Buy and Build : a strategic approach for fintechs in Africa

Many fintechs still adopt an entirely in-house model, developing their technological infrastructure internally. While this approach offers a high degree of control, it also has notable limitations — including higher costs, longer development times, and scalability challenges.

Today, new hybrid strategies are emerging. They enable rapid innovation by leveraging existing technologies while offering flexibility to tailor solutions to specific market needs.

Understanding the Buy and Build Approach

To get off the ground, African fintechs often opt for in-house development. The main argument? Greater control over customization and costs. However, this method requires a significant investment in developing the banking back-end — including components like customer onboarding and product configuration.

Yet, these foundational elements, while essential, don't offer competitive differentiation in the market. As such, they can be outsourced or delegated, allowing teams to focus on more visible, value-driven areas — such as enhancing the customer experience.

In this context, adopting an agile, modular Core Banking Solution provides the flexibility to customize high-value-added features without reinventing the core infrastructure.

Saving Time for Innovation

Developing a solution from the ground up can take several years to be fully operational. This involves a lengthy development cycle — including building, testing, refining, and securing — along with ongoing hidden costs related to maintenance and updates.

The "Buy and Build" approach allows fintechs to focus on their core business while rapidly integrating proven, ready-to-use components for essential functions. This strategy accelerates time-to-market and reduces operational and technical risks, freeing up resources for innovation and differentiation.

A Demanding Regulatory Framework

The financial environment in Africa is evolving, with regulators introducing stricter frameworks around security and compliance. Authorities are placing greater demands on financial institutions and fintechs alike. In Kenya, for example, the SASRA (Sacco Societies Regulatory Authority) has recently tightened its requirements for service providers to better combat cyberattacks, prevent breaches, and ensure data protection.

Fintechs must now meet high-security standards and comply with all relevant regulations — or risk being barred by regulators from operating. In addition, they are subject to comprehensive, rigorous audits to ensure continuous adherence to these standards.

The "Buy and Build" approach delegates responsibility for security to experts. In this model, companies rely on a dedicated team to ensure compliance with security requirements formulated by regulators. In this way, they can concentrate on their products to meet consumer needs and sleep soundly at night.

Cybersecurity: A Growing Challenge

Cybersecurity is a critical issue in Africa. Companies — especially fast-growing fintechs — are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals using more consistent and sophisticated attack methods. These attacks aim to disrupt operations, damage systems, or steal sensitive data.

Here are some common threats:

• Payment fraud: Exploiting vulnerabilities to divert funds by altering payment details or simulating legitimate transactions.
• Phishing: Fraudulent emails mimicking official communications to capture personal data like card numbers and passwords.
• System intrusion: Fintechs developing in-house platforms may unknowingly create hard-to-detect vulnerabilities, increasing the risk of breaches.
• Ransomware: Malicious software that locks data and halts operations. Attackers demand a ransom to restore access. The financial sector is mainly targeted due to the sensitive data it holds.

One major challenge for fintechs managing their infrastructure entirely in-house is limited responsiveness. These companies must dedicate significant resources to secure their systems through:

• 24/7 high-level monitoring: A single exploited vulnerability at the wrong time can result in severe financial and reputational damage.
• Regular updates and security patches often need to be applied under pressure at critical business times — typically when attackers strike.
• Robust intrusion detection and rapid response strategies.

The "Buy and Build" approach helps mitigate these risks by delegating security to specialized experts. In this model, companies rely on dedicated teams to ensure compliance with stringent regulatory standards — freeing internal resources to focus on innovation and customer value while gaining peace of mind.

Keep What's Essential, Integrate What Already Exists

Adopting a buy-and-build approach doesn't mean starting from scratch. Fintechs that have already developed in-house modules don't need to discard them.

Instead, a company can migrate their core infrastructure while preserving key differentiators — such as the front-end and custom features tailored to their customer's needs.

Thanks to modular architecture, fintechs can enjoy the best of both worlds: a secure, flexible core banking solution that enables rapid product launches while maintaining complete control over innovation and the user experience.

Maintained Autonomy and Customizability

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) allow fintechs to easily integrate third-party services, test new products, and accelerate growth by quickly adapting to market demands.

How Skaleet puts this approach into practice

Skaleet offers a SaaS banking platform designed to meet the challenges of fintechs thanks to :

A modular, flexible structure

Skaleet's API-first architecture enables fintechs to connect autonomously to a wide range of solutions. The solution's modularity means institutions can easily add or replace technological bricks.

The highly configurable platform offers flexibility, agility, and a high degree of customization. Thanks to a low-code approach, fintechs can quickly adapt their offers.

An evolving ecosystem

Skaleet facilitates integration and provides access to its catalog of partners selected for their reliability, efficiency, and security. This Best-of-Breed approach enables fintechs to surround themselves with the best solutions without constraints.

Fast time to market

Implementation can be completed in 4 to 6 months, unlike in-house systems, which require several years of development.

Enhanced safety

Security is a key issue for Skaleet, which is ISO 27001 certified. This certification guarantees compliance with the highest security standards, providing fintechs with optimum compliance and protection.

Want to know more? Our teams are on hand to help you set up a practical Buy and Build approach and offer your ongoing support. Please contact us for more information.