Africa’s Remittance inflow

Hi Fintech friends 👋,

Here are the highlights of what happened in African Fintech this week;

  • Payments Unicorn raised $267 Million to expand its reach in Africa.

  • Two South African startups announced funding deals.

  • Tanzania based VC firm launched TheNextFund to support East African early stage startups.

  • A new $17 Million fund was launched to support South African startups.

  • CEO of Kenyan Fintech startup lost appeal against dispute with Flutterwave.

  • Four suspects in one of the African Bankcard fraud scheme wired $2.4 million to Abu Dhabi.

The long wait is almost over, get your tickets

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It's happening - early bird tickets on sale!@twifintech x @TechCabal present: Lagos Moonshot Fintech Happy hour, Oct 11, proudly sponsored by @usesmileid with support from @paystack

Seeking just one more sponsor so we can accommodate more guests 🙏🏾https://t.co/YjWDTVRbcj pic.twitter.com/QAGJ0h4Xbd— Wiza Jalakasi (@wizaj) September 23, 2024

💸Fundraise and Exits

  • South-African startup Scaleraised $700K to help fintechs issue cards.

Profile on Finance in South Africa

  • South African fintech startup LittleFishsecured funding from TLcom and Flourish. 

💰 Venture Funds

  • New $17 Million Seed Fund was launched  to bridge the funding gap for South African Startups.

South African Startups raised $600 Million last year

  • Tanzania based Ennovate VentureslaunchedTheNextFund 3.0 to support East African early stage startups.

Tanzanian startups

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

  • Fincrasecured a payment license to expand services in South Africa.

  • Kazanglaunched card-acquiring service to ease payments for merchants in Zambia.

  • Mastercard and Amazonpartnered to enhance digital payment in Egypt and South Africa.

  • Nala partnered with NCBA Bank Kenya to power cross-border payments.

👔 Leadership Lineup

  • Credrails CEO reportedly loses appeal against Flutterwave in contact details dispute.

Clara Wanjiku Odero, the CEO of Softbank-backed Credrails

News of the Week

  • Payment unicorn Zepzraised $267 million to expand its reach in Africa.

Zepz

Two years after reaching profitability for the first time, Zepz, the parent company of African cross-border payment companies World Remit and Sendwave has raised $267 million.It was valued at $5 billion when it previously raised $232 million in 2021.

The fintech will use the funding to expand its reach in Africa. It currently operates in over 150 countries including South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and South Africa.

👀 Eye Openers - How secure is offering banking services on WhatsApp?

Approximately 95.4% of internet users in South Africa reported using WhatsApp every month. In Nigeria, 91.9% of internet users use WhatsApp; in Kenya, 93.5% and in Ghana, 89.9%. The more people use the internet, the more they use WhatsApp. 

Nigeria's fintech company, Mono, is preparing to launch OWO,  its AI-powered banking services on WhatsApp, allowing users to perform transactions via text, voice, or image without leaving the app.

OWO Banking service on Whatsapp

While the idea seems great in terms of UI/UX and convenience, the most frequently asked question is how secure such platforms will be. How secure is offering banking services on WhatsApp? Share your thoughts with us, and we will publish them in our next newsletter.

📑 Read of the week

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

  • Four suspects in the Equity Group card fraud scheme wired $2.4 million to Abu Dhabi.

  • Lesakacompleted acquisition of Adumo for $96 million.

  • US SECcharged a former Tingo accountant with aiding and abetting fraud.

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

Interview with Co-founders of Merchant Capital, South Africa's leading non-bank alternative lender for SMEs on how they grew from zero to $500+ Million in loans for their clients over the past 12 years.

🦉 Tweet of the Week

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I urgently needed a debit card for use in daily transactions. The PalmPay PoS agent said he could help me.

I downloaded the PalmPay app, snapped my face and it auto-magically returned my name and BVN. I completed setup, entered my NIN and instantly unlocked 200k daily…— Múyìwá Mátùlúkò (@MuyoSan) October 5, 2024

🎯 Fintech Opportunities

People will be talking about this event for weeks after it happens.

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3 sponsors confirmed. 2 more slots remaining. If you’re keen, this is the time. Please reach me at [email protected]. Historically, ALL our Africa events sell out completely. People will be talking about this event for weeks after it happens. @twifintech delivers. https://t.co/WGo2V74CcI— Wiza Jalakasi (@wizaj) August 15, 2024

Main sponsors confirmed. few more slots remaining. If you’re keen, this is the time. Please reach out at [email protected].

Made in Tanzania 🇹🇿 with 💚

👍🏽👎🏽  Did you enjoy this edition of This Week In Fintech Africa? Please share your feedback with me on Twitter or LinkedIn .

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