Visa Launches the Second Cohort of its Fintech Acceleration Program in Africa to Support Startups

Visa, globally recognized in the digital payment sector, has announced the opening of applications for the second cohort of its fintech acceleration program in Africa. This program specifically targets African startups ranging from early-stage to Seed to Series A startups. Visa invites these companies to apply via its website, with the application period open until February 29.

As part of this initiative, Visa has announced its first demo day on February 13 in Nairobi. On this day, startups from the program’s first cohort will showcase their innovations to a diverse audience, including key industry players, funding partners, investors, and venture capitalists.

The first cohort included startups from over 18 African countries, including three from Morocco, one from Egypt, and another from Tunisia. These companies were selected from over 1000 applicants, representing various sub-sectors such as commercial payment solutions, lending infrastructure, banking services, and B2B commerce markets. Notably, 48% of these companies were founded or led by women.

Startups in early stages up to Series A, operating in Africa, are invited to apply for the program’s second cohort. The program focuses on several areas, including:

1. Developing new payment streams by digitizing different payment types like P2P, B2C, B2B, G2C, and exploring new business opportunities involving cross-border transfers, remittances, open banking solutions, and more.
2. Embedded finance, focusing on creating advanced informational environments to enhance payment and financing experiences in B2B and B2C models, including installments, flexible financing, and more.
3. Empowering merchants and SMEs through digital payment solutions to accelerate their growth.
4. Enabling payment infrastructure factors, including the development of foundational layers and enabling services.
5. The future of finance, adopting emerging technologies to improve financial services.
6. Sustainable and inclusive finance, focusing on leveraging payment technology to support an eco-friendly and inclusive economy.

Tempo Draison, CEO and co-founder of “Okhi,” highlighted the program’s importance in developing his team’s skills in diverse areas such as finance, engineering, human resources, and design, contributing to the company’s accelerated growth. He emphasized the significance of collaborating with Visa on a pilot project that could transform their business operations.

Finally, this program is part of Visa’s commitment to enhancing the digital economy in Africa, with a planned investment of one billion dollars in the continent by 2027. Leila Serhan, the regional director and vice-chair of Visa in North Africa, the Levant, and Pakistan, stressed the program’s importance in supporting Africa’s growing fintech ecosystem and providing unique opportunities for entrepreneurs to achieve rapid growth and access a broad network of partners and investors.

For more information about Visa’s Africa Fintech Acceleration Program and to apply, visit Visa’s website at the following link: https://africa.visa