FinTech Archives - AfricaBusiness.com

19Nov

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

African News

Ecentric Wins Fintech Innovation of the Year at 2024 Africa Tech Festival Awards

Ecentric, a leading omnichannel payments provider, and its partners were awarded Fintech Innovation of the Year at the 2024 Africa Tech Festival for their pioneering Wealth on Wheels (WOW) initiative, aimed at transforming South Africa's minibus taxi industry. The awards ceremony, held on November 13, 2024, at the Bay Hotel in Camps Bay, Cape Town, celebrated outstanding technological innovation across Africa. The event recognized companies, individuals, and projects for their contributions to advancing technology on the continent. Launched at the Southern African National Transport Conference (SATC) in Pretoria, the WOW platform brings digital solutions to the heart of transportation, modernizing the minibus taxi sector and driving it into the digital era. In collaboration with the Eas...

15Oct

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News, Startups

THE RISE OF FINTECH INNOVATION IN SA: GOING BEYOND PAYMENTS TO TRANSFORM ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR STARTUPS

By Annelene Dippenaar Two decades ago, a startup or small business had limited options when it came to processing transactions, with cash being the only option for many. Startups by their very nature also lacked credit histories, making it difficult to apply for finance, and leaving them vulnerable to unaffordable loans when seeking financial support to fund their business needs. Today, the picture is very different, with access to digital finance platforms, management tools, and mobile banking transforming how these businesses can operate. According to the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), digitalisation has enabled 700 million people in developing countries to gain access to formal financial services between 2011 and 2014, with 62% of adults having a bank or mobile...

19Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Happy Pay, SA fintech, raises $1.8M to reduce the cost of consumer credit to zero

Happy Pay raises $1.8 million pre-seed round and secures inaugural debt facility as it accelerates its mission of bringing the cost of consumer credit to zero for South Africans. Happy Pay, South Africa’s only independent BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) provider, now with 150,000 active users, announced today that it has raised $1.8 million in pre-seed funding. The funding round was led by a group of prominent South African venture capital investors, including co-lead investors E4E Africa and 4Di Capital, with participation from DotExe Ventures, Launch Africa, Equitable Ventures, Felix Strategic Investment, U.S.-based Gaingels, and local angels. In addition, Fin Africa (formerly Finclusion Group) is providing Happy Pay’s debt facility. Happy Pay’s forward-compliant BNPL platform, designed to m...

13Sep

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech

Fintechs need to overcome regulatory barriers that limit access to financial services for underserved communities

Nikki Kettles, Executive: Licences and Payments Regulation at Mukuru Genuine financial inclusion is vital if we are to bring millions of unbanked and underserved communities in Africa into the mainstream economy. This doesn’t just benefit the communities, it has a knock-on effect for economies, regions and the continent. Financial services are tightly regulated and this presents a challenge for fintechs — how do you innovate while working effectively within differing regulatory frameworks on the continent? While these frameworks may differ substantially, there are common barriers fintechs need to overcome. Before we get there, it is important to start at the beginning. Not many people understand what financial inclusion actually means. There is a misconception that financial inclusion me...

31Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

South Africa News

SME confidence on the rise as GNU promises growth

As the nation approached the polls, iKhokha conducted a survey across its national base to learn more about SME confidence in our government. The survey revealed that 76% of SMEs felt government support to be ineffective in promoting small business growth and development. In May, retail spending fell by 0.7% month-on-month as uncertainty lead to more frugal consumer spending. This downturn was mirrored in the automotive sector, where new car sales saw a 14.2% drop. iKhokha also observed an 8% decrease in SME turnover in May and June as the nation held its collective breathe, watching potential coalition discussions play out in the media, further unsettling South African nerves. Last month, South Africa breathed a collective sigh of relief and entered a new era of our democracy with the f...

Fintech’s transformative potential: Empower customers through self-education

9Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, Malawi News, South Africa News

Fintech’s transformative potential: Empower customers through self-education

The most powerful thing a fintech can do is enable its customers to educate themselves, says Mukuru CEO, Andy Jury. He says formalised financial education obviously plays a crucial role in a fintech’s business, but customers that trust and repeatedly use a new product or service, such as a digital store of money, go through a natural learning process and are then more comfortable being exposed to more sophisticated products. Mukuru, which is a next-generation financial services provider, started out as a remittance company and has evolved into a platform with a suite of different financial products and services. Jury says that by empowering its customers to teach themselves, Mukuru has enabled many thousands of unbanked and underserved people to access products and services from which th...

8Jul

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, Kenya News

Xprizo enhances fintech platform with iOS launch

Xprizo, a cutting-edge iGaming fintech platform, has amplified its global reach with the launch of its iOS app. This marks a significant milestone in the company’s growth and development as a fintech platform serving the underbanked and unbanked demographics. With the introduction of the iOS app, Xprizo’s network of users across all device types can now enjoy the full potential of the platform. Until now, the app was only accessible on Android devices. The Xprizo web app remains available for PC users and will continue to provide its comprehensive services. The new iOS app includes a brand-new sleek, and modern UI that allows frictionless access to the rich array of fintech functions. Now included within both Apple and Android apps are debit and credit card deposits in all available curr...

Africa Fintech Summit Rolls Out Nigeria Fintech Marketing Outlook 2024, Featuring Trends, Perspectives, Growth Strategies, and More

21Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, Nigeria News

Africa Fintech Summit Rolls Out Nigeria Fintech Marketing Outlook 2024, Featuring Trends, Perspectives, Growth Strategies, and More

The Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) releases its insightful "Nigeria Fintech Marketing Outlook 2024" report, shedding light on the current state and future direction of marketing strategies within the nation's booming fintech industry. This first-of-its-kind report, co-authored by Charles Anijekwu and Jeremiah Ajayi, equips Nigerian fintechs with the data-driven strategies they need to acquire new customers, retain existing ones, and achieve long-term growth. Key findings include: Paid advertising reigns supreme: The report reveals that paid advertising was the dominant channel for customer acquisition across key Nigerian fintech verticals in 2023. High acquisition costs: Sectors like Merchant Payments, Point-of-Sale (POS), Investment & Wealth Management, and Digital Lending w...

8Mar

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech

Fintechs are aiding financial inclusion across sub-Saharan Africa

By Nikki Kettles, Executive of Licences and Payments Regulation at Mukuru As the Southern African Development Community sees growth in fintech operators, it will become easier and safer for people to send money back home, writes Nikki Kettles, Executive of Licences and Payments Regulation at Mukuru. With half of Africans migrating to other countries on the continent to work, and then having to send money home, fintech is playing a leading role in driving financial inclusion, while offering a safe solution at a reasonable cost; and dominating the provision of cross-border remittances. Many migrants living in South Africa trying to send money home have historically experienced several challenges, including unreasonable costs. Other aspects that impacted the historical experience were the ...

23Jan

By Africa BusinessNo Comments

Fintech, South Africa News

Top Payment Trends for 2024

Consumers will increasingly be demanding choices when it comes to payment options into 2024, with security being high on the agenda and offerings that will be keenly watched as potential growth engines. Rory Bosman, Executive for Sales & Marketing at Ecentric Payment Systems adds that shoppers also want value from retailers, physical or online, when it comes to deciding where to spend their hard-earned money, especially in this difficult socio-economic environment. As payment systems continue to develop, often building on offerings already in the market, Bosman details nine key trends he sees as dominating 2024. Buy now, pay later There will be a continued growth in offerings that allow consumers to purchase goods on interest free credit, paying the item off in tranches of, for e...