Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Visa has announced the launch of the new Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program to help enable the continent’s expanding start-up community through expertise, connections, technology, and investment funding.
In a statement shared with Business Post, it was disclosed that the initiative was introduced by Visa Executive Chairman, Mr Alfred F. Kelly Jr., at Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa in Marrakech, Morocco.
The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator will enable up to 40 start-ups each year to accelerate and grow through a three-month intensive learning program focused on business growth and mentoring.
Following the programme completion, Visa intends to further support fintech growth with capital investment in select participating businesses while accelerating their commercial launch through access to Visa technology and capabilities.
The launch of the Africa Fintech Accelerator program follows Visa’s recent pledge to invest $1 billion in Africa’s digital transformation and its long-term commitment to advancing Africa’s economies and driving inclusive growth.
Fintech startups throughout Africa can apply to be part of the program through two application phases each year, starting from July 2023. With more than 1,000 Africa Fintech start-ups taking part in the Visa Everywhere Initiative (VEI) competition in 2022, finalists from African country editions this year will be invited to join the accelerator program.
Speaking on this, Mr Kelly Jr., Executive Chairman of Visa, said, “Africa has one of the most exciting and admired fintech ecosystems in the world, bringing outstanding entrepreneurial talent to a young digital-first population that is growing fast.
“Visa has been increasing our investments in Africa for decades and strengthening partnerships throughout the continent to support the next wave of innovation and growth. Our new Fintech Accelerator will bring expertise, connections, and investment to Africa’s best fintech start-ups so they can grow at scale.”
The support for participating fintechs will help further strengthen the payment ecosystem by fast-tracking new innovations and technologies that provide solutions to challenges that are unique to the African continent and which can further advance Africa’s digitization.
This, the company said, is in line with Visa’s corporate purpose to uplift everyone, everywhere, by being the best way to pay and be paid and supports Africa’s fintechs to facilitate additional opportunities to expand financial inclusion.
According to Mr Otto Williams, Head of Partnerships, Products, and Solutions, Central Europe, Middle East and Africa, Visa, “Africa’s fintech community is at the forefront of payments innovation and connecting more of the unbanked with access to the digital economy.
“Visa has been working with this innovative community to create new programs and solutions to help fintechs scale while giving access to Visa’s technology and partner ecosystem. Through the new Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, we are looking forward to working with more brilliant entrepreneurs and companies to shape the future of money.”
In addition to its $1 billion pledge to Africa, Visa has recently introduced several business initiatives and programs to further advance the payments ecosystem in Africa.
These include the establishment of local operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Sudan to help support and strengthen the local financial ecosystem. Visa has 10 offices across Africa from which it supports payments in all 54 countries.
It also unveiled the first dedicated Visa Sub-Saharan Africa Innovation Studio in Nairobi, Kenya, to provide a state-of-the-art environment to bring together clients and partners to co-create future-ready payment and commerce solutions as well as the introduction and expansion of new technologies that help African consumers and merchants make and receive digital payments, such as Tap to Phone to turn a simple mobile phone into a point-of-sale terminal, as well as lowering remittance costs through innovative solutions like Visa Direct.
The firm also established Visa as the fintech partner of choice, working with innovators and entrepreneurs, including through the Visa Everywhere Initiative program, with dedicated country programmes in South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt.
It has launched new programmes to support women’s empowerment together with financial partners, including She’s Next, which is bringing funding, mentoring, and networking opportunities to female entrepreneurs leading growing SMBs in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa and collaborated with partners, to advance financial literacy in several languages, including localized versions of Practical Money Skills in Egypt and Morocco for the first time.
