Visa held its Africa Fintech Accelerator program first demo day on February 13th in Nairobi to showcase innovations from emerging Fintech startups from 18 countries across Africa.
Launched in June 2023, the program aims to enable Africa’s expanding startup community by bringing expertise, connections, technology, and investment funding.
During the event, the first-cohort startups showcased their innovations to key ecosystem players, funding partners, angel investors, and venture capitalists.
The first program participants were selected from more than 1,000 applicants across diverse subsectors including merchant payment solutions, lending infrastructure, Banking-as-a-Service, and B2B marketplaces.
The fintechs that participated in the first demo day included Duqha, Kenya, Power, Kenya, Workpay, Kenya, OkHi, Nigeria and Eversend, Uganda, among others.
The program is now accepting applications for its second cohort. Seed to Series A startups operating in Africa and that fall under the following categories are encouraged to apply on the Visa website, with applications open until February 29th.
“Following the success of the inaugural accelerator, Visa is inviting a second round of disruptive startups to apply to the program, in an ongoing effort to support Africa’s growing fintech ecosystem.” Otto Williams, Senior Vice President, Head of Product, Partnerships and Digital Solutions for Visa Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (CEMEA), said.
”This unique experience will offer entrepreneurs an opportunity for mentorship and fast-tracked growth, while also providing them access to a wider network of partners and investors,” he added.
Startups up to Series A stage are encouraged to apply for a chance to gain unparalleled expertise, valuable industry connections, cutting-edge technology, and potential investment funding.
In line with Visa’s pledge to invest $1 billion in Africa by 2027, the accelerator aims to strengthen Africa’s payment ecosystem through innovations and technologies, focusing on digitizing economies, upskilling talent, and building capacity.
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