Afridigest Fintech Review: African giants MTN & Sanlam receive regulatory approval for insurtech JV
Week 44 2022: October 30 - November 5
The Afridigest Fintech Review is a weekly recap of what happened in African fintech.
Hello again, friends! Remember: this Fintech Review goes out on Sundays, the regular Week in Review goes out on Mondays, and the French-language Revue de la Semaine goes out on Wednesdays. (Assuming no delays.)
📌 Week 44 was a relatively slow week for fintech in general, but Money Fellows' Series B announcement is interesting inasmuch as it suggests that the startup might be the first to have cracked the code of digitizing Africa’s longstanding communal saving systems. Many have tried to bring informal gameya, susu, ajo, tontine, stokvel, etc. systems online with mixed results to date.
On to this week’s highlights:
• Just two Africa-focused fintech deals were announced.
• Indian and Bangladeshi fintechs have set their sights on Africa, with Nigeria as the first foray.
• A look at domestic instant payments across the continent, plus “The eNaira has been a massive failure.“
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Week 44 2022: October 30 - November 5
💸 FundraisesAFRICA
🇪🇬 Money Fellows, an Egyptian group lending and savings platform, raised $31M in the first close of a Series B round.
🇳🇬 Raenest, a Nigerian payments & payroll management platform focused on contractors & remote workers, is participating in the Techstars Toronto Accelerator Winter ‘22 batch. (Techstars offers $20K in exchange for a 6% equity and an optional $100K convertible note.)
🤝🏻 Mergers & AcquisitionsPayHippo, a Nigerian SME financing platform, acquired Maritime Microfinance Bank for an undisclosed amount. The deal, which is awaiting approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria, will see PayHippo become a deposit-taking institution with direct access to Nigeria’s Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS), thus broadening the services available to PayHippo’s SME customers.
🚀 Partnerships, Product Launches, & Intercontinental ExpansionINTERCONTINENTAL EXPANSION
Indian digital lending and alternative credit scoring platform Yabx announced its entry into the Nigerian market.
Bangladeshi credit-led, AI-powered neo-banking platform The Social Loan Company announced that it will enter Nigeria in Q1 2023.
Nigerian neobank Kuda announced its intention to launch in the UK next, subject to regulatory considerations.