Tagged: africa

August 28, 2018 @ 3:13 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Paystack, an Africa-based payments platform, secured $8 million through its Series A funding round, which was led by Stripe, with participation from Visa, Tencent and Y Combinator. Founded in 2015, Paystack states that it helps Nigerian businesses accept Mastercard, Visa, and Verve cards from anyone, anywhere… Read More

August 27, 2018 @ 6:57 am By JD Alois  |  

Azimo, a digital money transfer service based in London and Krakow, is set to join Theresa May’s official delegation to Africa – her first official visit to the continent. Azimo is one of 29 companies selected, and the only Fintech, for the visit to Nigeria,… Read More

August 23, 2018 @ 7:03 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Kenyan-based Fintech platform Lendable has been extended a convertible grant from Dutch Development Bank FMO to provide a “first loss” backstop.  The $450K convertible grant, provided by the Dutch government’s FMO managed MASSIF fund, aims to reach targeted end-beneficiaries through financing local financial intermediaries and institutions that… Read More

August 13, 2018 @ 1:05 am By Cali Haan  |  

A new report from Togo-based Ecobank says that, like regulators elsewhere, African regulators are confused about technical, political, and economic ramifications of cryptocurrencies and are largely taking a “wait-and-see” approach to regulating crypto sectors and activity there. The report, “Cryptocurrency Regulation in Africa,” published August… Read More

August 8, 2018 @ 9:49 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Pan African banking group Ecobank announced on Wednesday the finalists for of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2018, a competition for Africa-focused technology start-ups. The bank confirmed the list includes 11 fintech start-ups from across the continent and beyond. As previously reported, the Challenge’s contestants must be one… Read More

July 20, 2018 @ 3:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Startupbootcamp (SBC) AfriTech announced last week the Top 10 African Innovators selected to participate in the globally renowned, multi-corporate backed accelerator program for 2018. According to SBC, following an intensive 3-month global scouting tour, across 15 countries, and inclusive of 19 FastTrack events and 220… Read More

June 5, 2018 @ 9:44 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

International money transfer service WorldRemit announced on Tuesday it has formed a new partnership with First Bank of Nigeria Limited (First Bank) for instant money transfers to all First Bank accounts in Nigeria. According to WorldRemit, the collaboration considerably expands WorldRemit’s footprint in the country and allows… Read More

May 28, 2018 @ 10:16 am By JD Alois  |  

Ecobank, out of Lomé, Togo, recently received an award as being recognized as the best retail bank in Africa due to its advances in providing a digital platform for its users. The Ecobank Mobil App has now been downloaded by more than 5 million people, according… Read More

May 15, 2018 @ 4:12 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Cellulant, an Africa-based digital payments platform, announced on Tuesday it raised $47.5 million through its Series C funding round, which was led by TPG Growth’s The Rise Fund. Other investors included in the round are Endeavor Catalyst, Satya Capital, Velocity Capital & Progression Africa.  Founded… Read More

May 15, 2018 @ 12:06 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Swarm, a blockchain for private equity, has opened an investment opportunity in the FarmCoin pan-African financial and commodities ecosystem via its marketplace. This will give investors not only a unique investment opportunity in one of the prime “unbanked” global markets, but also the chance to… Read More

May 1, 2018 @ 1:23 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, Mastercard announced it was extended its strategic partnership with Unilever to launch a new digital lending platform specifically for Kenyan entrepreneurs. While sharing details about the platform, Ajay Banga, President and CEO of Mastercard, stated: “Micro and small businesses are the economic backbone of… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 1:21 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Pan African bank Ecobank announced earlier this week it is seeking fintech solution startups to apply for its second annual Ecobank Fintech Challenge. According to the bank, more than 850 applied for the competition during its first challenge last year. Entrepreneurs, startups, and developers who are… Read More

April 19, 2018 @ 10:16 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Digital Financial Services Lab (DFS Lab), a fintech accelerator funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,  announced on Thursday it will invest $200,000 in four separate startups that are building financial service products for low-income and unbanked consumers in developing markets. Cherehani Africa (Kenya), NALA (US), Nobuntu (South… Read More

March 22, 2018 @ 9:27 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Credit card giant Visa is set to launch a new $50,000 innovation contest in the fintech industry of Sub-Sahara Africa. This news comes just a few months after Visa announced the launch of its fintech bootcamps for African startups. The contest will run under the company’s… Read More

February 26, 2018 @ 11:39 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last week, the Middle East and African fintech hub, Bahrain FinTech Bay, announced it is now officially open for business. Along with its opening, it also announced startups and founding partners. Bahrain FinTech Bay claims it is the region’s largest fintech and is aiming to… Read More

February 23, 2018 @ 9:35 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

PayJoy, a San Francisco fintech startup, announced on Friday it has teamed up with mobile distributor Allied Mobile to bring affordable smartphone payment plans to markets across the continent of Africa. According to the duo, Allied Mobile will use PayJoy Checkout, an instant paperless finance… Read More

February 15, 2018 @ 11:49 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Millions of Africans now have access to financial systems thanks to cashless systems using digital technology; consequently, more and more people are seeing the benefits of mobile banking, according to Ecobank, a leading independent pan-African banking group. Ecobank, the main sponsor at the Africa Tech summit… Read More

February 8, 2018 @ 8:38 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

BitPesa, a blockchain payments platform for Africa, announced on Wednesday it has acquired European money transfer service, TransferZero. Founded in May 2016, TransferZero claims to be the first fintech company licensed by the Bank of Spain as an authorized payment institution and is a partner of Bankia,… Read More

January 23, 2018 @ 3:56 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Convergencium, a Rwanda-based systems integrator and consulting organization, announced on Monday it has formed a strategic partnership with insurtech and investment technology company Agile Financial Technologies in order to sell, implement and support Agile Financial’s products and services in Rwanda and other countries in Sub-Saharan… Read More

November 21, 2017 @ 4:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Digital currency for payments Dash announced on Tuesday it has formed a partnership with KuvaCash to launch a program that is designed to solve Zimbabwe’s ballooning inflation, collapsing currency, and declining national economy. According to Dash, KuvaCash is a Dash-record $550K USD undertaking, funded directly by… Read More