African fintech startups can start applying to Stitch’s “startup showcase”

Stitch, a South African API fintech startup, is hosting a “startup showcase” in collaboration with Paystack and Disrupt Africa to provide an opportunity for early-stage fintechs from across the continent to share their solutions with local and global investors and access support.

The Stitch API, which is currently available in South Africa and Nigeria, enables developers to connect to their users’ financial accounts in minutes, allowing them to verify identity, view transaction and balance data, and enable instant, fraud-free bank payment.

This infrastructure enables businesses to more easily innovate, launch, and scale financial products and services such as personal finance, lending, insurance, payments, e-commerce, and wealth management solutions. Stitch also enables fintechs to collaborate with traditional financial institutions in a more secure and compliant manner.

In October, the startup increased its seed round to $6 million, and it now wants to help other fintech companies raise capital and grow their businesses. Stitch is hosting a meetup in Cape Town at the end of February for global fintech investors interested in learning more about the space, and they want to highlight high-growth, early-stage startups from across Africa.

Early-stage (pre-Series A) fintech or embedded finance companies from Anglophone African markets – South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda – are invited to apply to the showcase, for which Stitch has partnered with Paystack and Disrupt Africa.

An independent panel will choose the participants. They will have the opportunity to pitch their business to global and local fintech investors and founders in Cape Town during the fintech meetup, as well as receive pitch support from the Stitch team. They will also have access to office hours with members of the Stitch team based on their needs. Selected startups in Nigeria and South Africa will also receive six months of free access to the Stitch API, while all applicants will receive two months.

A one-hour workshop with members of the Paystack team on fundraising and growth is also available, and Nigerian, South African, and Ghanaian startups will receive free payment processing from Paystack. Selected startups will also be featured in Disrupt Africa’s post-event coverage.

The startup stated that its mission was to make it easier for fintech businesses on the continent to launch and scale innovative solutions, and that the showcase was one way for it to continue to move the needle on that mission.

“There are so many amazing and innovative financial solutions launching all the time across the continent.” Our team at Stitch understands firsthand how difficult it can be to build and scale these products – and to gain access to the funding, support, and tools that can help. We are fortunate to have the support of some of the world’s best fintech investors, founders, and builders, some of whom will gather in Cape Town in February. “We’ve launched this showcase to give businesses from across the continent a chance to share their solutions with those investors, as well as access support from both our team and our partner, Paystack,” said Thea Sokolowski, Stitch’s head of marketing and communications.

Applications are open here until 11:59pm SAST on February 10. The showcase will take place in Cape Town on February 25.