Ghanaian fintech startup Affinity Africa has successfully raised $8 million in seed funding to further expand its financial products throughout the country, where mobile money remains the predominant financial tool.
The $8 million seed round was led by European venture capital firms Grazia Equity from Germany and BACKED VC from London, marking their inaugural investment in the African market. Other notable investors in this round include Enza Capital, Launch Africa, Renew Capital, Finca International, Attijariwafa Ventures, and Impact Assets, alongside Eldon Capital, an early supporter of the startup.
Since its launch in October 2022, Affinity has onboarded over 50,000 customers, according to its founder and CEO, Tarek Mouganie. Remarkably, 65% of its users had never previously accessed formal banking products, and over 60% are women engaged in the informal sector, highlighting the platform’s focus on underserved demographics.
In 2022, Affinity raised an additional $3 million in a pre-seed round to upgrade its operational license. After several months of stealth testing, the fintech officially launched its app in October 2022, following approval from the Bank of Ghana, the country’s central bank.
Affinity serves both individuals and micro-enterprises, which are often difficult to distinguish in the African context. The platform offers customers free savings and current accounts with no transaction limits, and it begins credit-scoring users immediately based on their transaction history.
After a few months of usage, Affinity extends lines of credit with monthly interest rates ranging from 3% to 7%. The Accra-based fintech has disbursed over $15 million in loans across various products, with instant loans experiencing a remarkable 30% month-over-month growth and a non-performing loan (NPL) rate of just 3%.
Andre de Haes, founder and managing partner at BACKED, highlighted;
At BACKED, we prioritize founder-led initiatives, and we believe there is no better person to build Africa’s local bank than Tarek. He began his career investing in banks during the 2008 financial crisis, developed expertise in regulation and strategy, and has constructed a world-class banking software stack for Affinity from the ground up. His ability to connect with and understand customers has resulted in impressive early user adoption.
