Product of the Day
E-bikes power new jobs
Green Riders has partnered with Bank Zero to create fresh opportunities in last-mile delivery.
Green Riders, a two-time Earthshot Prize nominee, has created employment opportunities for young people by giving them access to e-bikes for work in the last-mile delivery industry.
Green Riders has partnered with Bank Zero to address economic exclusion at its core. By providing young e-bike riders with access to formal banking services, the collaboration promotes financial independence – enabling delivery jobs to serve as stepping stones to entrepreneurship and long-term wealth creation for South Africa’s marginalised youth.
By using sponsored e-bikes to start earning an income, previously marginalised young people can operate as micro-entrepreneurs. Over time, they can gain ownership of these assets, creating opportunities to build and sustain their own businesses.
“The company is committed to contributing to the local economy and environment while creating thousands of jobs,” says Bank Zero CEO Yatin Narsai. “However, high banking costs and complexity present significant challenges, diverting valuable resources.
“We believed that a flexible banking solution could support both the Green Riders community and the local economy.”
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Bank Zero says it leverages its banking system to develop cost-effective customised commercial banking solutions that offers bespoke functionality for Green Riders and their drivers, who all bank with Bank Zero.
By building these systems in-house, Bank Zero can keep pricing for basic banking services at zero. The solution has enabled the Green Riders finance team to do general ledger (GL) processing.
Richard Clarke, executive chairperson of Green Riders, says: “We explored various options for a customisable commercial banking solution but struggled to find the right fit. After reviewing Bank Zero, we found their approach aligned with our needs. Over the past six months, their solution has provided the functionality and support required to streamline our operations.”
“My CFO finds the detailed spreadsheets really beneficial, especially since it can streamline our GL processing. No other bank does this.
Yatin says: “It is hugely rewarding to see our zero-fee digital banking services contribute to growing the South African economy by supporting small and micro-enterprises.
“We’re delighted to support a business that creates opportunities for young South Africans to start earning a proper income while giving them access to banking services that can help them save, and grow their business, leading to a more prosperous future.”
This same flexible and effective system used for Green Riders allows Bank Zero to customise solutions for other business customers, helping them keep the zeros in their banking fee column year after year.
Yatin says: “Fees charged by traditional banks are too high. Our customers don’t pay for basic banking and are only charged for extras and cash, but even these fees are low.”
Beyond the cost-saving benefits, Bank Zero’s system provides other benefits to retail and business customers.
“While we remain pragmatic about the services we can cost-effectively offer, our focus on pioneering disruptive change to transform the banking game for consumers and businesses remains firmly in place.”
