Archive
World Bank’s IFC Launches New Venture Capital Platform to Invest in Tech Startups
The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has launched a new US$225 million venture capital platform to invest in early stage companies in Africa, Middle East, Central Asia, and Pakistan. According to the IFC, these regions collectively received less than two percent
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African Fintech Sector Attracts More Funding
The African fintech sector is gaining interest from global investors. Recently, Algerian super app Yassir announced that it had raised US$150 million in Series B funding – making it North Africa’s most significant funding to date. Participating investors led by
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Hibret Bank Launches E-Commerce Digital Payments Solution With Mastercard
Ethiopia’s Hibret Bank has partnered with Mastercard to launch Hibir e-commerce, a digital payments platform for Ethiopian businesses to accept international card payments for online purchases. The platform, enabled by Mastercard Payment Gateway Services, allows businesses and merchants to accept
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Vodacom, Alipay to Launch Financial Services App VodaPay in Egypt
South Africa’s Vodacom Group is planning to launch its Alipay-enabled financial services app VodaPay in Egypt, according to a Bloomberg interview with Vodacom’s CEO Shameel Joosub. The launch comes after the mobile communication company obtains the necessary approvals to acquire
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MFS Africa Partners Ripple to Enhance Its Real-Time Mobile Payments
Mobile money company MFS Africa has partnered with crypto solutions provider Ripple to streamline real-time mobile payments for its customers across 35 countries. The partnership will see MFS Africa utilising Ripple’s On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) solution to reduce bottlenecks associated with
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Blnk Raises US$32M Led by Abu Dhabi’s EIIC and Sawari Ventures
Egyptian consumer credit platform Blnk has raised US$23.7 million in equity and debt funding, and US$8.3 million in securitised bond issuance underwritten by National Bank of Egypt and Banque du Caire. The US$12.5 million equity round was led by Abu
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Algerian Super App Yassir Raises $150 Million in Series B Funding
Yassir, a multi-sided marketplace offering on-demand services such as ride hailing, food and grocery delivery and banking, announced that it has raised $150 million in Series B funding from a series of prominent global investors. The investment was led by
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Nigeria’s Touch and Pay Wins the Ecobank Fintech Challenge 2022
Nigerian fintech Touch and Pay has won the 2022 edition of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge and with it a US$50,000 cash prize — said to be the largest no-strings attached fintech cash prize in Africa. The announcement was made at
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