and be both a young hip urban banking app while simultaneously banking the unbanked. People don’t want to think about themselves as a group in need of support, they just want to be banked and our solution enables this”, he says. The participation in Lighthouse further gave SPENN the opportunity to pitch to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, with whom they launched a digital vaccine credential delivered in an app called SPENN: Health. “We talked about a health pass product utilizing the security within the SPENN product. Now it is possible for the users to declare their vaccine status when paying for a show ticket for example.”

The robust partnership with Mastercard is built on trust
As SPENN is now continuing to grow, they are not only looking at additional countries in Africa but also expanding their view to countries outside of Africa, such as in Asia. Mats expects that as the company grows, it will be natural for him and Mastercard to continue to be involved, “I want to see a continued expansion of SPENN in Africa, in addition to a re-launch into the Philippines and more countries in Asia. Here, we would like to expand and deepen the collaboration even further; maybe we can develop more solutions together” Mats suggests. Mitchell further adds “I agree, for me, we deserve each other. We have put a lot of effort into cultivating this partnership and will not give it up. Going forward, when we enter a new country, we will offer the SPENN wallet with the Mastercard solution on top. Our solution will enable people to continue to pay with their local currencies but make international transactions with cryptocurrencies between countries. This is a reality thanks to our partnership.”

Finally, do you have any advice for future Lighthouse participants?
SPENN:
• Choose one or two mentors and stick with them all the way through.
• Have achievable goals that can be accomplished within the timeframe of the program, otherwise you cannot show that you have successfully reached your targets. We focused on the user numbers and managed to onboard 80,000 new customers during the program.
• Do not be afraid to pivot.

Mats:
• Commitment to the program and delivering on that commitment.
• It is what you make of it – you will be successful if you are active in making use of the resources of the program.

18.11.2021 12:08:52 CET | SPENN Technology A/S |
Company Announcement

Petrus Johannes (Peet) van der Walt has been nominated to the Board of Directors of SPENN Technology A/S.

Company Announcement No. 73

Peet van der Walt is an experienced banking executive and community developer with an extensive career at top-level positions at various banks in South Africa and Zambia.

“Peet could bring valuable knowledge of the financial sector on the African continent and a deep understanding of the importance of financial inclusion for low-income communities. Electing Peet van der Walt as a Board Member of SPENN Technology would emphasize the company’s focus on and commitment to Africa,” says Karl-Anders Grønland, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SPENN Technology.

From 2018, van der Walt served as Executive Consultant and later CEO of Cavmont Bank Ltd in Zambia. On 31 January 2021, Cavmont Bank was sold to Access Bank Zambia Ltd. Access Bank is of course SPENN’s partner bank in Zambia.

“Peet re-invented Cavmont – from being a business-oriented bank, to becoming a consumer-oriented bank which also included low-income communities. He has great knowledge of savings clubs, and the priorities and needs of SPENN users. We are thrilled to have Peet join SPENN,” says Grønland.

It is the BoD of SPENN Technology that will propose that Peet van der Walt is elected as Board Member at an extraordinary Annual Meeting in December. If van der Walt is elected, he will replace Board Member Rune Glasø.

SPENN Technology A/S:
CVR nr.: 26518199
Njalsgade 76, 4.
2300 København S
Tel: +45 8830 0000
www.spenn.com

For more information, please contact:
Jens Glasø, CEO of SPENN Technology A/S, Phone +47 404 04 750, www.spenn.com 
Certified Advisor: Baker Tilly Corporate Finance P/S, Att: Gert Mortensen, Partner, Phone: +45 33 45 10 00, www.bakertilly.dk

About SPENN Technology A/S

In a world where 1.7 billion people are still unbanked, SPENN Technology has democratized access to financial markets by bridging the crypto sphere with traditional finance. By utilizing blockchain technology Blockbonds has created a robust real-time payment system in which everyone can manage their savings, payments, investments and loans in an honest, transparent and secure way through the SPENN App platform. Although SPENN Technology A/S is a purpose-driven company with our vision to empower people, we are also a commercial player that always strives to develop new services for our customers.

The SPENN app is an innovative and unique digital banking platform for the unbanked as well as the banked to be able to send and receive money completely cost-free, in markets where the cost of financial services is the highest in the world. SPENN is disrupting the existing mobile payment distribution channels. SPENN has recently launched new integrated services in the platform and expects to launch more crypto services going forward.

SPENN is a technology provider to banks and governments based on a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution and has grown to become a key partner for their bank partners to drive deposits and to stay in front of innovation. SPENN is helping governments regulate the unregulated utilizing new technology and visionary ideas which have ultimately solved the biggest issue within financial inclusion.

SPENN Technology A/S is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark. Ticker code: SPENN

18.11.2021 11:58:53 CET | SPENN Technology A/S |
Notice to convene extra. general meeting

Notice to convene EGM – in the following the notice to convene the EGM is pre-sented in Danish as flows “Indkaldelse til ekstraordinær generalforsamling”

Bestyrelsen for SPENN Technology A/S, CVR-nr. 26 51 81 99 (”Selskabet”), indkalder hermed i henhold til § 4 i Selskabets vedtægter til ordinær generalforsamling, der afholdes torsdag den 9. december, kl. 09.00.

Generalforsamling afholdes grundet Covid 19 som en fuldstændig elektronisk generalforsamling efter selskabslovens § 77, stk. 2, 1. pkt., i overensstemmelse med § 1 i bekendtgørelse nr. 2240 af 29 december 2020. Der vil således ikke være adgang til fysisk fremmøde. Instruktioner til deltagelse i den virtuelle generalforsamling vil være at finde på Selskabets hjemmeside i form af en praktisk guide.

Dagsorden

1. Valg af dirigent
2. Valg af nyt bestyrelsesmedlem
3. Forslag om tilføjelse af engelsk som koncernsprog
4. Forslag om indførsel af (permanent) mulighed for afholdelse af fuldstændig elektronisk generalforsamling
5. Forslag om bortfald af vederlagspolitik
6. Forslag om opdatering af Selskabets vedtægter og formål
7. Eventuelt

Ad 1 – Valg af dirigent

Bestyrelsen foreslår valg af Peter Kierkegaard som dirigent.

Ad 2 – Valg af nyt bestyrelsesmedlem

Bestyrelsen indstiller kandidaten Petrus Johannes van der Walt til valg til Selskabets bestyrelse med henblik på at tilføre bestyrelsen yderligere viden og kompetencer i forhold til det afrikanske marked. Petrus Johannes van der Walt har omfattende erfaring med bankvirksomhed i Afrika, herunder som administrerende direktør i flere afrikanske banker.

Petrus Johannes van der Walt bestrider p.t. ikke ledelseshverv i andre erhvervsdrivende virksomheder.

Rune Glasø har accepteret at fratræde Selskabets bestyrelse fra den dato, som Petrus Johannes van der Walt måtte tiltræde Selskabets bestyrelse.

Ad 3 – Forslag om tilføjelse af engelsk som koncernsprog

Bestyrelsen foreslår valg af engelsk som koncernsprog og indførelse af muligheden for at aflægge årsrapporter og anden rapportering på engelsk. Bestyrelsen foreslår på denne baggrund følgende passus indsat i vedtægternes § 5 in fine:

”Koncernen har ud over dansk også engelsk som koncernsprog. Generalforsamlinger og møder i bestyrelsen kan afholdes på dansk eller engelsk.

Selskabets årsrapport og anden rapportering kan udarbejdes og aflægges på engelsk.”

Ad 4 – Forslag om indførsel af (permanent) mulighed for afholdelse af fuldstændig elektronisk generalforsamling

Bestyrelsen foreslår, at bestyrelsen bemyndiges til at beslutte, hvorvidt generalforsamlinger skal afholdes fuldstændig eller delvis elektronisk, og at beslutningen optages i Selskabets vedtægters § 5 ved indsættelse af følgende passus:

”Bestyrelsen er bemyndiget til at beslutte, at generalforsamlinger afholdes fuldstændig eller delvis elektronisk i overensstemmelse med selskabslovens §77. Aktionærerne vil i denne forbindelse kunne deltage i generalforsamlingen i et virtuelt forum, som aktionæren via egen opkobling tilslutter sig. Bestyrelsen fastsætter de nærmere krav til de elektroniske systemer, som anvendes ved elektronisk generalforsamling.”

Ad 5 – Forslag om bortfald af vederlagspolitik

Bestyrelsen foreslår, at Selskabets vederlagspolitik skal bortfalde, og at bestyrelsens vederlag fremadrettet konkret godkendes af generalforsamlingen efter indstilling, mens bestyrelsen fastsætter direktionens vederlag. Forslaget er stillet for at sikre fleksibilitet og mulighed for at fremme Selskabets forretningsmæssige udvikling, og idet bestyrelsen allerede i vedtægternes §9B er bemyndiget af generalforsamlingen til at implementere et incitamentsprogram for Selskabets og datterselskabers ledelse og ansatte. Forslagets eventuelle vedtagelse indebærer, at § 15 i Selskabets vedtægter vil udgå.

Ad 6 – Forslag om opdatering af Selskabets vedtægter og formål

Bestyrelsen foreslår ydermere, at Selskabets formålsbestemmelse i vedtægternes §2 opdateres til:

”Selskabets formål er selvstændigt eller gennem datterselskaber og samarbejdspartnere at forestå udvikling, fremstilling, vedligehold, licensering af salg af IT-systemer, konsulentvirksomhed, køb og salg af aktier samt deltagelse i selskaber med beslægtet virksomhed. Det ligger inden for formålet at investere i selskaber som markedsfører, distribuerer og skaffer kunder, som gør at den udviklede software og IT-systemer bliver yderligere efterspurgt og selskaber som yder associerede tjenester eller anden beslægtet virksomhed efter ledelsens skøn”

Bestyrelsen foreslår samtidigt, at Selskabets vedtægter opdateres således, at bemyndigelsen i vedtægternes §9C udgår, idet denne er udnyttet og dermed ikke længere af relevans.

Vedtagelseskrav

Forslag under dagsordenens pkt. 1, 2 og 5 kan vedtages med simpelt flertal, mens vedtagelse af forslagene under pkt. 3, 4 og 6 kræver vedtagelse af mindste 2/3 af såvel de afgivne stemmer som af den del af selskabskapitalen, som er repræsenteret på generalforsamlingen.

Selskabskapitalens størrelse og ret til at stemme

Om Selskabets kapitalforhold kan oplyses, at selskabskapitalen udgør nominelt DKK 239.088.084,9. Hvert nominelt beløb på DKK 0,1 giver ret til én stemme på generalforsamlingen.

Registreringsdatoen er den 2. december 2021.

Aktionærer, der besidder aktier i Selskabet på registreringsdatoen, har ret til at deltage i og stemme på generalforsamlingen.

De aktier, aktionæren besidder, opgøres på registreringsdatoen på baggrund af notering af aktionærens aktier i ejerbogen samt meddelelser om ejerforhold, som Selskabet har modtaget med henblik på indførsel i ejerbogen.

Deltagelse er endvidere betinget af, at aktionæren rettidigt har tilmeldt sig og løst et adgangskort som beskrevet nedenfor.

Adgangskort og fuldmagt

Enhver aktionær, eller fuldmægtig for en aktionær, skal have et virtuelt adgangskort for at kunne deltage i generalforsamlingen, der udstedes som et link sendt pr. e-mail. Generalforsamlingen vil blive afholdt virtuelt via systemet ”Google-meet”. Der stilles ikke særlige tekniske krav ved anvendelse af følgende webbrowsere: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, og nyeste version af Edge.

Adgangskort udstedes til den, der ifølge ejerbogen er noteret som aktionær på registreringsdatoen, eller som Selskabet pr. registreringsdatoen har modtaget behørig meddelelse fra med henblik på indførsel i ejerbogen.

Tilmeldings- og fuldmagtsblanket kan downloades direkte fra Selskabets hjemmeside, https://investor.spenn.com senest den 24. november 2021.

Anmodning om virtuelt adgangskort til generalforsamlingen kan indtil og med 3. december 2021 kl. 23.59 rekvireres via e-mail til [email protected]. Efter dette tidspunkt kan der ikke bestilles adgangskort. Aktionærer, der ikke har anmodet om at få udleveret adgangskort, vil ikke have adgang til generalforsamlingen. Anmodningen skal indeholde en behørigt udfyldt tilmeldingsblanket.

Eventuelle rådgivere skal ligeledes med navns nævnelse og inden for ovennævnte frist løse adgangskort til generalforsamlingen.

Aktionærer kan – i stedet for at afgive deres stemme på selve generalforsamlingen – vælge at afgive brevstemme. Aktionærer, der vælger at stemme pr. brev, skal sende deres brevstemme via e-mail til [email protected] eller til att: Bård Bjerkås, Spenn Technology A/S, c/o NPinvestor A/S, Symbion, Njalsgade 76, 4, således at brevstemmen er Selskabet i hænde senest 8. december kl. 12.00. Afgivne brevstemmer kan ikke tilbagekaldes.

Enhver aktionær kan møde på generalforsamlingen ved fuldmægtig, der i så fald skal fremlægge skriftlig og dateret fuldmagt. Fuldmagtsblanket kan findes på Selskabets hjemmeside: https://investor.spenn.com.

Ved afgivelse af fuldmagt til bestyrelsen skal den udfyldte og underskrevne fuldmagtsblanket være Selskabet i hænde senest 8. december kl. 12.00. Fuldmagten kan sendes til Selskabet pr. e-mail til [email protected] eller til att: Bård Bjerkås, Spenn Technology A/S, c/o NPinvestor A/S, Symbion, Njalsgade 76, 4.

Yderligere oplysninger vedrørende generalforsamlingen

Følgende materiale vil være tilgængeligt på Selskabets hjemmeside, https://investor.spenn.com senest den 24. november 2021:

• indkaldelse til ekstraordinær generalforsamling
• blanket til stemmeafgivelse pr. brev og afgivelse af fuldmagt
• tilmeldingsblanket
• udkast til vedtægter
• praktisk guide til deltagelse i elektronisk generalforsamling

På vegne af Selskabets bestyrelse

Karl-Anders Grønland

Bestyrelsesformand

About SPENN Technology A/S

In a world where 1.7 billion people are still unbanked, SPENN Technology has democratized access to financial markets by bridging the crypto sphere with traditional finance. By utilizing blockchain technology Blockbonds has created a robust real-time payment system in which everyone can manage their savings, payments, investments and loans in an honest, transparent and secure way through the SPENN App platform. Although SPENN Technology A/S is a purpose-driven company with our vision to empower people, we are also a commercial player that always strives to develop new services for our customers.

The SPENN app is an innovative and unique digital banking platform for the unbanked as well as the banked to be able to send and receive money completely cost-free, in markets where the cost of financial services is the highest in the world. SPENN is disrupting the existing mobile payment distribution channels. SPENN has recently launched new integrated services in the platform and expects to launch more crypto services going forward.

SPENN is a technology provider to banks and governments based on a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution and has grown to become a key partner for their bank partners to drive deposits and to stay in front of innovation. SPENN is helping governments regulate the unregulated utilizing new technology and visionary ideas which have ultimately solved the biggest issue within financial inclusion.

SPENN Technology A/S is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark. Ticker code: SPENN

18.11.2021 08:08:41 CET | SPENN Technology A/S |
Company Announcement

This announcement includes inside information of the signing of the agreement between SPENN Technology and Zanamaca.

Company Announcement 71

SPENN Technology A/S subsidiary SPENN Zambia Ltd has signed an agreement with The Zambia National Marketers Credit Association (Zanamaca) for the inclusion of Zanamaca’s six million members on the SPENN platform.

SPENN Technology A/S has previously disclosed to the market the signing of an MoU between the parties (Company Announcement No. 60).

The signed agreement states that “Zanamaca shall ensure that more than six million people including Zanamaca’s members are registered on the SPENN Platform, while SPENN shall assist Zanamaca in registering these members on the TPIN Zambia Revenue Authority Platform for the purpose of payment of Base Tax and Social Security contribution under Zambia Revenue Authority and National Pension Scheme Authority respectively.”

The agreement represents a milestone deal for SPENN, which currently has north of 450,000 users in Zambia.

 “A Zanamaca deal allows SPENN to accelerate roll-out in Zambia and multiply the number of users within a short period of time,” says Jens Glaso, CEO of SPENN Technology A/S.

SPENN Technology A/S:
CVR nr.: 26518199
Njalsgade 76, 4.
2300 København S
Tel: +45 8830 0000
www.spenn.com

For more information, please contact:
Jens Glaso, CEO of SPENN Technology A/S, Phone +47 404 04 750, www.spenn.com 
Certified Advisor: Baker Tilly Corporate Finance P/S, Att: Gert Mortensen, Partner, Phone: +45 33 45 10 00, www.bakertilly.dk

About SPENN Technology A/S

In a world where 1.7 billion people are still unbanked, SPENN Technology has democratized access to financial markets by bridging the crypto sphere with traditional finance. By utilizing blockchain technology Blockbonds has created a robust real-time payment system in which everyone can manage their savings, payments, investments and loans in an honest, transparent and secure way through the SPENN App platform. Although SPENN Technology A/S is a purpose-driven company with our vision to empower people, we are also a commercial player that always strives to develop new services for our customers.

The SPENN app is an innovative and unique digital banking platform for the unbanked as well as the banked to be able to send and receive money completely cost-free, in markets where the cost of financial services is the highest in the world. SPENN is disrupting the existing mobile payment distribution channels. SPENN has recently launched new integrated services in the platform and expects to launch more crypto services going forward.

SPENN is a technology provider to banks and governments based on a Software as a Service (SaaS) solution and has grown to become a key partner for their bank partners to drive deposits and to stay in front of innovation. SPENN is helping governments regulate the unregulated utilizing new technology and visionary ideas which have ultimately solved the biggest issue within financial inclusion.

SPENN Technology A/S is listed on the Nasdaq First North Growth Market Denmark. Ticker code: SPENN