Three African startups have been selected for the 2020 Catalyst Fund 7th cohort of inclusive fintech startups.
The African startups are WellaHealth and Flex Finance from Nigeria and PayMeNow from South Africa.
These African startups will join 3 others from Mexico (Mango Life and Graviti) and India (KarmaLife).
Catalyst Fund, the global inclusive fintech accelerator managed by BFA Global, supported by UK aid and JPMorgan Chase & Co. and fiscally sponsored by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
The startups are joining its existing portfolio of 31 companies and receiving £80,000 in grant capital, bespoke, and expert-led venture building support for six months and 1:1 connections with investors and corporate innovators that can help them scale.
“We believe we are facing a catalytic moment during which there is an opportunity to use technology to help low-income consumers and small businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19 and build greater financial resilience for the future,” said Maelis Carraro, Catalyst Fund Director.
“If we support the right companies now – from those finding new ways to provide affordable health and life insurance, to tools that can digitize micro and small businesses and provide new income opportunities, to those that can enable affordable access to essential services – these innovations can grow to play a critical role in improving financial health globally.”
More on the startups:v
- WellaHealth: Nigeria-based platform offering affordable healthcare coverage to protect families from the financial shock that comes from unexpected health emergencies, including hospital cash during COVID-19.
- Flex Finance: Nigeria-based financial management tool that enables micro- and small businesses to digitize operations and establish a digital footprint that can enable them to improve operations, operate digitally, and become eligible for credit lines and other financial services.
- PayMeNow: South Africa-based financial wellness app that allows low-income workers to access part of their earned wages before payday, providing access to much-needed liquidity while empowering them to avoid the costs and dangers of debt.
- Mango Life: Mexico-based digital insurance platform offering affordable and accessible health and life insurance plans for underserved individuals.
- Graviti: Mexico-based pay-as-you-go service which offers unbanked families access to sustainable household infrastructure appliances via affordable financing, so they can save money on essential services, stabilize earnings, and begin to rebuild after the COVID-19 crisis.
- KarmaLife: India-based financial services suite enabling India’s growing population of gig and essential services workers to smooth uneven cash flows, stabilize incomes, and access savings and insurance.
“The COVID-19 crisis has negatively impacted the health and financial stability of underserved workers and small businesses across the world,” said Colleen Briggs, Head of Financial Health and Community Development, JPMorgan Chase.
“Helping ensure that people in hard-hit communities have access to fintech tools that can improve their financial health is a key prerequisite for an inclusive economic recovery.”
Kim Bromley, Head of Financial Services, DFID, said: “COVID-19 has highlighted fintech’s vital role in widening access to financial services to the most vulnerable people. Catalyst Fund support will help fintech companies improve their resilience to future crises enabling them to provide critical solutions to low-income customers through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.”
Each startup in this cohort was sourced and approved by Catalyst Fund’s Investor Advisory Committee (IAC), comprising experienced fintech and emerging markets investors, including: Anthemis, Quona Capital, 500 Startups, Flourish Ventures, Accion Venture Lab and Gray Ghost Ventures.
In addition to supporting portfolio companies, the Catalyst Fund team is focused on strengthening local innovation ecosystems, including global and local investors and corporate innovators, through establishing “Circles”, or communities, of peer-investors and corporate innovators. Members range from Microtraction and Novastar Ventures, to Savannah Fund and VestedWorld. These firms share Catalyst Fund’s mission to support the growth of inclusive fintech startups in emerging markets to expand access to accessible, affordable, and appropriate products to the underserved.
