U.S. and Senegal-based mobile money provider Wave has raised a substantial US$200 million in a Series A fundraise, TechCrunch reported. This makes the company the first unicorn for the Francophone Africa region, with the Series A being the largest ever to come out of the region. It values Wave at US$1.7 billion. The round was led by global investment giants Sequoia Heritage (private investment fund and Sequoia subsidiary), Founders Fund, Stripe and Ribbit Capital. Participating investors include existing seed backer of the company Partech Africa, and former Y Combinator CEO and current CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman. Both Founders Fund…

In last week’s Africa fintech news, Australian BNPL firm Zip broadened its global expansion plans with the acquisition of South African BNPL startup Payflex. Zip already owned 25% of Payflex from a deal six months ago (TechCrunch). Zip snapped up the 2018-founded fintech startup for an undisclosed amount, adding it to a list of acquisitions the company has made this year so far. This includes the UAE’s Spotii, QuadPay in the US, and Twisto from the Czech Republic. The acquisition spree this year tops up what Zip managing director and CEO Larry Diamond said was a “truly transformational” 2020 for…

London-based payments company pawaPay, which focuses on the Africa market, has raised US$9 million in a seed round, according to an announcement. China’s MSA Capital and UK-based 88mph led the round. Participating investors included Vunani Capital, Kepple Ventures and Zagadat Capital. Funding will be used to expand pawaPay’s operational presence and market reach across Africa, while boosting hiring efforts. The 2020-founded company provides a unified API that interfaces between different, fragmented mobile money infrastructures of African telecoms. The API allows merchants to access these mobile money systems in one place, sending and receiving payments to large numbers of people. pawaPay…

In the biggest headline of Africa fintech news last week, Nigerian mobile payments platform OPay raised a staggering US$400 million towards expansion. A number of illustrious global investors were involved in a round that gave Africa its fifth unicorn. The week boded well for Islamic banking as well, with two companies moving ahead with their plans for the continent. The week also marked a high point for acceleration initiatives, both by local companies and international players. In other news, governments of several African states take steps to bolster their collaboration with fintechs across the continent. OPay’s super-sized fundraise OPay’s US$400…

Ethiopian challenger bank Hijra Bank has has awarded a core banking deal to Islamic banking provider Path Solutions, according to a recent announcement. The announcement comes after a “highly competitive bidding and selection process,” the statement said. The partnership involves the implementation of Path Solutions’ core banking platform, which is certified by the Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions (AAOIFI). Through the partnership, Hijra Bank will gain access to a “flexible, scalable and highly customisable core banking platform” for individual and corporate customers in Ethiopia, according to Path Solutions Group Chairman and CEO Mohammed Kateeb. Hijra Bank to launch…

Nigerian mobile payments platform OPay has raised US$400 million in funding from SoftBank, Bloomberg reported. The investment was made from SoftBank’s US$40 billion investment vehicle Vision Fund 2. Existing backers of the company Sequoia Capital China, Chinese superapp Meituan’s VC arm DragonBall Capital, Source Code Capital, and Redpoint China, pitched in for the round. SoftBank Ventures Asia and 3W Capital also participated. The 2018-founded Nigerian fintech is looking to expand its footprint across Africa and the Middle East, the report said. “We believe our investment will help the company extend its offering to adjacent markets and replicate its successful business…

GreenHouse Lab has inducted eight African fintech companies into the 2021 GHL Fintech Accelerator program. GreenHouse Lab (GHL) is the Fintech accelerator by African fintech investment fund and platform GreenHouse Capital’s (GHC) The six-week program is already underway, with corporate partners such as Amazon Web Services, Google for Startups, and InsiderPR holding sessions. The startups come from a number of fintech sectors, including fintech infrastructure, personal wealth management, cross-border remittances, and diaspora services. The statement noted that about 40% of startups backed by GHC have gone on to be accepted into international accelerators such as 500 Startups, Y Combinator, and…

Last week was a big one for Africa fintech news, especially in Nigeria. The country’s fintech sector made it to the headlines, not once but twice. And both times were pretty scandalous. Meanwhile, the wider Africa fintech ecosystem also saw some early stage funding dollars come through. A global startup roadshow also concluded its second leg of its Africa edition, adding three more winners to its first edition. Here’s your weekly round up of Africa fintech news Four Nigerian fintechs are in the CBN’s cross hairs Perhaps the biggest headline for last week emerged when Nigeria’s Central Bank froze the…

After its first stop of The Search – Africa, the global startup roadshow by the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) moved across the UK and Central Europe, before returning for its second leg in Africa. This second edition featured six new African fintech startups competing for a spot in the Fintech100. The Fintech100 will be featured at the upcoming Fintech Abu Dhabi festival in November this year. Startups at The Search – Africa Stop 2 included Ewarren, a mobile payment and e-wallet solution, investing app Franc, and digital banking platform Kwara. It also featured Mipango, an advisory personal finance app,…

Nigeria-based CapitalSage Technology has raised NGN 2.2 billion, or U$4 million, in debt funding, the company announced. The financing was raised in a Series 1 Private Company issuance with a 365-day tenor, under the company’s NGN 10 billion programme. It is aimed at supporting CapitalSage Technology’s growth across Nigeria and the rest of Africa. The company has received commitments from fund managers and institutional investors, it said. United Capital Plc acted as the Sole Adviser and Arranger for the deal. The company also recently received a short term A3 rating and long term BBB rating with a stable outlook received…

Payments fintech dopay has secured a banking agent licence from Bank ABC Egypt for a virtual banking platform, a statement from the company said. The collaboration will allow dopay to offer its B2B payment and banking platform for SMEs and corporates in Egypt. The platform will allow businesses to open instant accounts for employees, contractors and beneficiaries, and make payments in real time. Each account comes with a debit card, and payments are processed on weekends and holidays. dopay’s cloud payroll service lets employers remit salaries electronically to unbanked staff through a dopay account. Founded in 2014, dopay is an…

Nigeria-headquartered mobility fintech startup Moove has raised a Series A round of US$23 million, according to a statement. Speedinvest and Left Lane Capital led the round. Meanwhile, a number of participating investors also pitched in, including UAE-based KAAF Investments and Spartech Ventures. From the US, this included DCM, Clocktower Technology Ventures, Tekton, FJ Labs, Palm Drive Capital, and Class 5 Global. LocalGlobe and existing backer Emso Asset Management from London also participated in the round, as did Singapore-based Roka Works. Africa-focused Verod Capital Management and Kepple Africa Ventures also contributed to the funding round, along with Co-founder of Lendable Victoria…

South African AI-based insurtech company Naked has clinched an investment of US$11 million, the company announced today. The investment was led by Naspers’ early stage investment fund Naspers Foundry, which committed US$8.3 million to the round. The round also saw participation from existing backers Yellowwoods and Hollard. This was Naspers Foundry’s biggest investment to date, and its second insurtech bet in two weeks. The investment is also part of Naspers Foundry’s US$97.2 million commitment to the South African early stage tech ecosystem. Naked digitises insurance for cars, homes, and valuables using AI and automation. The platform offers lower costs and…

The African fintech space is undergoing a phase of radical growth, as speakers at The Search – Africa Stop 1 highlighted. Africa is at the epicenter of a fintech evolution. What started as a burst of growth in payments tech, has grown into a range of fintech solutions, including blockchain. South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria have grown to become the continent’s biggest fintech hubs. The African fintech space is also making itself visible on the global scale. For instance, the Fintech Abu Dhabi Innovation Team kickstarted its startup roadshow The Search last month. The event is a five-month long worldwide…

Cairo-based CreditFins, a credit card management fintech, has raised an undisclosed amount in pre-seed funding, the company announced. The round was led by Flat6Labs, AUC Angels, TA Telecom Holding, and other strategic tech angel investors, the company said. Meanwhile, CreditFins also graduated from the 16th cycle of Flat6Labs’ Cairo Seed Program, alongside seven other digital and tech startups, according to an announcement today. Each of the graduating startups received seed funding of US$31,800 to US$47,700, in exchange for an equity stake of up to 10%. The company focuses on enabling users to pay their credit card bills with savings. Users…

Yoco, a payments and software company from South Africa, has raised US$83 million in a Series C funding round, the company announced in a statement. With the funding, Yoco’s total capital pool now stands at US$107 million. The company noted in the statement that this is the single largest investment to have been raised by a South Africa-based payments company. Investors in the round include Dragoneer Investment Group, Breyer Capital, HOF Capital, The Raba Partnership, 4DX Ventures, and TO Ventures. The round also roped in investments from executives of global tech companies such as Coinbase, Revolut, Spotify and Gojek. This…

Key developments in the Egyptian startup ecosystem have led to a renewed appetite for growth in the space, and for its fintech startups in Egypt as well. Much of this activity is attributed to a slew of policy level shifts. For instance, a new Egyptian Central Bank Law put in place last year addressed the regulation of a number of fintech sectors for the first time. These include cashless payments, digital banks, and cryptocurrency. More recently, the Egyptian cabinet recently approved a draft bill allowing the country’s Financial Regulatory Authority to license non-banking financial companies and fintech startups in Egypt.…

Ethiopia-based Dashen Bank has partnered with Singapore-headquartered cross-border payments platform Thunes to increase the ease of sending international payments to Ethiopia. Dashen Bank will leverage Thunes’ network of payment partners, which operates across more than 100 countries, to offer instant and affordable cross-border payment services, the press release said. Previously, sending cross-border payments to Ethiopia was a slow, unreliable, and expensive process. This partnership will enable Dashen Bank customers to transfer money to Ethiopia from across the world directly to their bank accounts and Dashen’s Amole wallets. The cross-border payment solution is expected to improve financial participation in Ethiopia as…

Tanzania-based Cellulant Corporation has received approval to operate as a Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) from the Bank of Tanzania. This would place Cellulant amongst the top five PSSP players offering digital payments solutions to be endorsed by the Bank of Tanzania, the company said in a statement. It would also give Cellulant access to a network of banks, merchants, payment processors, state governments, and consumers, whose digital payment requests are routed via PSSP e-payment infrastructure. According to Edwin Kiiru, Country Manager for Cellulant Tanzania, the approval will help the company scale its payments solutions across the country. Cellulant is…

FairMoney, a Nigerian neobank with a credit-led model, announced that it had raised US$42 million in a Series B funding round. The round was led by Tiger Global Management and other existing investors in previous rounds such as Newfund, Speedinvest, Flourish Ventures, and DST Partners. The firm had recently received a microfinance bank license from the Central Bank of Nigeria to further its banking ambitions. According to TechCrunch, FairMoney has disbursed over US$93 million in loans to its 1.3 million users who have made over 6.5 million loan applications. Meanwhile in India it had processed more than 500,000 loan applications…