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Egypt-based Moneyfellows, a tech startup that digitizes informal lending between friends and family networks, has raised US$600,000 in an investment round led by Dubai Angel Investors and 500 Startups.

Founded in 2015, the idea for Moneyfellows hit the startup’s founder and CEO Ahmed Wadi in Germany, where as a fresh graduate with a modest pay, he was looking to fund his own wedding and honeymoon. “Doing an offline money circle with friends and family back home was my only resort,” Wadi recalls. “It was extremely painful to find a suitable one, manage it, and keep track of it. If there existed a digitized version of this, I would’ve been a frequent user myself. There wasn’t; so, I decided to do something about it, and do it myself.”

Agri-tech startup in Kenya, FarmDrive has gotten access to more finance as its operations recently faced expansion to make provision for 3 million shareholders farmers.

SimbaPay (UK, focussed on Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda) – "Send money to family and friends bank accounts or mobile wallets in Africa (from abroad) in a convenient and cheap way. Customers can also use their bill settlement technology to pay merchants in Africa (such as universities, utilities). You can also open a bank account back home using the app".

CEO of Jumo, Andrew Watkins-Ball, comments: “We have a proven business model, evidenced in the strategic partnerships we have built with forward-thinking banks, mobile money operators and partners like Uber."

Since launch in 2014, more than 10 million people have saved or borrowed on the Jumo platform, with nearly 70% of these being micro and small business owners across Africa and Asia. To date, the company has originated almost US$1 billion in loans and maintained savings growth of over 50% month-on-month on its platform, which manages over 45 million customer interactions per month.

Jumo currently has offices in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, Zambia, Pakistan, United Kingdom, Singapore and South Africa. It set up its Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore earlier in the year and has plans to enter several new Asian markets in 2019.

In 2012, two brothers, Chijioke Dozie and Ngozi Dozie, founded Carbon, a Nigerian digital bank start-up. Carbon began as a digital lending company, but now the company provides a variety of services, from payments to savings to investments. According to Dozie, “Our annual report will be released in the second quarter after our financial audit is complete, to gain customer trust, Chijioke Dozie, the CEO, told ProWellTech in 2019 that the company will make Carbon’s financials public.” If you note, before we published the 2019 fiscal year update, we released a year under review in January 2020.Gross profits, profit or loss before and after tax, liabilities and equity, total assets, etc. are included in Carbon’s annual report. Carbon’s year of analysis reveals processed payments, client base, disbursed loans, and investments made on the platform. The business with about 659,000 customers processed N96.54 billion (~$241.35 million) according to Carbon’s year of analysis for fiscal year 2020, which is up 89 percent compared to the same period a year earlier. N25.51 billion (~$63 million) was the disbursement volume for its lending arm, an improvement of 9.1 percent from the 2019 financial year. Investments worth N13.02 billion (~32.55 million) were made on the site, up by 365 percent from FY 2019.The factors that affected these numbers last year, according to the company, included the launch of an iOS app that pushed clients Acquisition, introducing its feature for low-income customers with USSD banking services; and a social chat feature to allow faster transactions. Besides that, Carbon obtained a microfinance bank license in an attempt to become a digital bank. The license implies, according to Dozie, that Carbon’s customers are given additional protection by the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation through depositor insurance. The standard Carbon wallet is now a full-fledged bank account, Dozie says, and clients will transact on the platform like any bank would.

Lending through a pandemic COVID-19 has prevented them settling into Kenya, where there are no less than 50 digital lending platforms competing for an adult population that is over 80% financially included.  Reports of predatory lending have increased red tape in the East African country. A newly gazetted directive bars digital lenders from reporting defaulting borrowers below certain amounts to credit bureaus, among other rules.  It increases the time it will take for a new entrant like Carbon to comfortably express its various services. “We haven’t really had a chance to test the engine,” Dozie says, but they have given out enough loans to calibrate their algorithm. In Nigeria, they have reduced lending to shore up against the uncertainty caused by the pandemic, revising the repayment schedule for 9,016 loans. However, Dozie says they are currently at more than half the level achieved last year, in value and volume. Another profitable year ahead? Carbon’s products need overall improvement, in responding to customer complaints (see responses to this tweet) about deductions, and notification lags, among others. The pandemic’s impact on the Nigerian economy could have an effect on the company’s bottom line. Profit in the next report might as well be less impressive than what this year’s report contains. “It will be easier to beat [this year’s] numbers in naira terms, but we are all at the mercy of macroeconomics on the dollar terms,” Dozie says. He says they will report whatever happens, as part of a long-term pitch to customers who, he believes, will be impressed by an honest expression of financial strength. Otherwise, focus remains on leveraging other strategic moves from 2019, notably the acquisition of payments startup Amplify.  The latter’s intellectual property has gone into developing an SME platform, as well as in developing Carbon Express, a smartphone keypad button that can be used for instant transactions within any app. Carbon acquired Amplify particularly for this feature and their engineering. Maxwell Obi, one of Amplify’s two co-founders who joined Carbon as part of the deal, has left the company, but the others have been instrumental in building valuable aspects like an iOS app.

Another value-adding space is credit reporting. Carbon doesn’t produce the reports; they source from partner bureaus, and make them available to customers. 

In an audited report published this week, Carbon, the Nigerian fintech company, declared that it made the naira equivalent of $312,905 in profit after tax in 2019. 

Fawry, however, is the first-ever African fintech startup to go public through an IPO (Initial Public Offering) on African soil. Fawry went public, last year August, on The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) in the first Egyptian IPO of the year, offering 36 percent (254.6 million) of its shares on The Egyptian Exchange to raise EGP 1.64 billion ($100 million). The offering also comprised of a secondary sale by Netherland Holding BV. The company’s shares that were listed at the price of EGP 6.46 soared 31 percent to close at EGP 8.48 on the first day of trading, which gave the company a market cap close to EGP 6 billion or $366 million. Since then, its stock price has increased by over 300 percent.

1. Millennials squared – a parable of a digital wallet and beer moneyEarlier this year Sam Crowder stood up at a televised baseball game, and held a sign asking his Mum to send him “beer money”. He included his Venmo account information. Thousands of people sent him money, as his sign went viral. Beyond sharing this story as advice in case you ́re ever thirsty and leave your wallet at home, what it reflects is how the use of new technologies may start with digital natives, but then rapidly spread to other generations. It reflects the inter-generational adoption of, and use of, FinTech technologies.So, when looking at the potential of new services, it is important not just to consider the young people who will adopt it. But what will happen when they introduce the technology to their friends and family. Millennials are the earthquake that shakes companies, and adopt new tech and services at lightning speed. The rest of us are the tsunami of adoption that follows and lead to exponential growth.

2. Facebook, Amazon, Google or Ant Financial will become the largest retail bank in the worldIt’s 2020 and to apply for a loan, instead of going to your local bank branch, you quickly ask Facebook for approval. This is far from fanciful thinking. Even as of today, PayPal is arguably one of the largest retail banks — it has more money in deposits than all but the largest 20 US banks, and offers services from payments, to loans and credit cards (albeit currently via partners). But we believe that one of the major tech companies, whether that is Facebook, Amazon, Google, or Ant Financial (the financial arm of Alibaba) will not only transform retail banking, but rapidly become the largest retail bank in the world.“Some bankers and analyststhink that Google, Facebook, Amazon or the like will not fully enter a highly regulated, low-margin business such as banking. I disagree. What is more, I think banks that are not prepared for such new competitors face certain death”Francisco González, CEO, BBVA

hese major tech companies have the platform and the scale to upend retail banking. They already have a digital wallet which underlies the services that enable users to buy and sell on their platforms, such as Google Wallet and Amazon Payments. Facebook Messenger Pay is already available in the US while it recently received an e-money license from the Central Bank of Ireland. This means European users will be able to store and transfer money, and make online purchases. The transition to becoming the largest retail bank in the world will be swift and brutal for traditional banks.

Visa has entered a partnership with Nigeria based startup Paga on payments and technology.Founded in Lagos, Paga scaled its fintech business in West Africa, before targeting expansion in Ethiopia and Mexico.The startup has created a multi-channel network for over 14 million customers in Nigeria to transfer money, pay-bills and buy things digitally through its mobile-app or 24,840 agents.The new arrangement allows Paga account holders to transact on Visa’s global network. It will also see both companies work together on tech.The collaboration reflects a strategy of the American financial services giant to expand in Africa working with the continent’s top startups.

Carbon’s Disrupt fund, the first of its kind by an African fintech startup, will invest up to $10,000 per startup (for 5 percent equity) and give access to Carbon’s API, allowing investees to leverage Carbon’s growing customer base and innovative technology platform, to get to market faster. Acknowledging that its success is dependent on the growth of the tech ecosystem, Carbon expects the initiative to spark more collaboration and further investment that should drive growth across the ecosystem.

Ghanaian agritech startup Agrocenta will use its recently closed $650 000 round to expand operations in Ghana — the company’s CEO and co-founder Francis Obirikorang revealed yesterday.

Ghanaian agritech startup Agrocenta will use its recently closed $650 000 round to expand operations in Ghana — the company’s CEO and co-founder Francis Obirikorang revealed yesterday.

Egyptian fintech startup MoneyFellows raises $4m to expand across Africa - Disrupt Africa

Thndr recently acquired the necessary licensing from the Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA) making the fast-growing startup the first company to acquire a brokerage license in Egypt since 2008. 

“ Our vision is to put wealth in the hands of everyday individuals. With the rise of technology, and the foresight of a very supportive Financial Regulatory Authority, we can make this vision come to life — Egypt is expected to be the 7th largest economy by 2030 and has more than 100 mn people, most of which are young and are looking for a convenient and digital way to invest their money. That’s why we are excited to bring a new breed of young investors to the market.” 

"We believe that this investment revival should be led by investments in securities on the JSE." said Almero Oosthuizen, VP of Business Development at EasyEquities, eloborating on what led to the founding of the FinTech startup.

Cryptocurrency pioneer and early Bitcoin thought-leader Diana Biggs has joined Swiss-based startup Valour, which lets investors easily buy digital assets through their bank or broker. The move is significant with the news that Tesla has bought $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin, thus massively boosting the mainstream markets for crypto assets. Biggs explored the potential for blockchain technology to help solve humanitarian challenges through her venture, Proof of Purpose, in 2017, and her TEDx speech on Blockchain Technology that year is considered by many in the blockchain space to be one of the best in the genre

We are honoured to have the opportunity to collaborate with some of the leading minds in AI and ML to accelerate the extension of financial services to the billions of un(der)-served people in the world. We’re at a critical point in our business where we are focused on leveraging the latest technology to increase customer eligibility and decrease unequal access to quality financial products in emerging markets.” JUMO founder and CEO Andrew Watkins-Ball 

Investment in financial technology (“Fintech”) companies is growing dramatically. Global Fintech funding has risen to over $100 billion, fueled by large M&A deals and large rounds of financing. Investment in Fintech companies is expected to continue to grow significantly in the next few years as such companies offer outsized growth opportunities.

The solution is a mobile app that helps customers to get access to financial investment solutions through their mobile phone regardless of an internet connection. Customers can select either long or short term investment solutions through our app or via our USSD platform

The solution is a mobile app that helps customers to get access to financial investment solutions through their mobile phone regardless of an internet connection. Customers can select either long or short term investment solutions through our app or via our USSD platform. The app intelligently integrates with the mobile money account of the subscriber and an agreed amount is deducted from the account daily, weekly or monthly and invested into financial investment instrument on behalf of the customer.

Globally, two (2) billion people are unbanked, pushing them into extreme poverty and making them unable to manage financial emergencies. However, digital financial technologies present a unique opportunity to financially include the unbanked. Our mission is to leverage digital financial technologies to provide upward social mobility for the unbanked.

Our mission is to leverage digital financial technologies to provide upward social mobility for the unbanked.

BezoMoney is a fintech startup that provides digital financial products for the unbanked. Globally, two (2) billion people are unbanked, pushing them into extreme poverty and making them unable to manage financial emergencies. However, digital financial technologies present a unique opportunity to financially include the unbanked. Our mission is to leverage digital financial technologies to provide upward social mobility for the unbanked.

A lot of business now is able to operate online to meet the 21st-century business-standard. Businesses operating online now are able to receive payments and make transactions without the need for operating physically like the old times.

A lot of business now is able to operate online to meet the 21st-century business-standard. Businesses operating online now are able to receive payments and make transactions without the need for operating physically like the old times.