Latest news with #FintechAccelerator
Zawya
7 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator opens applications for fifth cohort, welcomes 22 startups to fourth
Participating companies will benefit from a comprehensive 3-month program of training, mentorship, and networking. Since its launch, the program has accelerated 64 start-ups helping them add more than $3 million in revenue uplift during the training, and alumni to raise upwards of $55 million since completing the program. Egypt, Cairo: Visa, a global leader in digital payments, announced that applications are open for the fifth cohort (Cohort 5) of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, a 12-week intensive program designed to help startups fast-track their growth and impact. Fintechs with a minimum viable product (MVP) or a market-ready solution based in Africa are invited to apply before August 15. Visa also announced 22 participating startups for the fourth cohort (Cohort 4) of its program, spanning 12 countries. These startups aim is to tackle challenges in Africa's fintech sector and promote financial inclusion and digital growth. They provide solutions in Small and Medium Business (SMB) digitization, lending, cross-border payments, payroll, business-to-business (B2B) payments, AI-powered payments, social commerce, climate insurance, and neo-banking. The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator offers Africa-focused startups mentorship, tailored training, networking, and access to funding and resources, helping them advance in the fintech sector. This initiative is part of Visa's continued commitment to advancing Africa's digital economy, and the company's pledge of $1 billion by 2027 to transform the payments ecosystem. Since its inception in 2023, the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program has accelerated 64 fintechs across three cohorts, with an estimated cumulative portfolio value of $1.1 billion. In the first three cohorts, participation has spanned 17 countries with operational footprint in 31. Nearly two-thirds (62%) of the startups included women on their leadership teams. Collectively, these fintechs have added more than $3 million in revenue during the course of the training, and alumni have subsequently raised more than $55 million following completion of the program. [VISA SPOKESPERSON] stated: 'Visa is committed to fostering innovation and promoting access and inclusion within Africa's financial ecosystem. As digital transformation accelerates across the continent, we are pleased to invite applications for Cohort 5 of the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, in alignment with our mission to support emerging start-ups in advancing their innovative solutions. We are also proud to introduce the participants of Cohort 4, whose diverse initiatives are set to deliver meaningful benefits to individuals, merchants, and businesses.' The virtual Accelerator program will conclude with an in-person Demo Day, where startups will have the opportunity to pitch their innovations to key ecosystem players, funding partners, angel investors, and venture capitalists. Startups shortlisted for Cohort 4 of the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator are: (Zimbabwe): BigDot is helping SMEs use less cash through digital transformation, seamless checkouts, and blockchain-powered financial inclusion. ChatCash (Zimbabwe): ChatCash enables African SMEs to sell and get paid through popular messaging apps using AI-powered, multilingual tools. The platform integrates payments, customer engagement, and business resources. Credify Africa (Uganda): Credify is bridging the trade finance gap for African importers by providing seamless access to capital, logistics, and cross-border payments. Flend (Egypt): Flend is a digital NBFI for SME finance, providing tech-enabled, data-driven solutions to close the financing gap for underserved businesses in North Africa. Hsabati (Morocco): Hsabati is a platform that helps businesses manage operations, enabling data collection and ecosystem scoring to facilitate financing through partner banks. IPT Africa (Mauritius): IPT Africa provides cross-border payments solutions, including payroll processing, real-time FX pricing, and same-day bulk payments. Lemonade Payments (Kenya): Lemonade's white-label digital payments solution empowers businesses with secure, blockchain-powered wallets, without compromising user data. Maishapay (Democratic Republic of Congo): Maishapay is an all-in-one B2B financial platform offering payroll solutions, digital payments, and POS terminals to help streamline transactions. MNZL (Egypt): MNZL is expanding access to credit through a digital platform for asset-backed financing by tapping into consumers home and car equity. Motito (Ghana): Motito is an asset financing marketplace that provides alternative payment options for customers to purchase essential assets. Muda (Kenya): Muda is a digital asset exchange and OTC platform focused on cross-border payments and stablecoin liquidity solutions for African businesses and fintech's. (Botswana): simplifies investing across African stock markets by providing a unified platform for trading all African stocks. OKO Finance Ltd (Ivory Coast): OKO distributes automated climate insurance, allowing farms to boost their climate resilience and banks to de-risk their investment in agricultural projects. PressPayNg (Nigeria): PressPayNg is an education-focused fintech platform that provides banking, financing, savings, and insurance solutions to help parents, guardians, youths, and students fund education. Sevi (Kenya): Sevi streamlines B2B payments within non-digital value chains. This optimizes efficiency in credit, payments and reconciliation for the supplier, and access to stock and stock financing for small retailers. Shiga Digital Inc (Nigeria): Shiga Digital provides simplified access to decentralized financial solutions for the African market with a purpose-built Defi account. ShopOkoa (Kenya): ShopOkoa provides AI-driven credit and payment solutions to small- and micro-enterprises in Africa. It operates as a membership-based system combining daily savings, revenue-based financing, and automated cashflow tracking. Startbutton (Nigeria): Startbutton is a merchant of record helping businesses expand across Africa by paying and receiving local currency payments from their customers in a tax efficient and compliant manner, and without the need to setup local offices. Twiva (Kenya): Twiva is a social commerce platform where businesses market and resell their products and services through social media influencers. Vittas (Nigeria): Vittas empowers healthcare providers with access to tailored financing, digital tools, and payment solutions, enabling them to improve patient care. Woliz (Morocco): Woliz is a fintech ecosystem transforming nano-stores into digital hubs with loyalty rewards, payments, and AI-driven operations. Zazu (South Africa): Zazu is a neobank for African small and medium-sized businesses, providing digital business accounts, expense management, invoicing, and bookkeeping tools in one platform. About Visa Inc. Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating more than 215 billion payments transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions, and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories each year. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable, and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses, and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere, and see access as foundational to the future of money movement.
Zawya
01-05-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Startups take the stage as NBO concludes first Fintech Accelerator Programme
Muscat – The National Bank of Oman (NBO) successfully concluded the Demo Day of its inaugural Fintech Accelerator Programme, marking a significant milestone in the Bank's commitment to driving innovation within the financial services industry. Held at NBO headquarters, the event brought together regulators, investors, industry leaders, and strategic partners to witness the final showcase of solutions developed by five high-potential fintech start-ups. Mustahil Ahmed Al Mamari, Assistant General Manager & Head of Strategy and Transformation at NBO, commented, 'Demo Day is more than a showcase of innovation, it is a continuation of NBO's long-standing legacy of driving change in financial services. Through the Fintech Accelerator, we're not only backing promising startups, we're fostering collaboration across the industry to deliver customer-centric solutions and contribute meaningfully to Oman's digital and economic transformation. Demo Day marked the culmination of this journey, providing a platform for startups to present their progress, business value, and opportunities for investment, partnerships, and market entry.' The selected start-ups: ThemarIP, E-Hissab, Saree3, and InstaSpace, were chosen for their innovative approaches to enhancing banking operations and customer experiences. Their solutions span AI-driven financial reporting, fraud detection, personalised investment platforms, and SME-focused payment services. Launched in partnership with Al Jabr MENA, the NBO Fintech Accelerator Programme is a strategic initiative aimed at identifying, mentoring, and scaling fintech ventures that address real-world banking challenges. Over the course of the programme, participating startups worked closely with NBO teams, received tailored guidance, and tested their products in a live banking environment. As a pioneer in digital banking, NBO is building a robust platform for fintech growth. By supporting entrepreneurship and fostering a culture of experimentation, the Bank aligns its efforts with Oman Vision 2040, which places innovation at the core of economic diversification. This is the first accelerator of its kind in Oman's banking sector. Through mentorship, industry insights, and real-market testing, NBO is creating a supportive environment for fintech development while strengthening partnerships, encouraging knowledge exchange, and building scalable digital solutions. For more information about NBO's innovation initiatives, visit
Mid East Info
01-05-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Startups Take the Stage as NBO Concludes First Fintech Accelerator Programme - Middle East Business News and Information
30 April 2025, Muscat – The National Bank of Oman (NBO) successfully concluded the Demo Day of its inaugural Fintech Accelerator Programme, marking a significant milestone in the Bank's commitment to driving innovation within the financial services industry. Held at NBO headquarters, the event brought together regulators, investors, industry leaders, and strategic partners to witness the final showcase of solutions developed by five high-potential fintech start-ups. Mustahil Ahmed Al Mamari, Assistant General Manager & Head of Strategy and Transformation at NBO, commented, 'Demo Day is more than a showcase of innovation, it is a continuation of NBO's long-standing legacy of driving change in financial services. Through the Fintech Accelerator, we're not only backing promising startups, we're fostering collaboration across the industry to deliver customer-centric solutions and contribute meaningfully to Oman's digital and economic transformation. Demo Day marked the culmination of this journey, providing a platform for startups to present their progress, business value, and opportunities for investment, partnerships, and market entry.' The selected start-ups: ThemarIP, E-Hissab, Saree3, and InstaSpace, were chosen for their innovative approaches to enhancing banking operations and customer experiences. Their solutions span AI-driven financial reporting, fraud detection, personalised investment platforms, and SME-focused payment services. Launched in partnership with Al Jabr MENA, the NBO Fintech Accelerator Programme is a strategic initiative aimed at identifying, mentoring, and scaling fintech ventures that address real-world banking challenges. Over the course of the programme, participating startups worked closely with NBO teams, received tailored guidance, and tested their products in a live banking environment. As a pioneer in digital banking, NBO is building a robust platform for fintech growth. By supporting entrepreneurship and fostering a culture of experimentation, the Bank aligns its efforts with Oman Vision 2040, which places innovation at the core of economic diversification. This is the first accelerator of its kind in Oman's banking sector. Through mentorship, industry insights, and real-market testing, NBO is creating a supportive environment for fintech development while strengthening partnerships, encouraging knowledge exchange, and building scalable digital solutions.
