{"id":42665,"date":"2025-04-16T19:10:24","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T16:10:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/?p=42665"},"modified":"2025-04-16T19:19:50","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T16:19:50","slug":"visa-announces-investment-in-konnect-and-paytic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/2025\/04\/visa-announces-investment-in-konnect-and-paytic\/","title":{"rendered":"Visa Announces Investment in Konnect and PayTic"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"70\" data-end=\"194\"><strong>Accelerator Cohort 3 culminated with Demo Day at GITEX Africa 2025, following 3 months of training, mentorship, and networking.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"70\" data-end=\"194\"><strong>Visa\u2019s strategic investment and commercial partnerships with Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator alumni showcase ongoing commitment to their success.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"196\" data-end=\"514\"><strong>Visa<\/strong>, a global leader in digital payments, has announced strategic investments and commercial partnerships with two fintech startups following their participation in the 12-week <strong>Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator Program<\/strong>, which aims to <strong>empower startups<\/strong> to scale through training, mentorship, and networking opportunities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"516\" data-end=\"874\"><strong>Visa\u2019s<\/strong> investments include <strong data-start=\"543\" data-end=\"554\">Konnect<\/strong>, a Tunisia-based fintech company that offers seamless and instant payment solutions via shareable links sent through SMS, email, or messaging apps such as <strong>WhatsApp<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"516\" data-end=\"874\"><strong>Visa<\/strong> has also invested in <strong data-start=\"746\" data-end=\"756\">PayTic<\/strong>, a Morocco-based fintech that streamlines back-office operations and strengthens risk management in digital payments.<\/p>\n<h2 dir=\"ltr\" data-start=\"29\" data-end=\"84\"><strong data-start=\"58\" data-end=\"83\">Officials\u2019 Statements<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"876\" data-end=\"1325\"><strong>Leila Serhan, Senior Vice President and Group Country Manager for North Africa, Levant, and Pakistan at Visa, stated:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"876\" data-end=\"1325\"><br data-start=\"997\" data-end=\"1000\" \/>&#8220;These innovative startups are a source of inspiration through their creativity and dedication, bringing transformation to the world of commerce and finance,Visa is proud to support their journey by providing essential resources, mentorship, and empowerment opportunities to accelerate digital transformation across Africa.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"1327\" data-end=\"1674\"><strong>Amin Ben Abderrahman, CEO of Konnect, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"1327\" data-end=\"1674\"><br data-start=\"1374\" data-end=\"1377\" \/>&#8220;We at Konnect are thrilled by Visa\u2019s continued trust in our vision of facilitating instant and seamless payments across Africa,Our goal is to empower businesses and individuals to transact with ease and confidence, and Visa\u2019s support reinforces our commitment to shaping the future of payments.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"1676\" data-end=\"2017\"><strong>Imad Boumahdi, CEO of PayTic, also commented:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"1676\" data-end=\"2017\"><br data-start=\"1725\" data-end=\"1728\" \/>&#8220;With Visa\u2019s backing, we are uniquely positioned to push the boundaries of innovation in fintech, enhance compliance in digital payments, and streamline operations for our clients,We look forward to leveraging Visa\u2019s deep expertise and resources to fuel growth and create lasting impact.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2019\" data-end=\"2156\"><strong>Konnect and PayTic join the list of Visa\u2019s previous investments in graduates from the first cohort of the Accelerator program, including:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2158\" data-end=\"2521\">\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2158\" data-end=\"2222\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2160\" data-end=\"2222\"><strong data-start=\"2160\" data-end=\"2167\">Oze<\/strong> (Ghana): Offers embedded finance solutions for SMEs.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2223\" data-end=\"2299\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2225\" data-end=\"2299\"><strong data-start=\"2225\" data-end=\"2236\">Workpay<\/strong> (Kenya): Provides a cloud-based payroll management platform.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2300\" data-end=\"2395\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2302\" data-end=\"2395\"><strong data-start=\"2302\" data-end=\"2310\">OkHi<\/strong> (Nigeria): A smart addressing system that simplifies digital address verification.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"\" data-start=\"2396\" data-end=\"2521\">\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"2398\" data-end=\"2521\"><strong data-start=\"2398\" data-end=\"2406\">ORDA<\/strong>: A cloud-based restaurant software company serving over 1,500 restaurants across Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2523\" data-end=\"2820\">Visa also announced a strategic partnership with <strong data-start=\"2572\" data-end=\"2581\">Chari<\/strong> (Morocco), a B2B platform offering embedded fintech solutions for small convenience stores.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2523\" data-end=\"2820\">The partnership will focus on supporting <strong>SME digitization<\/strong> in Morocco and North Africa to enhance digital payment acceptance and issuance services.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2822\" data-end=\"3128\"><strong>Ismael Belkhayat, CEO and Co-founder of Chari, said:<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"2822\" data-end=\"3128\"><br data-start=\"2878\" data-end=\"2881\" \/>&#8220;This partnership with Visa will significantly boost our financial services for merchants. With Visa\u2019s leading capabilities in payment acceptance, we are positioned to drive digital transformation and achieve significant growth across the region.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"3130\" data-end=\"3166\"><strong data-start=\"3134\" data-end=\"3166\">GITEX Africa 2025 Highlights<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"3168\" data-end=\"3633\">This announcement coincides with Visa\u2019s participation as the Financial Innovation Partner at <strong data-start=\"3261\" data-end=\"3282\">GITEX Africa 2025<\/strong>, held in Marrakech, Morocco, from April 14\u201316. On April 15, during the second day of the event, <strong>Visa<\/strong> concluded the third cohort of the<strong> Africa Fintech Accelerator Program<\/strong> at the<strong> GITEX 10X Stage<\/strong>, where 19 fintech startups from across the continent presented their innovative solutions to an audience of investors, entrepreneurs, and potential partners.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"3635\" data-end=\"3923\"><strong>The startups<\/strong> in the third cohort represented a dynamic group of next-generation African innovators from 21 countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"3635\" data-end=\"3923\">Notably, 85% of the participating companies were led by women\u2014up from less than 50% in the first cohort and 65% in the second\u2014a milestone <strong>Visa<\/strong> is committed to continuing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"3925\" data-end=\"4383\">The <strong data-start=\"3929\" data-end=\"3964\">Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator<\/strong> is a comprehensive three-month program designed to support startups from Seed to Series A stages, offering personalized mentorship, training, and exclusive opportunities for funding and partnerships.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"3925\" data-end=\"4383\">This program is part of <strong>Visa\u2019s<\/strong> commitment to invest $1 billion in Africa by 2027. Since its launch in 2023, the initiative has supported over<strong> 60 startups,<\/strong> with the fourth cohort set to be announced on <strong data-start=\"4366\" data-end=\"4382\">June 2, 2025<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" dir=\"ltr\" style=\"text-align: left;\" data-start=\"4385\" data-end=\"4595\">The program culminates in <strong data-start=\"4411\" data-end=\"4423\">Demo Day<\/strong>, where participants present their solutions to a high-profile audience of <strong>ecosystem enablers<\/strong>, opening the door to strategic collaborations and future growth opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Visa, a global leader in digital payments, has announced strategic investments and commercial partnerships with two fintech startups following their participation in the 12-week Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator Program, which aims to empower startups to scale through training, mentorship, and networking opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":42661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"post_subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1810,1779],"tags":[3866,7832,7831,3308,7830],"class_list":["post-42665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fintech","category-gitex","tag-gitex-africa","tag-konnect","tag-paytic","tag-visa","tag-visa-africa-fintech-accelerator"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42665"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42665\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/entarabi.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}