News
MEA Fintech Weekly News: Are Neobanks the Next Big Thing for Nigeria?
This week marked a new win for digital banks in Nigeria. Neobank Sparkle raised US$3.1 million in a seed round for expansion efforts (TechCrunch). Founded by former CEO of Diamond Bank Uzoma Dozie, Sparkle provides both individual and business banking
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Sudan’s alsoug Raises US$5m for National Payments Network
Sudan-based ecommerce platform alsoug has closed a US$5 million (SDG 2.2 billion) fundraise, according to an announcement. The company is looking to use the funds to build a national payments network Cashi. Cashi will be enabled for deposits, withdrawals and
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5 Out of 7 Tech Unicorns in Africa Come From Fintech
Africa is seeing a rush of funding for its fintech sector, and some companies have already emerged as the continent’s biggest fintech bets, becoming unicorns in Africa. African fintech companies have raised more in the first seven months than they
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Nigerian Open Banking Startup Mono Picks Up US$15m Series A
Lagos-headquartered open banking startup Mono has raised US$15 million in a Series A. The round was led by Flutterwave’s backer Tiger Global. Participating investors included a mix of new backers Target Global (which also invested in Kuda Bank), General Catalyst,
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MEA Fintech Weekly News: Nigeria to Closely Scrutinise Fintech Startups
In last week’s MEA fintech news, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has once again hinted that it will be keeping a close watch on fintech startups in the country. At a recent seminar, Director of the Banking Supervision Department
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MEA Fintech Weekly News: The Case for Mobile Money in Sub-Saharan Africa
In last week’s MEA fintech news, mobile money took centre stage once again in the African continent. Meanwhile, UAE sees some funding and M&A activity, Egyptian banks launch a fintech fund, and a Nigerian startup raises US$10 million. Mobile money
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Nigeria’s Verto Secures US$10m Series A
Verto, a Nigeria-based B2B payments startup, has raised US$10 million in a Series A round of funding according to reports. The SME-focused startup provides cross-border payments solutions for 39 currencies, on its web platform or by integrating with Verto’s API.
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Report: Africa’s Top Fintech Hubs Are Also Its Most Regulated
The development of Africa’s top fintech hubs is closely connected with how robust its regulatory landscape is, a new report by Afriwise points out. The report, titled “Catch me if you can: How regulators will impact Africa’s Fintech sector,” notes
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YO-Uganda Forms Partnership With USADF to Deploy Mastercard Farmer Network
Yo-Uganda Limited (“Yo!”), a 16-year-old leading financial technology solutions provider based in Kampala, Uganda, has announced a new grant partnership with the United States African Development Foundation (USADF) to roll out Mastercard Farmer Network – a digital agriculture solution that
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Egyptian Banks Launch EGP 1 Billion Egypt Fintech Fund
Three Egyptian banks will be launching an Egypt fintech fund of EGP 1 billion (US$63.6 million) to support fintech companies next month, according to a recent statement. The three banks are National Bank of Egypt, Banque Misr, and Banque du
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