LemFi (former Lemonade Finance), a Canada based fintech platform transforming financial services for immigrants, has raised a $33 million Series A round led by Left Lane Capital. Other investors included Y-Combinator, Zrosk, Global Founders Capital, and Olive Tree. Each year, millions of immigrants move abroad to start new lives, and the biggest hurdle they face is access to financial services. In 2020, Founders Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran joined forces to solve these challenges with a vision to build a platform that empowers the next generation of immigrants. Olalere and Cochran first met while building OPay – one of Africa’s…

Fintech in Africa has witnessed significant growth and dynamism in recent years, driven by a combination of favorable demographic, economic and technological factors. Between 2017, the number of fintech startups active in the continent increased by 125.2% to reach 678 ventures, according to the latest edition of Disrupt Africa’s Finnovating for Africa report. At the same time, venture capital (VC) financing in Sub-Saharan Africa is soaring, growing by a staggering 894% year-over-year to US$1.6 billion in 2021, research by Magnitt, a platform for VC data in the Middle East, Africa, Pakistan and Turkey, show. Experts and industry observers predict further…

Football club Paris Saint-Germain and Yassir, the Super-App offering on-demand and payment services in North Africa announced the signing of a global partnership for three seasons with the aim of further developing the Yassir brand on the international stage. The Yassir online marketplace, which offers transport, delivery, and payment services, chose to team up with Paris Saint-Germain in order to develop its brand worldwide and expand its presence in the seven countries in which it is already established: Algeria, Canada, France, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. For three seasons, the largest on-demand services and payments company in North Africa…

Mastercard has announced a strategic partnership with Lipa Later, a leading credit-led and technology-driven fintech. This collaboration aims to accelerate the expansion of Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) payment services in Africa. The partnership is expected to unlock new opportunities for consumers and merchants by providing tailored BNPL solutions and enhanced payment capabilities. By leveraging Mastercard’s extensive network of merchants, innovative payment methods, and state-of-the-art technology infrastructure and Lipa Later’s strength in consumer credit, both companies are poised to empower individuals and businesses with greater access to essential products and services, make access to credit seamless and reduce friction to…

The House of Representatives, one of the two Chambers that make up the Bicameral Legislature of Nigeria, has requested the central bank to halt the implementation of a new directive mandating financial institutions to collect additional customer information, including social media handles, for know-your-customer (KYC) purposes. The decision was made during a plenary session on July 11, 2023 after a motion backed by nine lawmakers was approved, Nairametrics reported last month. During the debate, state legislator Kelechi Nwogu argued that the new regulation infringes upon principles in the Nigerian Constitution that safeguard privacy rights. He stated that financial institutions in…

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the foundation of the economy as they drive growth, build competition, and create jobs. Despite this, they are often at the back of the line when it comes to getting quick access to credit. Research shows that 44% of SMEs seek funding to meet their operating expenses, and we can expect this number to grow considerably during emergencies and times of economic uncertainty. The same research found that 56% of SMEs need funds to expand the business or pursue new opportunities. For SMEs, waiting weeks or months for approval means significant delays in exploring…

Singapore, Nigeria and Hong Kong are the three locations in the world where people are searching for the term “fintech” the most, a finding which suggests that people in these locations have the highest level of interest in the topic, a new research by the Fintech News Network (FNN) has found. The Fintech News Network Index (FNNI), which ranks the countries and cities that are querying for the word “fintech” the most on Google, revealed that in April 2023, Internet users in Singapore, Nigeria and Hong Kong showed the most interest in the sector. The rankings are based on search…

In Africa, improved productivity, increased digitalization and a rapidly expanding talent pool are laying the foundations for the continent to become a major services outsourcing destination, a new report by McKinsey and Company says. The report, released on June 05, 2023, looks at Africa’s economic, social and demographic trends to determine the major business challenges and opportunities arising from the continent, making a case for why Africa’s services sector is poised to become a critical growth driver of the continent’s economy. According to the report, services are creating significant opportunities for the continent’s nations to boost economic output and job…

Google Cloud announced a new collaboration with Moniepoint, an Africa-focused business banking platform that provides financial services to Nigeria’s underbanked businesses residing in remote areas and communities. The collaboration makes financial services accessible at scale to millions of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) by bridging the banking gap in suburban locations. According to Statista, there are over 41 million micro-businesses in Nigeria. Enabling these businesses to accept payments digitally is crucial to their success. As Moniepoint pivoted into consumer facing products designed to digitise these businesses and gear them to success, the company turned to Google Cloud’s scalable cloud…

Visa announced the launch of the new Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program to help enable Africa’s expanding start-up community through expertise, connections, technology, and investment funding. The initiative was introduced by Visa Executive Chairman Alfred F. Kelly Jr. at Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa in Marrakech, Morocco. The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator will enable up to 40 start-ups each year to accelerate and grow through a three-month intensive learning program focused on business growth and mentoring. Following the program completion, Visa intends to further support fintech growth with capital investment in select participating businesses, while accelerating their commercial launch through…

Zimbabwe has received a total of 241 applications valued at about ZW$22 billion for the sale of its gold-backed digital tokens, data from the central bank show. The sum represents a total value of about US$11.7 million, based on rates from ZimRates.com, a platform that tracks both official and unofficial exchange rates. That amount was collected through two rounds of token issuance which saw Zimbabwe use more than 210 kilograms of gold reserves to back. Zimbabwe launched its gold-backed digital tokens earlier this month in an effort to stabilize its collapsing currency and provide the public with an alternative store…

A consortium led by independent private equity fund manager, Infinite Partners, has announced its acquisition of South African fintech specialist, e4. The transaction will see e4 obtain the necessary capital for advancing to the next stage of its expansion. Infinite Partners is an African private equity fund manager, established in 2022 following its spin out from Ethos Private Equity. Founded on a bedrock of ethical sustainable investing for good, Infinite Partners are both value and values-driven partners, seeking growth investments alongside visionary management teams. In keeping with an investment strategy centred on companies benefiting from digitisation and technology adoption tailwinds,…

SC Ventures, the fintech, investment and ventures arm of Standard Chartered, has launched Kenya-based Tawi, a B2B agritech marketplace for secure e-commerce transactions for smallholder farmers in Kenya. Tawi aims to provide farmers with a viable and consistent market, price transparency and efficient supply chain management. “Tawi will connect our farmers to an estimated KES 200 billion (US$1.6 billion) market opportunity,” said Cherotich Rutto, founder and CEO of Tawi. “Through this platform, farmers will earn more for their produce while also improving the supply-chain efficiency of high-quality produce to commercial clients. We are doing this by aggregating demand and simplifying…

Ecobank Kenya announced the launch of the Fingo Africa app, which is set to revolutionize financial inclusion for young people in Kenya and across Africa. The app was developed in close collaboration between Fingo Africa, a Kenyan Fintech company and Ecobank. The launch of the App in Kenya will be followed by a roll out across Ecobank’s pan-African footprint. Accessing financial services can be a major challenge for young people in Africa today. Opening a bank account can be a lengthy process taking anywhere from two days to two weeks in some countries. Moreover, it may require multiple face-to-face interactions…

DisrupTech Ventures, an Egypt-based venture capital firm focused on fintech, has received a US$5 million investment from Proparco, a subsidiary of the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) devoted to private sector funding. The early-stage venture capital fund aims to provide seed capital to up to 28 startups with prime focus on financial technology services. The fund raised US$36 million from several investors, including development finance institutions, funds-of-funds and family offices. Proparco said that this will be an important financing source for Egyptian tech companies, which often struggle to raise capital to bring their innovations to market. Additionally, DisrupTech will also…

The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announced the issuance and implementation of the Kenya Quick Response Code Standard 2023 . The Standard will guide how Payment Service Providers and banks that are regulated by the CBK will issue Quick Response (QR) Codes to consumers and businesses that accept digital payments. QR Codes provide an alternative option for initiating and accepting digital payments made by customers at various points of sale, such as supermarkets, general stores, shops, among other outlets. The implementation of the Standard, and use of standardised QR Code-enabled payments, will bring practical benefits to businesses and customers. Customers…

The African Development Bank has signed a $525,000 grant agreement with Africa Fintech Network AFN (not associated to Fintechnews.africa) for the setup of the Africa Fintech Hub, an online portal that will serve as a one-stop shop for all fintech activities in Africa. The agreement was signed on 4 April 2023. The Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility (ADFI) will provide funding and technical assistance to the Africa Fintech Network to host and manage the African Fintech Hub. The hub is a digital platform that will enable fintech associations across Africa to pool resources and knowledge, strengthen relationships and partnerships, as…

CV VC’s second African Blockchain Report 2022 affirms the transformational impact of blockchain in Africa, on the welfare of nations and the continent’s technology standing. Africa is the only global region to have experienced increased venture funding and an explosion in blockchain-specific funding. Cementing the fact that the technology is impacting African lives, well-being, and the continent’s resilience. African blockchain venture funding increased by 429% outpacing global blockchain funding which grew 4% Blockchain venture funding, as a percentage of all venture funding, is on the rise globally (6.5%). In Africa, blockchain funding achieved a record 15% share of all sector-agnostic…

Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners, a UK-based asset manager, announces its proposed investment of €29M (US$31M) in Baobab Payments GmbH (trading as Peach Payments), a rapidly growing digital payment service provider that enables online payments in Africa. Completion of the investment is subject to the approval of the Competition Commission of South Africa and customary procedural and closing conditions. Peach Payments’ existing investors include UW Ventures, Launch Africa and AG Ventures. Apis Partners supports growth stage financial services and financial infrastructure businesses. Peach Payments is the second largest online payment gateway in South…

PayDay just raised a $3M seed round, led by Moniepoint Inc, with participation from HoaQ, DFS Lab’s Stellar Africa Fund, Ingressive Capital Fund II, and angel investors – Dare Okoudjou Founder and CEO of MFS Africa & Tola Onayemi, CEO of Norabase. https://twitter.com/ourpaydayHQ/status/1640992426356613120?s=20 They join follow-on investors Techstars, Angels Touch, Ingressive Capital & Now Venture Partners​​  and existing investors Ethos VC, MAGIC Fund, Ventures Platform, Voltron Capital, and others. In an oversubscribed round, the new capital raised will be deployed to secure operational licensing in the United Kingdom and Canada, while building out operations in the United Kingdom, where the…