New financial technology companies hailing from eighteen different African nations had their innovations showcased at Visa’s Africa Fintech Accelerator program’s inaugural demo day in Nairobi on February 13th.
At the event, the startups from the first cohort had the chance to present their innovations to influential members of the ecosystem, as well as funding partners, angel investors, and VCs.
Read also: Visa Unveils Its First African Innovation Studio in Kenya
Performance update
Effective in June 2023, the programme will provide resources such as knowledge, connections, technology, and investment capital to support the growth of Africa’s startup scene.
A total of 150 people from a wide range of industries, including B2B marketplaces, lending infrastructure, merchant payment solutions, and banking as a service, were chosen as the inaugural programme participants. Moni, Weego, Duqha, Power, Workpay, OkHi, Eversend, and a slew of other Kenyan and Nigerian fintechs were there on the first demo day. The fintechs present made a total of 23.
The application period for the second cohort of the programme has begun. Applications are being accepted on the Visa website until February 29th. The programme is open to seed to series A companies based in Africa that meet the following criteria.
Otto Williams, Senior Vice President, Head of Product, Partnerships and Digital Solutions for Visa Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA), said that following the success of the inaugural accelerator, Visa is inviting a second round of disruptive startups to apply to the program, in an ongoing effort to support Africa’s growing fintech ecosystem.”
Additionally, he mentioned that entrepreneurs will have the chance to receive mentorship, experience rapid growth, and connect with a larger network of investors and partners through this one-of-a-kind experience.
Startups that have not yet reached Series A should apply for this opportunity to acquire world-class knowledge, influential contacts in the business world, innovative tools, and investment capital.
The accelerator focuses on digitalising economies, upskilling talent, and building capacity. It seeks to enhance Africa’s payment ecosystem through innovations and technologies. This aligns with Visa’s commitment to invest $1 billion in Africa by 2027.
Program Details
Following its long-term commitment to advancing Africa’s economies and driving inclusive growth, as well as its pledge to invest US$1 billion in Africa’s digital transformation, Visa’s Africa Fintech Accelerator programme was launched.
Startups will be able to expand with the help of the accelerator’s three-month intensive learning programme, which focuses on company growth and mentoring. As the programme came to a close, Visa pledged to continuously back participating startups with capital investments and offer them access to Visa’s technology and resources to help them launch their businesses faster.
Anchor is one of five Nigerian companies in the cohort that helps developers integrate and create banking products through APIs, dashboards, and other tools. One such solution is Dojah, which provides a complete KYC and digital onboarding experience; Moni, a platform that offers low-interest loans to communities of mobile money agents; Orda Africa, a provider of cloud operating systems for African restaurants; and Traction, a platform that develops innovative payment solutions and business tools for the future.
Visa opens applications for its Africa Fintech Accelerator Program
Four more are Kenyan: OkHi, an address verification tool for banks, fintechs, and businesses; Duhqa, a business-to-business platform for consumer goods retail distribution; Power, which empowers employees to manage their own financial well-being; and Workpay, a provider of HR payroll services.
In addition to OZÉ, which offers digital recordkeeping tools with integrated financial products to SMEs, The Blu Penguin provides in-store PoS systems, AgroCenta manages a mobile merchant platform for smallholder farmers, and Affinity Africa offers banking products to the unbanked and underserved. Ghana is also represented by four other companies.
Moroccan startups Chari (business-to-business e-commerce and retail), PayTic (back-office operations and payments risk control platform), and Weego (mobility platform) are among the three finalists. Floatpays, an on-demand platform for accessing wages; Franc lets users invest in top cash and equity funds; and OnLife are the three representatives from South Africa.
Sympl (Egypt) and Eversend (Uganda) round out the cohort. Eversend facilitates interest-free, delayed payments for online purchases; PremierCredit (Zambia) offers micro-loans and investments online; and Konnect (T unisia) provides links for making payments through text message, email, Messenger, or WhatsApp.