Visa Chooses 19 African Startups for the Third Cohort of Its Fintech Accelerator Program.

Visa has revealed the 19 African startups selected for the third cohort of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program. Representing 21 countries and spanning a wide range of sectors such as embedded finance, SME lending, and digital banking, these startups highlight the growing strength of Africa’s fintech ecosystem.

A standout feature of this cohort is the impressive female leadership, with 85% of the selected startups having women in key leadership roles. This marks a significant rise from the program’s first cohort and underscores the increasing influence of women in Africa’s innovation scene.

Now in its third year, the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator offers participants a comprehensive 12-week program. Designed to provide mentorship, resources, and strategic connections, the accelerator aims to help startups scale their solutions and maximize their impact. Participants will benefit from expert guidance, access to Visa’s expansive network, and opportunities to collaborate with industry leaders.

The program concludes with an exclusive Demo Day, giving participating startups the chance to present their innovations to a distinguished audience of investors, industry leaders, and potential partners. This event serves as a vital platform for startups to increase their visibility, attract investment, and establish strategic partnerships that can drive their growth.

Launched in 2023, the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator has supported up to 45 startups annually, offering them a 12-week intensive mentorship and funding opportunity. The program is designed to promote innovation, enhance financial inclusion, and support the development of scalable fintech solutions across Africa.

Meet the Startups of Cohort 3: This year’s participants include:

1. Credable (Kenya): A digital banking platform enabling financial institutions to embed financial services.
2. Fixa (Rwanda): An end-to-end staffing solution for deploying blue-collar workers.
3. Kacha (Ethiopia): Ethiopia’s first licensed private payment platform offering mobile money services.
4. Melanin Kapital (Kenya): A carbon neobank providing green loans and carbon credits.
5. Umba (Kenya): A digital microfinance bank serving Kenya and Nigeria.
6. Zendawa (Kenya): An embedded finance solution for neighborhood pharmacies.
7. Enza (Egypt): A platform enhancing SME engagement for banks.
8. Moneco (Algeria): A neobank connecting Africa and Europe for diaspora banking.
9. MoneyHash (Egypt): A payment API aggregator simplifying financial transactions.
10. WafR (Morocco): A digital wallet for informal merchants.
11. Block Markets Africa (South Africa): Tokenizing assets to create open financial markets.
12. Jabu (Namibia): Digital cash management solutions for Southern Africa.
13. Ordev (South Africa): Middleware integrating digital services for retail and hospitality.
14. Sticitt (South Africa): Simplifying school-related payments.
15. Bumpa (Nigeria): Digital commerce solutions for retail and D2C businesses.
16. Kredete (Nigeria): A lending marketplace for borrowers and lenders.
17. NearPays (Nigeria): A payment platform for tracking cash flow.
18. PaySika (Cameroon): Central Africa’s first challenger bank.
19. WeWire (Ghana): A B2B cross-border payments solution.

These startups are at the forefront of fintech innovation in Africa, each offering unique solutions to tackle various challenges within the financial sector. Through the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program, these innovators are positioned to make a meaningful impact on the continent’s economic growth and efforts to promote financial inclusion.