Tingo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the financial technology and agri-fintech businesses.
In China, the company is principally focused on developing insurance broker business and products across approximately 130 insurance branches in China through its subsidiaries and VIE entities, with planned expansion into additional markets. The company has developed highly scalable proprietary platforms for insurance products business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-business-to-consu...
Tingo Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the financial technology and agri-fintech businesses.
In China, the company is principally focused on developing insurance broker business and products across approximately 130 insurance branches in China through its subsidiaries and VIE entities, with planned expansion into additional markets. The company has developed highly scalable proprietary platforms for insurance products business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) and business -to-consumer (B2C) and financial services/products, the technology for which is highly adaptable for other applications and markets.
Segments
The company operates in 3 segments and following the acquisition of Tingo Foods it will be operating in 4 segments Verticals and Technology, consists of its operations in China where it has 3 variable interest entities (VIE) through which it operates, mainly, its business of insurance brokerage; Online Stock Trading, comprising mainly the operation of Magpie Securities Limited (Magpie) through which it operates the business of online stock trading, mainly out of Hong Kong and Singapore; Comprehensive Platform Service which includes the operations of Tingo Mobile and includes the operations of Tingo Mobile for the month of December; and Tingo Foods PLC (Tingo Foods), (purchased by the company in February 2023) which commenced food processing operations in September 2022.
Tingo Group Holdings (TGH)
TGH (and together with its subsidiaries, the TGH Group) is a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company. TGH is the leading Agri-Fintech company operating in Africa, with a comprehensive portfolio of innovative products, including a ‘device as a service’ smartphone and pre-loaded platform product. As part of its globalization strategy, TGH and its wholly owned subsidiary, Tingo Mobile Limited (Tingo Mobile), have recently begun to expand internationally and entered into trade partnerships that are contracted to increase the number of subscribed farmers from 9.3 million in 2022 to more than 32 million, providing them with access to services, including, among others, the Nwassa ’seed-to-sale’ marketplace platform, insurance, micro-finance, and mobile phone and data top-up. Tingo Group’s other Tingo business verticals include: TingoPay, a SuperApp in partnership with Visa that offers a wide range of B2C and B2B services, including payment services, an e-wallet, foreign exchange and merchant services; Tingo Foods, a food processing business that processes raw foods into finished products, such as rice, pasta and noodles; and Tingo DMCC, a commodity trading platform and agricultural commodities export business based out of the Dubai Multi Commodities Center.
Using Tingo Mobile’s ecosystem, farmers can ship produce from farms throughout Nigeria, in both retail and wholesale quantities. Tingo Mobile’s system provides real-time pricing, straight from the farms, which eliminates middlemen. The customers of Nwassa users pay for produce bought using available pricing on the platform.
Although TGH has a large retail subscriber base, its business model is essentially a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) model. Each of TGH’s subscribers is a member of one of a small number of cooperatives with whom a subsidiary of TGH has a contractual relationship, which facilitates the distribution of Tingo-branded smartphones into the various rural communities of user farmers/agri-workers. Through TGH’s smartphones and proprietary applications imbedded in the phones, TGH is able to provide a wider array of agri-fintech services and generate diverse revenue streams as described in more detail herein.
Services offered to TGH’s retail subscribers include smart phone leasing, an agri-marketplace, airtime top ups, utility payment services, bill-pay and e-wallet, insurance products and access to finance and lending services. The TGH Group offers its services to the agricultural market through the Nwassa platform and has recently launched a general B2C and B2B fintech platform and super-app, in partnership with Visa, branded as TingoPay.
On December 14, 2022, Tingo Mobile launched in Malawi as a strategic base from which to expand into East Africa and target neighboring countries, such as Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique.
In addition to its agri-fintech business, on December 12, 2022, TGH launched its global commodities trading platform and export business (Tingo DMCC) from the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre (the DMCC) to facilitate offtake and export of agricultural commodities from both its existing customer base and new customers. Through the strong relationships between Tingo Mobile and the cooperatives and other parties it deals with in Nigeria and Ghana, TGH has secured access to significant quantities of agricultural produce for export, including wheat, millet, cassava, ginger, cashew nuts, cocoa and cotton.
The TGH Group has trading operations in Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi in connection with Tingo Mobile, TingoPay and Tingo Foods, and Dubai in connection with the commodity trading platform and export business. In addition, TGH Group has administrative offices in the United States and the United Kingdom, which handle certain of the management and finance activities of the company.
TGH Strategy
ESG Initiatives: TGH’s strategy and market execution naturally includes environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles and provides an opportunity to address the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including food security, in Africa and globally. TGH seeks to accomplish this through its full range of agri-fintech products, including its Nwassa platform, its global commodity platform and export business and its Tingo Food food processing business.
Strategic Initiatives: TGH opportunistically reviews potential partnerships and mergers and acquisitions. TGH intends to identify key strategic partners and potential acquisitions that it believes can accelerate the TGH Group’s expansion towards becoming the leading agri-fintech operator in Africa, Southeast Asia and other emerging markets. As TGH continues to grow, it intends to develop further strategic relationships and projects related to enhancing and expanding its capabilities and the development of the services that the TGH Group offers.
Agri-Fintech and Value-Added Services. TGH generates income from agri-fintech and value-added services, including, but not limited to: Mobile device leasing ‘Device-as-a-Service’ (12-month contracts); airtime and data top-ups; nwassa (Agri-marketplace platform and value added transaction services); utilities and other bill pay services through its electronic wallet solution; and cross-sell fees from referrals for insurance and lending services offered by strategic partners.
Export Services: In connection with the launch of Tingo DMCC, TGH intends to provide various services related to its export business, either directly or outsourced to third parties, including Procurement; invoicing, billing, and collections; warehousing and storage; logistics services, including loading, unloading, transport, and delivery; and customs clearance and certified inspection.
Food Processing Services: In connection with the acquisition of Tingo Foods, TGH intends to become the preferred buyer of surplus agricultural produce in Africa and elsewhere, and a leading processor of finished food and beverage products.
Key Strategies: TGH intends to achieve growth and build competitive advantages through the following key strategies:
Increasing the number of TGH users in Nigeria, including through new partnerships with additional agricultural cooperatives;
Extending TGH’s services to other African countries, in addition to Nigeria, Ghana, and Malawi, where the TGH Group operates — these may include Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, Uganda and Kenya. TGH is conducting a detailed review with its corporate advisors to determine how best it can optimize and develop market entry strategies based on its proven success in Nigeria and, most recently, Ghana and Malawi;
In the medium term, expanding TGH’s services to countries outside of Africa, including China, other countries in Southeast Asia and certain countries in South America;
Expanding the Tingo DMCC commodity platform and export business across the globe;
Increasing the food and beverage processing capacity of Tingo Foods, including into other countries within Africa and into other parts of the world; and
Further diversifying the TGH B2C and B2B customer base outside of the agricultural sector, with products, such as TingoPay, Tingo Visa products, new app based products and a range of payment and foreign exchange services.
Insurance Business Platform
The company, through acquisitions from July 1, 2020 through July 2021 , holds several insurance businesses, that operate via its VIEs entities and subsidiaries, including one insurance brokerage company, Beijing Fucheng, and two insurance agency companies, All Weather and Guangxi Zhongtong, the company conducts insurance brokerage and agency businesses in China and operates an online platform for sales of a wide range of insurance products, including but not limited to, automobile insurance, property and liability insurance, life insurance and health insurance, which products are underwritten by over forty insurance companies in China.
Products and Services
The company started to set up its insurance business team in China in November 2020. The company entered into VIE Agreements with one insurance brokerage company, Beijing Fucheng, and two insurance agency companies, All Weather and Tianjin Dibao , to conduct its insurance brokerage and agency businesses. As of December 31, 2022, the company had 130 insurance business branches in China. In addition, the company has established collaboration relationships with leading insurance companies in China, such as The People’s Insurance Company of China Limited, Ping An Insurance, Pacific Insurance, Sunshine Insurance and Dadi Insurance. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Insurance Companies generated income from sales of insurance products through insurance agents, which is the traditional sales model, also known as ‘B (business) to A (agent)’ model.
The company sells insurance products, mainly consisting of automobile insurance, property and liability insurance products, life insurance products and health insurance products, as insurance brokers agencies for insurance companies in China.
Automobile Insurance Products
The company’s primary insurance products are automobile insurance. The standard automobile insurance policies the company sells typically have a term of one year and cover damage caused to the insured vehicle from collision and other traffic accidents, falling or flying objects, fire, explosion and natural disasters. The company also sell standard third-party liability insurance policies, which cover bodily injury and property damage caused in an accident involving an insured vehicle to a person not in the insured vehicle.
Property and Liability Insurance Products
The company also offers commercial property insurance and liability insurance products. The commercial property insurance policies the company sells typically cover damages to the insured property caused by fire, explosion, thunder and lightning. Comprehensive commercial property insurance policies generally cover damage, to the insured property caused by fire, explosion and certain natural disasters.
The liability insurance products the company sells are primarily product liability and employer’s liability insurance products. These products generally cover losses to third parties due to the misconduct or negligence of the insured party but exclude losses due to fraud or the willful misconduct of the insured party.
Life Insurance Products
The life insurance products the company offers can be broadly classified into three categories, as set forth below. Due to constant product innovation by insurance companies, some of the insurance products the company offers combine features of one or more of the following categories:
Individual Whole Life Insurance: The individual whole life insurance products the company sells provide insurance for the insured’s entire life in exchange for the periodic payment of fixed premiums over a pre-determined period. The face amount of the policy or, for some policies, the face amount plus accumulated interests, is paid upon the death of the insured.
Individual Term Life Insurance: The individual term life insurance products the company sells provide insurance for the insured for a specified time period or until the attainment of a certain age, in return for the periodic payment of fixed premiums over a pre-determined period. Term life insurance policies generally expire without value if the insured survives the coverage period.
Group Life Insurance: The company sells several group life insurance products, including group health insurance. These group products generally have a policy period of one year and require a single premium payment.
Health Insurance Products
The health insurance products the company sells generally have a policy period of one year and require a single premium payment. These products generally cover medical expenses that arise due to an illness or casualty. The products the company offers primarily include hospitalization subsidy insurance, group health insurance, group travel casualty insurance and group insurance for senior citizens.
Health Insurance Products
The health insurance products the company sells generally have a policy period of one year and require a single premium payment. These products generally cover medical expenses that arise due to an illness or casualty. The products the company offers primarily include hospitalization subsidy insurance, group health insurance, group travel casualty insurance and group insurance for senior citizens.
Other Innovative Insurance Products
The company has also worked together with a number of insurance companies to develop proprietary insurance products, such as student safety insurance, migrant workers’ wage guarantee insurance, golf sports insurance and loan credit guarantee insurance.
Services
In order to enhance customer satisfaction, the company also provides customers with insurance plan proposal and claim service. Based on risk characteristics of the customer, the company conducts an in-depth analysis of the risks a customer may encounter, and then uses the analysis as the basis to develop a customized risk management and transfer plan for the customer.
Additionally, as competition among insurance companies in China intensifies, some insurance companies have started to outsource their claim settlement functions to insurance claims adjusting companies. The company has been providing its customers with insurance adjustment service.
Insurance Platform
Since the beginning of 2021, the company has started to develop and build an online platform to help insurance brokers with client management and insurance policy sales. This platform supports insurance core data storage, policy management, insurance policy issuance, insurance agent management and service management, and auto insurance after-market (repair and maintenance for members) service management. This platform can be accessed as a mobile application from smart phones and as a built-in program on WeChat. Revenues streams for the insurance platform come from commissions earned on insurance sales, as well as from finance fees, insurer marketing fees and through the monetization of the company’s big data technology.
Customers
Through the VIE entities and its subsidiaries, the company sells insurance products and provides insurance proposal and claim services to both individual and institutional customers, including but not limited to automobile owners, small, medium and large companies, employers, employees, students and their parents, migrant workers, golf players and so on. By providing quality insurance products and premium services to customers, the company strives to build a loyal customer base.
Licenses
The VIE entities and the company’s subsidiaries have obtained necessary approvals and licenses from the relevant PRC regulatory entities to operate insurance brokerage and agency business in China. The company is the only company in China that has National Insurance Brokerage License, the National and Regional Insurance Agency License and the Insurance Adjuster License.
The company is also licensed to operate insurance brokerage and agency business through internet, which enable it to promote its products and service online to establish a scalable and sustainable customer acquisition model.
Business Strategy
The key elements of the company’s strategy are to upgrade the online insurance plan to attract more insurance agents users for insurance sales through the company’s platform; increase automobile insurance product offering; enhance business partner network and expand distribution network; recruit talents and build a stronger sales force; and build a comprehensive and loyal customer base.
Stock Trading and Wealth Management Platform: Magpie Invest
The company launched Magpie Invest, a global stock trading app, on September 15, 2021, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Magpie Securities Limited (Magpie).
Magpie Invest is a proprietary technology investment trading platform. The Magpie Invest technology allows the platform to connect to seven major stock exchanges with the ability to connect to other major exchanges as the business need arises.
Magpie is a participant of the SEHK (Hong Kong Stock Exchange) & HKSCC (Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company) and the China Connect program, which allows for mutual market access between the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the mainland Chinese stock exchanges. Magpie is also the member of London Stock Exchange.
Magpie has expanded into Singapore through its application for a Capital Markets Services License (CMS License) from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), which was approved in full on September 20, 2022. Magpie’s Singapore operations and trading are scheduled to commence by early second quarter of 2023. The CMS License allows Magpie to offer new products, including leveraged foreign exchange and contracts for difference (CFDs) on stocks, index futures and commodities.
In response to significant changes in retail client behaviors in the trading of global equity markets, and driven by the rise in global interest rates and the end of COVID-19 restrictions in early 2022, Magpie pivoted its business strategy to a B2B Brokage-as-a-Service model. Magpie is progressing this strategy with major banks and financial services companies in various jurisdictions. However, the continued uncertainty in the global markets has posed challenges to Magpie’s pursuit of this strategy and the execution of contracts with such banks and financial services companies.
Platform for Securities Trading
Magpie offers a unique user experience built upon a scalable and secure platform. The platform is designed to serve the emerging affluent Chinese and Southeast Asian population and diaspora, and targets generation Z and the millennial markets. Magpie is pursuing an opportunity to facilitate a shift in the wealth management industry and build a digital gateway into broader financial services. The platform is designed to provide a user experience that integrates clear and relevant market and company data, and easy to use trade execution.
Magpie aims to continue to enhance its proprietary technology and build a comprehensive, user-oriented and cloud-based platform that is fully licensed to conduct securities brokerage business on a global basis by expanding its license portfolio. Magpie Invest serves as one of the foundations from which the company can execute its growth strategy of building a broader financial services platform.
Magpie provides investing services through a proprietary digital platform, which is accessible through any mobile device operating on iOS and Android, and more recently on other electronic devices via its web-based platform which was launched during the third quarter of 2022. The Magpie Invest platform and applications offer market data, news, research, analytical tools and provides customers with a data foundation to help simplify the investing decision-making process.
Research and Development
The company’s research and development expenses were $1,689,000 for the year ended December 31, 2022.
History
The company was formerly known as Lapis Technologies, Inc. and changed its name to Micronet Enertec Technologies, Inc. in 2013. Further, the company changed its name to MICT, Inc. in 2018 and then to Tingo Group, Inc. in February 2023.
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