Visa has announced the selection of 19 African startups to participate in the third cohort of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program. These startups, representing 21 countries and covering diverse sectors such as embedded finance, SME lending, and digital banking, exemplify the continent’s thriving fintech ecosystem.
A notable highlight of this cohort is the significant representation of female leadership, with 85% of the selected startups featuring women in leadership roles. This marks a substantial increase from the program’s first edition and underscores the growing influence of women in Africa’s innovation landscape.
Now in its third iteration, the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator offers participants a comprehensive 12-week intensive program. This program is designed to equip startups with mentorship, resources, and strategic connections necessary to scale their solutions and achieve greater impact. The accelerator provides a robust support system that includes expert guidance, access to Visa’s extensive network, and opportunities for collaboration with industry leaders.
The program culminates in an exclusive Demo Day, where the participating startups have the opportunity to showcase their innovations to a distinguished audience of investors, industry leaders, and potential partners. This event serves as a platform for startups to gain visibility, attract investment, and forge strategic partnerships that can propel their growth.
Launched in 2023, the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator has supported up to 45 startups annually, providing them with a 12-week intensive mentorship and funding opportunity. The program aims to foster innovation, drive financial inclusion, and support the development of scalable fintech solutions across Africa.
Meet the Startups of Cohort 3: This year’s participants include:
- Credable (Kenya): A digital banking platform enabling financial institutions to embed financial services.
- Fixa (Rwanda): An end-to-end staffing solution for deploying blue-collar workers.
- Kacha (Ethiopia): Ethiopia’s first licensed private payment platform offering mobile money services.
- Melanin Kapital (Kenya): A carbon neobank providing green loans and carbon credits.
- Umba (Kenya): A digital microfinance bank serving Kenya and Nigeria.
- Zendawa (Kenya): An embedded finance solution for neighborhood pharmacies.
- Enza (Egypt): A platform enhancing SME engagement for banks.
- Moneco (Algeria): A neobank connecting Africa and Europe for diaspora banking.
- MoneyHash (Egypt): A payment API aggregator simplifying financial transactions.
- WafR (Morocco): A digital wallet for informal merchants.
- Block Markets Africa (South Africa): Tokenizing assets to create open financial markets.
- Jabu (Namibia): Digital cash management solutions for Southern Africa.
- Ordev (South Africa): Middleware integrating digital services for retail and hospitality.
- Sticitt (South Africa): Simplifying school-related payments.
- Bumpa (Nigeria): Digital commerce solutions for retail and D2C businesses.
- Kredete (Nigeria): A lending marketplace for borrowers and lenders.
- NearPays (Nigeria): A payment platform for tracking cash flow.
- PaySika (Cameroon): Central Africa’s first challenger bank.
- WeWire (Ghana): A B2B cross-border payments solution.
These startups represent the forefront of fintech innovation in Africa, each bringing unique solutions to address various challenges within the financial sector. Through the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program, these innovators are poised to make significant contributions to the continent’s economic development and financial inclusion efforts.
