Visa has recently made strategic investments in four innovative African startups—OkHi, Oze, Workpay, and Orda.Africa—through its Africa Fintech Accelerator program. This move underscores Visa’s commitment to digital innovation and financial inclusion across Africa, reflecting its broader pledge to invest $1 billion in the continent by 2027. These startups, operating across a variety of sectors, are tackling long-standing challenges in address verification, payroll, and business financing—contributing significantly to digital transformation across African economies.
Addressing Africa’s Address Problem with OkHi
OkHi, founded by Timbo Drayson, a former Google Maps engineer, is solving Africa’s address verification challenges. During his travels across Africa, Drayson realized the profound impact poor addressing infrastructure had on people and businesses. OkHi, based in Nigeria, now offers AI-powered address verification solutions that enable banks and businesses to serve previously unreachable communities, supporting financial inclusion in emerging markets.
Workpay’s Streamlined Payroll for African SMBs
In Kenya, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have historically struggled with labor-intensive payroll processes, often relying on manual data entry and spreadsheets. To address this, Workpay founders Paul Kimani and Jackson Kibigo launched a cloud-based HR and payroll platform tailored specifically to the needs of African SMBs. Today, Workpay serves over 1,000 clients across 20 African countries, helping these businesses access affordable HR and payroll tools that meet local requirements.
Empowering African Entrepreneurs with Oze and Orda.Africa
Oze, a fintech startup, empowers small business owners by offering easy access to finance and a digital platform to manage their finances. For many small businesses across Africa, lack of credit and financial management tools can impede growth. Oze’s platform offers a path for businesses to keep digital records, analyze trends, and access loans, helping small business owners make data-driven decisions.
Similarly, Orda.Africa, based in Nigeria, supports small restaurants by streamlining their operations and allowing them to manage orders, inventory, and customer data from a single digital platform. By providing restaurants with these tools, Orda.Africa is helping transform the hospitality sector and enabling smaller businesses to compete more effectively in the digital age.
Visa’s Africa Fintech Accelerator Program
These four startups joined Visa’s Africa Fintech Accelerator program, a platform dedicated to connecting promising African entrepreneurs with mentorship, cutting-edge resources, and capital. Launched in 2023, this program has accelerated 45 startups and fostered key partnerships aimed at expanding digital and financial services across the continent. The program’s third cohort will conclude with a Demo Day in Cape Town on December 2, 2024, giving the startups a chance to showcase their progress to Visa executives and investors.
With support from Amazon Web Services (AWS), which offers free cloud services to the cohort, Visa aims to create a collaborative ecosystem that will drive digital transformation across Africa. As these startups continue to expand, Visa’s investments will not only boost individual business growth but also strengthen the wider African digital economy, empowering small businesses and enhancing financial inclusion.
These strategic investments in OkHi, Oze, Workpay, and Orda.Africa reflect Visa’s commitment to supporting innovative African businesses and paving the way for broader economic growth and opportunity across the continent.
