Visa backs four new African fintech start-ups as part of $1bn continental commitment
Visa has invested in four new fintech start-ups graduating from its biannual Africa Fintech Accelerator programme as part of its commitment to invest $1 billion into the continent by 2027.
Visa invests in four African fintech start-ups
The venture investments, spanning three countries, were revealed by Godfrey Sullivan, SVP of products and solutions, CEMEA at Visa, in a post on LinkedIn this week.
Investment recipients include AI-powered address verification platform OkHi in Nigeria, HR and payroll platform Workpay in Kenya, business lending and payments app Oze in Ghana, and restaurant software vendor Orda.Africa, which operates between Nigeria and Kenya.
The financial details of Visa’s investment across these four start-ups has not been disclosed. However, according to Sullivan, the deals “reflect our commitment to championing digital innovation in Africa” and are expected to “drive fintech growth while bolstering financial inclusion and access”.
The payments giant has so far invested in 45 start-ups and inked 15 additional partnerships in conjunction with its Africa Fintech Accelerator programme, which launched last year with the support of Amazon Web Services (AWS).
The second cohort from the programme will convene in Cape Town, South Africa on 2 December to “pitch innovations to investors and regional Visa executives”, Sullivan says.
