Afridigest Fintech Review: When an elephant (FTX) falls, it’s the grass that suffers
Week 45 2022: November 6-12
The Afridigest Fintech Review is a weekly recap of what happened in African fintech.
Hello again, friends! Remember: this Fintech Review usually 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.)
📌 Thanks for your patience with today’s Fintech Review. The title here refers to the impact of FTX’s collapse on the African tech ecosystem and this newsletter was held to get a better sense of the fallout — I thought there might be some more news on the subject today and indeed there was. Details below.
On to this week’s highlights:
• Eleven Africa-focused fintech deals were announced, the majority of which were accelerator-related.
• FTX’s collapse is causing discomfort on the continent.
• The EMEA division of a major global financial institution released an interesting report on salary on-demand’ / ‘earned wage access’ platforms.
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Week 45 2022: November 6-12
💸 FundraisesAFRICA
🇪🇬 Blnk, an Egyptian B2B2C digital lending & in-store financing platform, announced that it raised $32M: $12.5M across pre-seed and seed equity rounds, $11.2M in debt financing, and $8.3M via the issuance of securitized bonds.
🇲🇦 WafR, a Moroccan fintech and rewards platform that helps FMCGs execute promotional campaigns in local grocery stores, raised $120K.
The following fintech startups were selected for the Katapult Africa accelerator program and will each receive a $150K investment in equity and convertible instruments:
The following fintech startups are participating in the second batch of Startup Wise Guys’ B2B digital SaaS accelerator program and will each receive ~$67K (€65K) in exchange for an up to 12% equity stake and other benefits:
Built Financial Technologies, a Ghanaian invoicing, payroll, and payments platform for SMEs.
🇳🇬 DT2 Technologies, a Nigerian core banking platform.
🇰🇪 Hisa, a Kenyan platform for investing in public equities.
🇰🇪 Sortika, a Kenyan saving and investing platform.
🇰🇪 Naivera, a Kenyan financial marketplace.
🇰🇪 Zemo, a Kenyan B2B expense management platform.
🇹🇿 Tunzaa Fintech, a Tanzanian BNPL & rewards platform.
ADJACENT
Pyypl, an Emirati blockchain-based payments & fintech platform targeting underserved users across the Middle East & Africa, raised a $20M Series B round from Global Ventures and others. The company’s initial African markets include Kenya, Mozambique, and Nigeria.
📰 News of the Week
Crypto dominated global headlines in Week 45 thanks to the collapse of FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world, along with its affiliated investment arm, FTX Ventures, and its quantitative trading arm, Alameda Research.
And when an elephant falls, it’s the grass that suffers. Said differently, FTX’s bankruptcy has already had and will continue to have implications for Africa’s tech ecosystem.
In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, for example, FTX named various Africa-focused affiliates of AZA Finance/Bitpesa (likely due to previously rumored acquisition discussions), causing a stir. But AZA’s Elizabeth Rossiello was quick to issue a correction that FTX corroborated: AZA and affiliated entities are not owned or controlled by FTX.
Still, FTX/Alameda was a highly active investor with investments in 250+ crypto startups worldwide, and its Africa portfolio includes Chipper Cash, Jambo, Nestcoin, Ovex, VALR, MARA, and Bitnob.