Business
Pearl Bank’s Wendi wins financial inclusion impact award at FITSPA Industry Awards 2026
“This recognition speaks to the progress we are making in removing barriers and delivering solutions that are fast, accessible, and reliable to our customers. It is also a reflection of our continued effort to drive financial inclusion by leveraging technology to reach more people to enable meaningful participation in the economy,” Mpoora said.
Commenting on the win, Brenda Mpoora, the Head of Fintech Business at Pearl Bank, appreciated FITSPA for the recognition. (Credit: John Ricks Kayizzi)
By: John Ricks Kayizzi, Journalist @New Vision
The Wendi mobile banking wallet has been named the winner of the Financial Inclusion Impact Award at the FITSPA Industry Awards 2026.
This was in recognition of its contribution to expanding access to affordable and inclusive financial services across Uganda.
The awards were organised by the Financial Technology Service Providers Association (FITSPA), as part of the recognition of World FinTech Day 2026, held under the theme, “The Next Decade of Fintech: Infrastructure, Interoperability, and Trust for Inclusive Growth.”
The 2026 FITSPA awards are aimed at honouring organisations that are strengthening Uganda’s digital financial ecosystem through innovation, accessibility, and trust.
The winners were announced recently during the World Fintech Day Uganda event held at the Sheraton Kampala Hotel.
Commenting on the win, Brenda Mpoora, the Head of Fintech Business at Pearl Bank, appreciated FITSPA for the recognition.
“The award highlights the impact Wendi is making in expanding access to financial services and bringing more Ugandans into the formal financial ecosystem,” she said.
She added that Wendi was created to simplify access to financial services for Ugandans.
“This recognition speaks to the progress we are making in removing barriers and delivering solutions that are fast, accessible, and reliable to our customers. It is also a reflection of our continued effort to drive financial inclusion by leveraging technology to reach more people to enable meaningful participation in the economy,” Mpoora said.
She added, “Wendi has an ongoing fuel campaign where customers can purchase fuel with zero transaction fees, and all those efforts are aimed at enabling digital financial inclusion where customers can transact anywhere and at any time.
Commenting on the win, Brenda Mpoora, the Head of Fintech Business at Pearl Bank, appreciated FITSPA for the recognition.
“The award highlights the impact Wendi is making in expanding access to financial services and bringing more Ugandans into the formal financial ecosystem,” she said.
She added that Wendi was created to simplify access to financial services for Ugandans.
“This recognition speaks to the progress we are making in removing barriers and delivering solutions that are fast, accessible, and reliable to our customers. It is also a reflection of our continued effort to drive financial inclusion by leveraging technology to reach more people to enable meaningful participation in the economy,” Mpoora said.
She added, “Wendi has an ongoing fuel campaign where customers can purchase fuel with zero transaction fees, and all those efforts are aimed at enabling digital financial inclusion where customers can transact anywhere and at any time.
The FITSPA Industry Awards serve as a critical platform to highlight the innovators making a real difference in Uganda’s fintech ecosystem. By expanding financial inclusion and strengthening digital trust, winners like Wendi are laying the groundwork for a more inclusive and resilient economy.
In addition to the 2026 FITSPA Financial Inclusion Impact Award, Wendi has been a recipient of other notable Awards like the Fintech Partnership Award 2025 at the Annual Bankers Awards, the Best Digital Wallet award at the 2025 Africa Fintech and AI Awards, Banking Innovation Excellence award at the 2024 HiPipo Digital Impact Awards Africa, Winner of Gold accolade for Best Customer Experience at the 2023 Silverbacks Awards among others.
Wendi is a mobile wallet developed by Pearl Bank and continues to be an enabler of digital financial services. Some of its services include money transfers: customers can send and receive money, pay bills, make merchant payments at select fuel stations, access Western Union services directly from the wallet, making international money transfers much easier, and a savings proposition where customers can grow their money and earn 12.5% interest per annum.
Launched in November 2023, Wendi is designed to offer secure, convenient and affordable financial services closer to underserved and last-mile customers.
Customers can use Wendi to save, send and receive money, make payments, and manage group savings. Wendi serves more than one million customers and works with over 13,000 agents countrywide.
This mobile wallet is licensed under the National Payments System Act and can be accessed on both Google Play and the App Store, or on USSD by dialling *229#.
In addition to the 2026 FITSPA Financial Inclusion Impact Award, Wendi has been a recipient of other notable Awards like the Fintech Partnership Award 2025 at the Annual Bankers Awards, the Best Digital Wallet award at the 2025 Africa Fintech and AI Awards, Banking Innovation Excellence award at the 2024 HiPipo Digital Impact Awards Africa, Winner of Gold accolade for Best Customer Experience at the 2023 Silverbacks Awards among others.
Wendi is a mobile wallet developed by Pearl Bank and continues to be an enabler of digital financial services. Some of its services include money transfers: customers can send and receive money, pay bills, make merchant payments at select fuel stations, access Western Union services directly from the wallet, making international money transfers much easier, and a savings proposition where customers can grow their money and earn 12.5% interest per annum.
Launched in November 2023, Wendi is designed to offer secure, convenient and affordable financial services closer to underserved and last-mile customers.
Customers can use Wendi to save, send and receive money, make payments, and manage group savings. Wendi serves more than one million customers and works with over 13,000 agents countrywide.
This mobile wallet is licensed under the National Payments System Act and can be accessed on both Google Play and the App Store, or on USSD by dialling *229#.