Visa announces its Africa Fintech Accelerator Programme

The new Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator programme has been launched, according to Visa, to support Africa's booming startup scene with knowledge, contacts, technology, and financial backing. Alfred F. Kelly Jr., executive chairman of Visa, made the announcement at the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa in Marrakech, Morocco.

Up to 40 start-ups will be given the opportunity to grow and accelerate each year through the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator's three-month intensive learning programme that focuses on mentorship and company growth. Following the completion of the programme, Visa plans to continue supporting the growth of the fintech industry by making capital investments in a small number of participating companies and speeding their commercial debut through use of Visa technology and resources.

Following Visa's recent commitment to spend $1 billion in Africa's digital transformation and its ongoing dedication to improving the continent's economy and promoting inclusive growth, the Africa Fintech Accelerator programme has been launched. Starting in July 2023, fintech businesses from all around Africa can seek to be a part of the programme through two application stages annually. Finalists from Africa national editions this year will be asked to join the accelerator programme. More than 1,000 Africa Fintech start-ups will compete in the Visa Everywhere Initiative* (VEI) competition in 2022.

"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," stated Alfred F. Kelly Jr., Executive Chairman, Visa, Inc. For years, Visa has been boosting its investments in Africa and fortifying its alliances throughout the continent in order to assist the upcoming wave of innovation and growth. The finest fintech start-ups in Africa will benefit from our new Fintech Accelerator, which will provide knowledge, contacts, and funding to enable scaleable growth.

By advancing innovative ideas and technologies that offer answers to problems that are specific to the African continent and which may further progress Africa's digitalization, the assistance for participating fintechs will help enhance the payment ecosystem. This support of African fintechs will open up new potential to increase financial inclusion, in keeping with Visa's corporate mission to elevate everyone, everywhere by providing the greatest way to pay and get paid.

According to Otto Williams, Visa's Head of Partnerships, Products and Solutions for Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, "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 collaborating with this creative community to develop new programmes and solutions that will enable fintechs to grow while having access to Visa's partner ecosystem and technological infrastructure. We look forward to collaborating with additional talented entrepreneurs and businesses through the new Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator to change the future of money.

Visa has unveiled a number of commercial initiatives and programmes in addition to its $1 billion donation promise to Africa to help grow the continent's payments ecosystem. These consist of:

• Establishing regional offices in Ethiopia, Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to promote and improve the regional financial ecosystem. Visa facilitates payments in all 54 nations from its 10 locations spread across Africa.
• Launching the first specifically designated Visa Sub-Saharan Africa Innovation Studio in Nairobi, Kenya, to offer a cutting-edge setting for bringing clients and partners together to jointly develop payment and commerce solutions that are ready for the future.
• Introducing and enhancing new technologies that enable digital payment processing for African customers and businesses, such as Tap to Phone, which transforms a basic mobile phone into a point-of-sale terminal, and reducing remittance costs with cutting-edge solutions like Visa Direct.
• By collaborating with innovators and business owners, including through the Visa Everywhere Initiative programme and with specific nation programmes in South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt, Visa will become the preferred fintech partner.
• Conjunction with financial partners, launching new initiatives to boost women's empowerment, such as She's Next, which provides finance, mentorship, and networking opportunities to female entrepreneurs running expanding SMBs in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and South Africa.
• Developing financial literacy with partners in a number of languages, including the first Arabic edition of Practical Money Skills in Egypt.