Stablecoin Boom in Africa
Hi Fintech friends 👋,
It has been a busy week with more Fintech announcements, here are the highlights of what happened in African Fintech this week;
Two Fintechs announced funding deals.
The issuer of the largest stablecoin backed a MENA startup to help African B2B businesses make cross-border payments faster and cheaper.
South Africa’s investment firm adopted Bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset.
Nigeria’s investment Tech platform secured US broker-dealer license to provide users with easy access to U.S. securities
Ex-Nigeria Neo Bank employee sued the company over gender discrimination and wrongful termination allegations.
Nigeria suedWorld’s largest Cryptoexchangefor $81.5bn, 30% over the exchange's valuation.
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💸Fundraise and Exits
Ghanaian fintech startup Ozesecured an undisclosed funding round to scale lending solutions.
Africa & Middle East. Alternative Lending Business Report 2024:
💰 Venture Funds
South African investment firm Altvest Capital announced its decision to adopt Bitcoin as a strategic treasury asset.
South Africa ranks second among the top 15 African countries interested in crypto.
🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches
OnePipelaunched a new Pay with Account solution to ease cash flow struggles for Nigerian small businesses.
Nigeria Startup Map
Risevestsecured U.S. broker-dealer license to provide users with easy access to U.S. securities
👔 Leadership Lineup
Ex-Kuda executive sued the company over gender discrimination, wrongful termination allegations.
Kuda in Numbers
After stepping down asCEO, Leatherback founder resurfaced with a rival fintech startup.
📰 News of the Week
Tether backedstablecoinliquidity provider Mansa in $10M seed round
Comparimg Stablecoins to Mobile Money
Mansa allows payments companies, mainly in Africa to date, to settle transactions and fund customer accounts instantly.
Mansa has disbursed over $18 million in payments financed to its clients, with access to over $200 million in liquidity through its partner network.its transaction volume has surged since launching six months ago, from $1.6 million last August to $11 million in January, compounding at a monthly growth rate of 37.5%. It has processed nearly $31 million in that period.
👀 Eye Openers
Why do some African fintech markets produce unicorns while others struggle to scale?
1/ Why do some African fintech markets produce unicorns while others struggle to scale? 🧐
At the recent Africa Tech Summit, one consensus emerged: Kenya isn't a great fintech venture market compared to Egypt and Nigeria.
Let's break down why. 🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/HEzzY1O5K0— Samora Kariuki (@SamoraKariuki) February 17, 2025
📑 Read of the week
Stablecoins: Leapfrogging Africa's Financial System(Hashed Emergent)
📖 Other News, Reads, and Media
Nigeria sued Binance for $81.5bn, 30% over the exchange's valuation.
🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS
Interview with CEO and Founder of Flutterwave; Lessons on Building Africa's Most Valuable Fintech.
🦉 Tweet of the Week
This! It's what's missing from the ecosystem right now - once you have African currency stablecoins on chains with liquidity, big things will happen. https://t.co/2MWm4gHAu2— Wiza Jalakasi (@wizaj) February 20, 2025
🎯 Fintech Opportunities
Applications open for 4th Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator. Apply
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