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Founded in May 2019, located in Cairo, Egypt, Capiter provides payment methods that offer on demand cash flow solutions for small to medium sized businesses. Capiter aims at offering their customers a full fintech experience. You can apply for our services at our website: www.capiter.net

Zineb Drissi-Kaitouni, CEO and Co-Founder of DabaDoc said, “We are at the inception of a disruption in the way healthcare is delivered. Having AXA as a shareholder adds an important dimension to our mission of democratizing access to healthcare. We are excited about further growth prospects with this partnership and the expertise provided by AXA in our current and future markets."Philippe Rocard, CEO of AXA Insurance Morocco said, "In the midst of a digital revolution in Morocco, customer expectations are rapidly evolving. AXA is therefore committed to transforming its role of indemnity payer into a partner facilitating the lives of its customers thanks to its services. As such, we are happy to contribute to the growth of DabaDoc, an amazing Moroccan startup. DabaDoc offers innovative services in the healthcare space, especially by facilitating patient journeys.”

• Agreement signed on 12 September 2018 introducing Axa as DabaDoc’s first institutional shareholder

• The capital raise will help enhance the company’s footprint in its existing geographies and further develop its offering

ape Town-based remittance and money transfer provider Mukuru has reached over seven million customers globally and is looking to extend its footprint across Southern Africa.Mukuru enables affordable and reliable financial services to underserved communities. Its remittance service offers customers the opportunity to send or receive money, with users in over 20 countries across Africa and Asia. Services include sending cash for collection, bank account top-up or mobile wallet transfers.Additional offerings include funeral cover, the Mukuru Money Card and various payment solutions targeted at businesses in emerging markets. Transactions can be conducted either physically at any of its network branches, or via its digital platforms, mobile app, USSD or WhatsApp.While the company operates in over 20 countries, the mobile app is currently only available for download in SA and it is preparing to roll it out broadly across Botswana, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, the UK and EU over the next 12 months.

MTN Group Ltd. engages in the provision of network information technology services. It offers broadband and Internet products and services and converged fixed or mobile products and services.

For wealth management, Abacus is perhaps the most visible platform. The five-year-old NSE-licensed company offers users the ability to deposit, buy, sell, and trade unit trusts, bonds, and equities on their platform.Another startup is the earlier-mentioned Abojani which is an agent of AIB Capital for the purchase of local stocks. Founded in 2018, Abojani claims to have up to KES 40 Mn (roughly USD 400 K) under management for 150 clients in both stocks and mutual funds, as its CEO revealed to WeeTracker.Other platforms for wealth management in Kenya are Britam Asset Managers for mutual funds and Scope Markets for offshore stocks via Contract for Difference (CFD).

Mukuru, which is based in the city of Cape Town, said that it had seen a rise in users during the coronavirus pandemic – caused in part by customers choosing to prioritise remittances to family. Remittance services were designated as essential during the coronavirus lockdowns in South Africa – offering firms such as Mukuru a lifeline as customers in some verticals sought continued services. The firm has also paired up with global money transfer brand WorldRemit to offer what was described by Mukuru’s chief executive as “broader, deeper pay-out networks” that tackled the network’s “white space” issues.

JUMO advances financial inclusion solutions in seven countries. Karri Payments offers mobile payment collection for schools and community organisations.

The book begins with an overview of Cape Town facts such as culture (melting pot of local and international cultures), spoken languages (English, Afrikaans, Xhosa), travel destination (one of the top in the world), cuisine (exquisite), bars and cafes (excellent), customs (braai barbecue), nature and sports (fantastic), wildlife (diverse), locals (chatty, friendly), and transportation (great but fragmented),

The main focus for Hello brands is what customers want and expect from the respective services.

The Hello brands are aspiring and inclusive, aiming to connect all Ethiopian citizens for a brighter future; a future that unlocks the potential of the country and its diverse people

Belcash is the proprietor and provider of the ‘Hello’​ brand. We attempt to find the perfect fit for our customers and partners. This heavy focus on customer service, innovation and professionalism means that our stakeholders are proud to identify themselves with us. Though each Hello brand represents a different service, they all share one key feature – the mobile phone is the access point for their service. The main focus for Hello brands is what customers want and expect from the respective services. The Hello brands are aspiring and inclusive, aiming to connect all Ethiopian citizens for a brighter future; a future that unlocks the potential of the country and its diverse people. The Hello brands say ‘Hello’​ to their customers and offer them essential services with a high level of convenience, quality and affordability. Over the last four years, our service has allowed the Ethiopian population to access the following services using their mobile phones: Health advice (HelloDoctor) Market access (HelloMarket / HelloGebeya) Labour market access (HelloJobs / HelloSera) Legal advice (HelloLawyer / HelloTebeka) Mobile Trade service (HelloBroker/ HelloDelela) And, since February 2015, in partnership with select Ethiopian banks and micro finance institutions; Financial Inclusion (HelloCash)

Judging by the recent set of results from Purple Group, their easy-to-use and cost effective EasyEquities trading platform is well on its way to becoming one of the leading platforms of the investing world. This relationship enables Satrix, the largest equity index tracking provider in South Africa, to employ the same innovative technology driving the EasyEquities platform to offer ETF’s to the nation.

n 2012, the micro-lending institute Kiva partnered with Kenya’s Strathmore University to offer tuition loans to low-income students. The loans were crowdfunded by Kiva and distributed by Strathmore University, who selected applicants based on the criteria of having high academic performance and coming from a low-income household, among other requirements. From 2012 to 2018, Kiva fundraised USD 762,675, which was distributed to 84 students who received an average loan of USD 9,004. The program ended in 2018 because the delinquency rate had risen to 14.65%, with many students being unable to pay back their loan owing to scarce job opportunities after graduation (Kiva, 2018).

In 2012, the micro-lending institute Kiva partnered with Kenya’s Strathmore University to offer tuition loans to low-income students. The loans were crowdfunded by Kiva and distributed by Strathmore University, who selected applicants based on the criteria of having high academic performance and coming from a low-income household, among other requirements. From 2012 to 2018, Kiva fundraised USD 762,675, which was distributed to 84 students who received an average loan of USD 9,004

Forging another link between Africa and China’s digital economies, the African-focused money transfer startup SimbaPay and Kenya’s Family Bank have launched an instant payment service from East Africa to China.

“Through our digital platforms, we aim to make available a one stop solution to our customers in terms of funds transfer and with the inclusion of SimbaPay, our customers will now send money to friends and family across the world at the comfort of their mobile phones,” added Mr. Kantaria.

Through SimbaPay, Prime Bank customers will now be able to instantly and securely send money directly to bank accounts or mobile wallets across 15 countries in Africa, Europe, and Asia including India, United Kingdom, China (WeChat Pay), Germany, Uganda among others. Commenting on the partnership, SimbaPay’s Head of Operations Victor Karanja noted that the service will provide a seamless platform for Prime Bank’s customer base to send money abroad at the click of a button.

echnology and its trends has made our lives easier especially in the fields of financial technology and payments. Now there are more advanced ways of payments and one of the most important players in Egypt in this field is Fawry. Fawry offers financial services to consumers and businesses through different channels and locations. Through Fawry you can pay your mobile, landline and utilities bills, donate money, renew your car license and more. Fawry was founded in 2008 and officially started in the market in 2010. They now have offered their service to reach 80,000 points of service in 300 cities all over Egypt. Their portfolio of businesses include: Orange, Vodafone, Etisalat, Go Bus, Lynks, Anghami, Ahl Misr Foundation, Resala and more

We started by hiring the best people we could find, for any startup to succeed it needs a really strong team especially at the beginning. We also got a good fund at the beginning from different entities such as Raya Holding, Technology Development Fund (Ideavelopers), Arab African International Bank, HSBC, Alexbank and other banks, this is what helped us build our brand.

Strong team management and good negotiation skills. The second thing is that it was a mutual investment fund, those investors already liked Fawry’s model and didn’t want to change anything but just help accelerate our growth with some cash. We are now a large corporate but with the spirit of a startup. Even until now, we appreciate everyone’s input at the company whether they have been working here for a month or 5 years. it doesn’t matter.

Fawry’s fortune is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused more people to place a high demand for its e-payment offerings. Being the leading fintech company in Egypt, Fawry’s revenue for the first half of 2020 increased by 47% to EGP 549.26M, from EGP 373.33 generated in 2019.Fawry has joined the rank of African companies that have become unicorns. Jumia was the first to attain unicorn status after listing on the New York Stock Exchange. Interswitch also became a unicorn after Visa acquired minority stakes last year. All three have attained global recognition, credibility, and reputation. The unicorn status creates a good public perception for investors and potential customers.

Fawry’s fortune is partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic that caused more people to place a high demand for its e-payment offerings. Being the leading fintech company in Egypt, Fawry’s revenue for the first half of 2020 increased by 47% to EGP 549.26M, from EGP 373.33 generated in 2019.

Ashraf Sabry and Mohamed Okasha founded Fawry in 2008. It has an online payment gateway for business owners to transact with customers via cash, credit cards, and e-wallets. In 2019, Fawry listed about 36% (254.6M) of its ordinary shares on the Egyptian Stock Exchange. It initially sold at EGP 6.46 per share, and then it tripled to EGP 18.78 at a market cap of EGP 13.3B in July 2020. After going public, other investors took an interest that led to a significant increase by over 300% in its stock price since its debut at the Egyptian Stock Exchange.

The company will continue to develop and expand its offering to provide a range of product development and payments services.Kobus Ehlers, Firepay CEO, said: “Our team is looking forward to building out our payments platform to solve the real-world payments problems we have always focused on, and to provide customers with the best experience possible. We’re excited to work with Standard Bank in our mission to achieve this both in South Africa and across the continent.”

“We are excited about working more closely with the Firepay team and think that there is an excellent strategic fit between their capabilities and Standard Bank’s vision for a truly universal bank, both in South Africa and throughout the African continent,” said Wendy Pienaar, SBSA Head of Emerging Payments.“Firepay’s experienced team and industry know-how will be used to bolster Standard Bank’s emerging payments strategy,” she added.In addition to SnapScan, the Firepay team’s technology platform already enables payments for several clients, including WeChat and Masterpass.

“We are excited about working more closely with the Firepay team and think that there is an excellent strategic fit between their capabilities and Standard Bank’s vision for a truly universal bank, both in South Africa and throughout the African continent,” said Wendy Pienaar, SBSA Head of Emerging Payments.“Firepay’s experienced team and industry know-how will be used to bolster Standard Bank’s emerging payments strategy,” she added.In addition to SnapScan, the Firepay team’s technology platform already enables payments for several clients, including WeChat and Masterpass.

Also, in its quest to become a digital bank, Carbon acquired a microfinance bank license. According to Dozie, the license means that Carbon’s customers are afforded additional protection through depositors’ insurance via the NDIC. The Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation, a federal insurance agency, protects depositors and guarantees the settlement of insured funds when a financial institution can no longer repay their deposits. With that in place, Dozie says the typical Carbon wallet is now a full-fledged bank account, and customers can perform transactions on the platform as they would with any bank.Like Carbon, other startups on the continent have followed suit by releasing year-on-year metrics. In recent memory, most of these startups play in the fintech and crypto-exchange space. But Carbon remains unique amongst this crop of companies as it releases both transaction stats and real insights into its financial performance.Whereas transaction stats tend to highlight a seemingly explosive year-on-year growth of a company, a comprehensive view of financials will likely show a mixed performance. For instance, Carbon generated $17.5 million in revenue for FY2019, up 68% from 2018. For that same period, it recorded a 23% decrease in its profit after tax numbers, a 222% rise in total liabilities and 107% increase in assets finishing the year off with a 6% increase in total equity.It’ll be interesting to see what these numbers look like for 2020. But that’s not the only event to keep an eye on. In addition to its $10 million Series A from SA-based Net1 UEPS Technologies and a $5million debt financing in 2019 from Lendable, Dozie says the digital bank, which also has a presence in Kenya, is ramping efforts to raise a Series B round soon to consolidate its position on the continent.

In 2018, Carbon, a Nigerian fintech startup, made its financials public for the first time. Although typical for foreign private startups, it’s almost an anomaly in Africa. There have been rare cases in the past, for instance, when Rocket Internet had to include Jumia’s financials in its yearly reports after going public. At the time, the German investment outfit was a founding shareholder in the African-based unicorn.

Nigerian digital bank Carbon hit $240M in payments processed last year, up 89% from 2019

South African fintech startup Jumo closed a $55 million round from a diverse group of investors, the company confirmed.

Nigeria, in particular, has become Africa’s unofficial capital for fintech development, surpassing Kenya in 2019 for drawing the most fintech specific and overall VC on the continent

Jumo joins a growing list of African digital-finance startups raising big money from outside investors and expanding abroad.