SUPREME Ventures Limited (SVL) is diving deeper into its fintech arm, exploring remittance and other financial services, utilising its expansion into the Ghanaian market to test the waters before launching them locally.

After just one year in the Ghanaian market, SVL has made significant investments, including securing a tenure licence and exploring opportunities not available in Jamaica.

“What we’re basically doing is experimenting with stuff in Ghana that ultimately will find its way back to Jamaica. So the moment we get the necessary approval, we’re just rolling out because we’re doing it in Ghana from that perspective,” said executive chairman of SVL Gary Peart in a recent investor briefing.

Peart explained that the initial barrier to entry in Ghana was the one-year provisional licence, which SVL has successfully overcome. With a 10-year licence now in place, the company can move faster with its investments, having secured a stable presence in the market. This SVL notes, should help it to make deeper investments in marketing and the terrestrial side of the business, with expectations of major turnarounds by the end of the year. Peart pointed out that when building businesses in large economies like Ghana’s (with 34 million people), the transition to profitability can be rapid, and results will come quickly once momentum is gained.

“So, for prospective shareholders out there, I keep saying, if you wait till when it turns the corner, it might be too late to get the stock then,” he emphasised.

SVL expects that its investments in Ghana are going to start to bear positive fruit, or more importantly, deliver positive cash, as it awaits the final approval from the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) to allow it to expand fully on the remittance side. Currently, SVL only sells through six locations, which has seen encouraging results for the business, according to Peart.

“We have applications from more than 150 people waiting to come on-board. Now, we also have applications from other remittance centres that want to come onto the platform,” he revealed.

Peart added that the company’s ability to generate significant cash is expected to increase exponentially once the green light is given. This development comes at a time when the company is preparing to tackle bond maturities next year. With the anticipated cash influx, SVL will be in a position to either fully retire its bonds or make significant payments, freeing up resources for future investments.

Broadening its financial services even further, SVL is developing its mobile wallet, complementing its recent entry into the remittance and bill payment businesses. According to Peart, the company is currently awaiting regulatory approval for the mobile wallet.

“Regulators have a process. And we have to follow that process,” he acknowledged. “What I can say to you, when I alluded to the fact that Ghana has created value — the things that we want to do here in Jamaica, we experimented with in Ghana. Because we, the approvals, are there already. Right? And so ‘we’re chomping at the bit because we know what will work and what won’t work. We know what the market is. And we have to make our application go into the sandbox to get your wallet,” he added.

SVL is now awaiting the second phase of regulatory approval to complete its comprehensive financial services ecosystem. Through its fintech division, SVL has assembled all the necessary components, ready to be integrated.

“[We have] all the pieces of the puzzle just sitting there, waiting for somebody to say, all right, let’s push them together,” explained Peart. “I have microfinance; I have remittance; you know, I have a wallet. I have an online business on the gaming side. I have to go through a particular bank. So ultimately, what stitches the whole thing together is also having our mobile wallet.”

According to Peart, SVL is arguably one of the largest digital businesses in Jamaica, if not the Caribbean, now. He explained that while there are entities with more accounts than SVL, few can match the volume of business SVL generates on a day-to-day and month-to-month basis. Once the necessary approvals are secured, he stated, SVL will be fully equipped to rapidly scale up its operations, possessing the required expertise, technology, and a solid foundation to drive significant growth.

“We are just chomping at the bit. There’s a cash burn until you get those approvals. But trust me, the day you see that first ad, we’re off the races, pun intended,” he said.