Fintech

Fintech is a path to democratised financial services

Fintech has played a significant role in democratising access to financial services across Africa in the past decade. Improved access includes the usability and quality of these services, with most fintech solutions targeting the underserved population, including the youth, women, low-income earners, rural communities, and SMMEs. These groups have faced many barriers to accessing banking,…

cybersecurity 5G
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Tech trends – 5G, broadband, fintech, data privacy and cybersecurity risks – expected to be discussed at Africa Tech Festival

Trending topics in the African technology and telecommunications space include the rollout of 5G, the dire need for telecommunications infrastructure and access to broadband spectrum, the steady rise of the fintech sector despite global economic turbulence, the development of cybersecurity and privacy laws across the continent and the rising number of disputes that are driven…

Carbon
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Nigeria’s leading fintech Carbon, celebrates 10th anniversary

Carbon Finance, one of the leading players in the nation’s Fintech industry, has kicked off celebrations to mark its 10th anniversary with a promise to transform the banking experience, making banking more accessible and flexible for consumers. Originally set up as a lending company, Carbon has established itself as one of the continent’s leading and…

Fintech

Kenya has the fastest growing Fintech sector in Africa.

The Financial Times (FT) has published its first annual ranking of Africa’s fastest-growing companies. In the twenty-first century global economy, the list covers companies that are forward-thinking, cutting-edge, and fast expanding. According to the report, South Africa has the most companies in the ranking, with 24, followed by Nigeria (20) and Kenya (14). (9). These…

Ibrahim Toyeeb
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Fintech Startup Leatherback Completes $10m Pre-seed Funding For Expansion

Leatherback, a cross-border payments network based in the United Kingdom, has received a $10 million Pre-Seed fundraising round from Zedcrest Capital, a major pan-African principal investment group. The funding will allow the growing Fintech company to focus on critical activities, including hiring strategic roles, elevation in its marketing and branding strategy, and traction and visibility…

Kudi-Nomba
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African Fintech Company, Kudi, Rebrands to Nomba

Kudi, an African payment network, has rebranded as Nomba. This was announced in a press release as part of the company’s transition from a single payment platform to an omnichannel payment platform. Payment collections, trade finance, company reporting, and multiple location administration are among the new business capabilities produced by the new omni-channel payment platform,…

ImaliPay Founders
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Nigerian gig Economy Fintech, ImaliPay Secures $3m Seed Round

ImaliPay, a $3 million seed fundraising round has been finalized for a Pan-African fintech start-up that focuses on boosting the gig economy through its one-stop-shop financial services platform. ImaliPay was founded in late 2020 in Nigeria after Tatenda Furusa (Co-founder) noticed problems with e-ride hailing drivers’ access to working capital and emergency savings in Nairobi. Upon…

Nigeria's Lemonade Finance
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Nigeria’s Lemonade Finance is now Live in 7 new markets

Lemonade Finance, founded in 2020 by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran and a participant in Y Combinator’s W21 batch last year, allows Africans living abroad to send and receive money from their home nations in a cost-effective, timely, and efficient manner. Its software lets users keep their balances in the currencies that are important to…

Influencer Marketing

Influencer Marketing is the key to Unlocking Fintech Opportunities

According to a 2021 research by web service provider Yahoo, the worldwide fintech sector is worth close to USD 7300 billion and is expected to increase at a rate of 26.87 percent year. The rapid growth of fintechs has been attributed to a rise in the popularity of digital payments, greater investments in technology-based solutions,…

Canza Finance

Nigerian Fintech startup, Canza Finance completes $3.27M seed round

Canza Finance, an emerging markets neobank that is building the world’s largest non-institutional-based financial system, announced the completion of its $3.27M seed round. The fundraising round was led by Fenbushi Capital, with participation from Dominance Ventures, Bixin Ventures, Consensys, Protocol Labs, Emergo Ventures, MEXC Global, NGC Ventures, XanPool, Hashkey, the founders of Celo, and others. This funding enables Canza to continue headcount growth and expand its service…

buy now pay later

Can Nigerian fintech startups rely on the buy now pay later business model?

Fintech platforms are increasingly looking for new ways to serve their clients, one of which underlines the motivation for the BNPL (Buy Now Pay Later) model that many have begun to use. This unique credit offering model has grown in popularity in recent years, owing to the rapid gratification and delayed payment that it offers…

fintech

Fintechs in Africa continue to outperform all other startups in terms of funding raised

In 2021, more and larger deals were closed in Africa, with tech startups across the continent raising nearly $5 billion. This amount was more than double the previous year’s investment and nine times what was raised five years ago, demonstrating how much the startup scene has changed in recent years. According to a report by…

Fairmoney
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A chat with Laurin Hainy, CEO FairMoney on Fintech and access to financial services in Nigeria

Laurin Nabuko Hainy is the co-founder and CEO of FairMoney MFB, Nigeria’s largest digital bank. FairMoney recently announced at its inaugural Investors’ Conference in Lagos that they have disbursed over N71 billion in loans so far in 2021, more than doubling the amount in 2020, in order to drive financial inclusion in Nigeria. Laurin discusses…

Herconomy

Africa’s Female Focused Community, Herconomy, Raises $600,000 Pre-Seed Funding to Unveil Financial Services and Boost Operations

Herconomy is leveraging fintech to empower women, from creating a women-focused social media community to planning Africa’s largest financial services platform for women. Women make up half of the world’s population, but they face greater barriers to financial products and services that can improve their well-being and economic empowerment. According to UNCTAD, based on World…

Asante, an Africa-focused fintech company, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding

Asante, an Africa-focused fintech company, has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding

Asante Financial ServicesAsante Financial Services, an African fintech, has raised a $7.5 million Series A round of funding to expand its credit offers to the underrepresented MSMEs in Kenya and Uganda, as well as Nigeria and Rwanda. Asante stands out with its ecosystem-based digital lending platform, which approves loans to SMEs using alternative data and…

Pezesha raises 7-figure seed extension round for African expansion

Kenyan fintech startup Pezesha raises 7-figure seed extension round for African expansion

Kenyan fintech startup Pezesha raises 7-figure seed extension round for African expansion Written by TOM JACKSON Kenyan fintech startup Pezesha, which is building scalable lending infrastructure for SMEs and institutions, has closed a seven-figure seed extension round as it looks to expand further across the continent. Founded in late 2016, Pezesha has created a holistic digital financial…

African fintech startups among 11 selected for Mastercard Start Path programme

African fintech startups among 11 selected for Mastercard Start Path programme

African fintech startups among 11 selected for Mastercard Start Path programme Written By TOM JACKSON South Africa’s Karri Payments and Kenya’s Kwara are among 11 fintech startups from around the world selected to join the Mastercard Start Path global network to scale innovation. Mastercard’s six-month Start Path programme is a springboard to help the best and brightest…

African fintech OPay valued at $2B in SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led $400M funding
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African fintech OPay valued at $2B in SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led $400M funding

African fintech OPay valued at $2B in SoftBank Vision Fund 2-led $400M funding Written by Tage Kene-Okafor Chinese-backed and Africa-focused fintech company OPay raised $400 million in new financing led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Bloomberg reported Monday, valuing the company at $2 billion. The round, which marks the fund’s first investment in an African startup, drew…

Revio set for continental expansion
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SA fintech startup Revio set for continental expansion as it powers SaaS businesses

SA fintech startup Revio set for continental expansion as it powers SaaS businesses Written By TOM JACKSON South African fintech startup Revio, a subscription billing and payments platform that powers software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses, is planning an expansion into other African markets soon. Co-founded in 2019 by venture builder The Delta and a private investor, Revio is a SaaS company…

Ghanaian fintech Waya sees strong growth propel it into other African markets
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Ghanaian fintech Waya sees strong growth propel it into other African markets

Ghanaian fintech Waya sees strong growth propel it into other African markets Written by TOM JACKSON Ghana-based payments startup Waya is seeing month-on-month growth of between 20 per cent in its three existing markets, prompting it to launch expansion activities into three additional African countries. Founded in 2018 after co-founder Delali Anku-Adiamah faced a challenge sending…

Visa undergoes expansion For Fintech Fast-Track In Africa
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Visa undergoes expansion For Fintech Fast-Track In Africa

American multinational financial services corporation, VISA Inc is currently undergoing expansion of its Fintech Fast-Track Programme in Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region in an effort to develop the future game changers in digital payment solutions. Already existing in Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific, the programme offers innovative Fintechs with…

What To Look Out For In South African Fintech This Year
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What To Look Out For In South African Fintech This Year

TymeBank, BankZero and Discovery Bank being introduced will definitely rejuvenate the industry and ensure customers have better choices to make. It should also aid the existing banks to succumb to improving on their customer value propositions and customer experiences. Doing this, we should expect better focus from the popular banks on their several digital channels….

Technology Trends That Will Drive Increased Opportunity For African Start-ups In 2016
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Technology Trends That Will Drive Increased Opportunity For African Start-ups In 2016

As 2016 gradually unfolds, first I would like to wish you a great success this year in all your endeavors and also take this time to share few insights around Technology Trends that will drive increased opportunity for African Start-ups in 2016.Certainly the year calls for more innovation in Africa. Innovation for any country or…

Top 3 Predictions for FinTech, Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion in 2016

Top 3 Predictions for FinTech, Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion in 2016

Editor’s note:This article contributed by Alix Murphy of WorldRemit gives insight into opportunities around Mobile money,FinTech and financial inclusion for 2016 The Top 3 Predictions for FinTech, Mobile Money and Financial Inclusion in 2016 are: 1. Financial inclusion will mean big business. Making serious money and reaching the unbanked have not always gone hand-in-hand. We’re…