AFTSNairobi2024 Award Winners Flutterwave & Moove Secure Additional Awards, Egypt's SETTLE Raises $2M, SA's Lesaka Tech to Acquire Adumo, and More
Africa Fintech Summit
The global initiative dedicated to building an ecosystem of investors, pioneers, industry leaders in African Fintech.
What's inside? ?
? African Credit Rating Agency Established
? JPM CEO traveling to Africa in October
? AFTSNairobi2024 Excellence in Fintech Award Winners Flutterwave & Moove secure additional awards in London & Oxford?
? African Startup ecosystem expected to benefit from Fed's rate reduction in the US
AND MORE!
Making the News?
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon to visit Africa in growth push??
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon plans to travel to Africa in mid-October in a push by the biggest U.S. lender to expand on the continent, reported Reuters, his first trip there in seven years. Dimon is expected to visit Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Ivory Coast during the trip next month.?Overseas markets have been a key focus area to generate growth for JPMorgan — which has assets of over $4.1 trillion and operations in more than 100 countries. Reuters .?
High-level dialogue on the establishment of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) held in NY on the sidelines of UNGA79
A high-level dialogue on the establishment of the Africa Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) was held in NY on the sideline of UNGA79 on the 20th of September 2024, bringing to fruition of the decision of the 28th ordinary session of the Assembly of African Union (AU) held in 2017. The high-level dialogue highlighted that currently, the three big global rating agencies - Fitch, Moody & S&P - cover 33 markets in Africa, and yet only Mauritius and Botswana are rated 'investment grade,' while 22 African markets currently have no credit ratings.?AfCRA is expected to enhance the accuracy of the creditworthiness of African sovereigns & corporates and correct inaccuracies around Africa's creditworthiness as measured by global rating agencies. Read more on this at? UNDP Africa &?Africa Business .?
Startup Activity
Egypt – B2B Payment platform SETTLE raises $2 million Pre-Seed to revolutionize B2B Payments
Kenya – Kenyan-based Uncap, a venture capital (VC) firm based in Munich and Nairobi, has?launched a $33 million fund to?support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises?(SMEs) across Africa. The fund, named Unconventional Capital, launched on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, introduces a non-dilutive, revenue-based financing model that provides early-stage businesses with funding without requiring them to give up equity.
Merger & Acquisition Activity
Featured Read
US rate cut could revitalize foreign inflows into African startups, increase debt deals
“Africa-focused venture capitalists expect that the US Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates could improve the inflow of foreign capital on the continent. The Federal Reserve cut the key rate by 50 basis points —the first cut in four years—higher than the 25 basis points predicted by several analysts…… Lower U.S. interest rates also lead to a weaker dollar, which might bode well for African startups seeking to raise debt funding, investors shared. Debt funding was the highest source of funding for African startups in the first half of the year.“ Read more at TechCabal .
2024 Startup Funding to Date - WeeTracker
AFTS community in the news
AFTSLusaka2023 Sponsor & Speaker PremierCredit has officially rebranded to eShandi as it?expands into South Africa and East Africa!
AFTSNairobi2024 Sponsor & Speaker Visa awarded?Payment Facilitator Certificate to AFTSNairobi2024 Sponsor & Speaker Safaricom
AFTSNairobi2024 Keynote speaker & Safaricom's Chief Financial Officer, Esther Waititu, received the certificate on behalf of Safaricom .
AFTSNairobi2024 Sponsor M-PESA and Mastercard partner to expand remittances and payment acceptance to over 636,000 merchants in Kenya
AFTSNairobi24 Keynote Speaker & Safaricom's Chief Financial Officer Esther Waititu signed the agreement on behalf of Safaricom .??
Regfyl, Nigerian fraud detection startup & AFTSDC2024 New Venture Pitch Competition Winner, raises $1.1 million
The startup will use the funding to expand its team and build a new compliance product.
领英推荐
Moove, AFTSNairobi2024 Excellence in Fintech Award winner under the category of 'Fintech Investment of the Year' secures?Deal of the Year Award at the annual Africa Venture Finance program
The mobility fintech startup was voted ‘Deal of the Year’ by LPs and received the award at the University of Oxford .? The startup also pitched to a jury of leading global DFIs.?
Watu, AFTSNairobi2024 sponsor and speaker, expanded to South Africa and conducted its first transaction in the country last week!?
AFTSLusaka2023 sponsor and speaker The Innovation Village has partnered with TechCabal?to launch the Uganda Digital Economy Report
As a leading force in innovation, Innovation Village is transforming Uganda’s social landscape through scalable tech solutions. Download and read the report HERE .
AFTSNairobi2024 Excellence in Fintech award winner Flutterwave secures Company of the Year award at the Innovation in Payments and Remittances (IPR) 2024 Awards?in London
"This honour reflects Flutterwave’s forward-thinking innovations, which have enabled individuals and businesses across Africa to access simplified remittance services, thus facilitating seamless cross-border transactions for millions of Africans in the diaspora." Learn more.
Special Offer from AFTSNairobi2024 Partner African Media Agency
African Media Agency, a pan-African PR and communications company and longtime AFTS partner, is offering interested organizations 15% off on their pan-African press release distribution. Reach out to the team at [email protected] with the code AFTSAMA15 to redeem your offer.
AFTS at UNGA79 in New York
Africa Fintech Summit has joined hands with Visit Nairobi ?hosting a side event during the UNGA79 in NY on Wednesday, 25 September 2024. Limited spaces are available and RSVP here to secure your place to attend the side event.?
AFTS will also be in NY during the UNGA79 week, speaking at and/or attending several African, fintech, and investment-focused side events.?
Quote of the Week
"The African?Fintech?market will be worth around $65B by 2030 according to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and transactions will be instantaneous on a digital platform. We introduced the digital trade protocol because we want to make sure we have inclusive?growth in and across countries in Africa. Most importantly, it enables us to once again to this objective of digital and financial inclusion."?- His Excellency Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of AfCFTA Secretariat,?during his keynote address at AFTSNairobi24 on 05 Sept 2024.
Video of the Week
Keynote by His Excellency Wamkele Mene, Secretary-General of the AfCFTA Secretariat at the 12th Africa Fintech Summit in Nairobi, Kenya on 5th Sept 2024
Highlights from #AFTSNairobi2024
LinkedIn Top Voice | Project Management | Business Intelligence | Business Administration
2 个月The developments from the Africa Fintech Summit reveal a dynamic shift in the fintech landscape across the continent. Flutterwave and Moove receiving accolades underscores their individual success and the broader potential of African fintech to innovate and compete on a global scale. The creation of the African Credit Rating Agency (AfCRA) is particularly significant; it represents a critical step toward enhancing Africa's financial autonomy and credibility in global markets, potentially attracting more investment. This reflects a paradigm shift—no longer is Africa merely seen as a place for aid or philanthropy but as a legitimate landscape for investment and business. However, while these advancements are promising, it's essential to be mindful of the persistent challenges, including regulatory hurdles and infrastructural deficits. Sustained growth will require not only innovation and investment but also collaboration among local leaders, governments, and international partners to build a truly robust fintech ecosystem that can support broader economic development in Africa.