Fintech – Africa Tech Digest

FinTech Startup Chipper Cash Launches its Free App in SA

24Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Apps, Fintech, Southern Africa, Start-ups

FinTech Startup Chipper Cash Launches its Free App in SA

Yesterday, Chipper, one of the fastest growing African fintech start-ups that facilitates free peer-to-peer (P2P) money transfers and instant cross-border payments in Africa, officially launched Chipper Cash to offer domestic P2P money transfers in South Africa. Chipper Cash will enable South Africans to enjoy free unlimited instant domestic money transfers, invest in cryptocurrencies, and buy and send airtime and data to anyone. Chipper was founded in 2018 by Ham Serunjogi (CEO) and Maijid Moujaled (President) and it is headquartered in San Francisco, USA. Continue reading Image: Tech Cabal

Nigerian fintech HerVest wants to bring financial inclusion to more African women

22Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech, Nigeria

Nigerian fintech HerVest wants to bring financial inclusion to more African women

After years of working in marketing for a number of financial services companies, Solape Akinpelu came to a conclusion: There was an “alarmingly low adoption” by women for financial services in her home country of Nigeria and all of Africa as a whole. “I could see women living the reality around me,” Akinpelu recalls. “These women could not make sound financial decisions. Some of these women that do not even know that they could do better with their money.” She found that the problem is particularly acute for women living in rural areas, especially those working on farms. Continue reading Image: Hervest co-founder and CEO Solape Akinpelu / Hervest

A Nigerian fintech startup serving solar providers secures $2m funding

20Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech, Nigeria, Start-ups

A Nigerian fintech startup serving solar providers secures $2m funding

Infibranches Technologies Limited, a Nigerian startup that provides digital payment services to solar energy providers, on Monday said it has secured a $2 million funding from All On, an impact investment company backed by oil major Shell. Through its flagship products – OmniBranches and Green Energy Plug – Infibranches helps companies with large distribution networks, particularly Solar Home System (SHS) distributors and mini-grid developers, manage their operations. According to Infibranches CEO, Olusola Owoyemi, OmniBranches has served over a million customers. Its features include agent hierarchy management, commission tracking, transaction records, transaction analytics, and profile management. Continue reading Image: Guardian Nigeria

Jumuisha – A startup helping Kenyan churches receive donations secures funding to scale

19Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech, Start-ups

Jumuisha – A startup helping Kenyan churches receive donations secures funding to scale

Jumuisha, a Kenya-based fintech startup that helps churches and non-profit organisations receive donations through multiple payment channels, has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding for product development and team expansion. The investment in Jumuisha came from SprintX, a venture studio for early-stage startups based in the United States. In addition to the funding, Sprint will also provide the startup with business strategy, marketing, and technology expertise. Using Jumuisha, churches and NGOs can receive donations via USSD, bank transfer, mobile money, online payment, or credit cards, and also make payments to contractors, suppliers, and employees. The platform provides a real-time overview of and generates financial reports for all transactions. Continue reading ...

Absa, Tigo & JUMO Join Forces to Expand FinTech in Tanzania

16Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech

Absa, Tigo & JUMO Join Forces to Expand FinTech in Tanzania

Mobile fintech platform services provider, JUMO today announced a new partnership with Absa Bank Tanzania and Tanzanian telecom firm Tigo to increase the availability of the existing short-term credit product Tigo Nivushe in the country. The new tripartite agreement reached with Absa will pave the way for more funds to be disbursed through JUMO’s intelligent banking platform, from September 2021, says JUMO. Tigo Nivushe is a mobile lending product that is an easily accessible, short-term loan option available to Tigo Pesa’s customers and funded by Absa Bank. Customers who are registered and sufficiently active on Tigo Pesa can borrow amounts ranging from TZS2,000 ($0,08) to TZS1-million ($431,22) depending on their requirements and eligibility. Continue reading Image: Wikiwand...

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan lands $120M from Apis Partners, DisrupTech and others

9Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Fintech, Start-ups

Egyptian fintech MNT-Halan lands $120M from Apis Partners, DisrupTech and others

More than 70% of Egypt’s young and fast-growing population of over 100 million is financially underserved, despite mobile penetration exceeding 90%. Traditional banks often overlook this segment because of their spending power or financial status, and fintechs have seized the opportunity to cater to their needs. One such fintech is MNT-Halan, and today, the company, which describes itself as “Egypt’s leading fintech ecosystem,” is announcing that it has closed a $120 million investment. The investors backing MNT-Halan include private equity firms Apis Growth Fund II, Development Partners International (DPI) and Lorax Capital Partners, as well as VCs like Middle East Venture Partners, Endeavor Catalyst and DisruptTech. Continue reading

Wave Closes Largest Series A Round for an African FinTech at $200-Million

8Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africans in Tech, Fintech, Start-ups

Wave Closes Largest Series A Round for an African FinTech at $200-Million

Wave, a Senegal-based mobile money provider have raised $200-million in a Series A round of funding, reports Tech Crunch. The investment marks the largest-ever Series A funding round for a fintech startup in Africa, and it values Wave at around $1.7-billion. No other startup company in Africa has managed to raise such an amount in a Series A round. OPay, likewise a fintech solution provider, managed to raise $400-million in the continent’s largest-ever venture capital investment during a Series C round. Interswitch follow OPay with its $200-million investment from Visa also during Series C funding. The latest round by Wave was jointly led by four big-name backers, starting with Sequoia Heritage – an endowment-style fund and a separate entity that operates independently under the S...

With Awabah, Tunji Andrews wants to make pensions as popular as banking

4Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Africa, Fintech

With Awabah, Tunji Andrews wants to make pensions as popular as banking

Between November and December 2020, Tunji Andrews co-piloted a project to help informal workers save for the future. Those efforts culminated in the January rollout of Awabah, a digital platform that provides micro pension access to self-employed Nigerians and informal workers. “Many people in Nigeria and Africa do day-to-day financial transactions in markets but don’t have access to the benefits that the formal financial system offers,” Andrews told TechCabal. “So when I wanted to get into the fintech space, it had to be something that would drive financial inclusion on a very strong basis.” Continue reading

Fintech Focus: The link between Open Banking and financial inclusion

2Sep

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Fintech, Nigeria

Fintech Focus: The link between Open Banking and financial inclusion

Nigerian banks sit on an inventory of consumer data that fintech startups in the country can only dream of. With more than 70 million active bank customers in Nigeria, banks possess valuable big data, consisting of demographic, personal, and professional information of clients as well as transaction history, consumption patterns, and movements. There’s so much that can be done with this data. For instance, lenders can segment their client base to offer personalised savings or loan offers. The data can also be deployed in targeting Nigeria’s huge unbanked population with customised services, based on similar profiles to existing clients. Continue reading

Nigeria Prepares to Launch Own Cryptocurrency – “eNaira”

31Aug

By Africa Tech DigestNo Comments

Cryptocurrency, ecommerce, Fintech, Nigeria

Nigeria Prepares to Launch Own Cryptocurrency – “eNaira”

Nigeria is working with fintech Bitt Inc as a technical partner to launch the country’s own cryptocurrency – the eNaira – according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The Barbados-based Bitt Inc earlier in 2021 led the development of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union’s ‘DCash’ – the first digital cash issued by a currency union central bank. Reuters writes that the CBN plans to launch the digital currency in October after the country barred its banks and financial institutions from dealing in or facilitating transactions in cryptocurrencies at the beginning of the year in February. Godwin Emefiele, the CBN’s Governor, has said that the eNaira would operate as a wallet against which customers can hold existing funds within their bank accounts. In a statement on Monday, Emefie...