AzamPay, Cleva and other African Startups Selected for Visa Accelerator Program

Visa, a world-leading company in digital payments, launched its maiden edition of it’s Fintech Accelerator Program last year. The 3-month program aims to help startups reshape the African financial ecosystem, disrupt the industry, revolutionize finance, and impact the ecosystem.

Since it’s inception, the accelerator program has helped over 20 African fintech startups unlock their financial innovations. Startups like Eversend, Anchor, Dojah, Konnect, and more were part of the selected startups for the first accelerator program.

The second cohort of this accelerator program was announced recently, and it’s been confirmed that over 20 fintech startups across Africa will also be participating in this program. 

The program provides startups and founders with the knowledge and expertise to gain a competitive edge in marketing, finance, and sales, one-on-one mentorship with industry experts across Africa and beyond, partnership opportunities, and the necessary funding to scale the business.

Visa’s ongoing effort is to help build and scale the Africa financial economy with a pledge to have invested $ 1 billion in the continent by 2027. 

According to Visa, the startups in the second cohort are from over 28 African countries, which is a 55% increase in the number of countries covered in the first cohort of the program-18 countries, with 65% of them having a female leadership; a 43% increase from the first cohort. The program is focused on fintech in neo-banking, merchant payments, credit scoring, risk management, embedded finance, social commerce, and escrow services.

“Today, we are proud to say that our second cohort of Accelerator participants represents more than 50% of countries across Africa, up from a third during our first cohort. Not only that–but women are in leadership roles across the majority of these cutting-edge startups. We have a robust, diverse selection of innovators seeking to shape the future of commerce and finance – and Visa is happy to help them take the next step to where they need to be,” Aida Diarra, VP and head of Sub-Saharan Africa at Visa, mentioned.

Also read: Flutterwave tops Fast Company list For relentless fintech innovation

List of Startups Selected for the Second Visa Fintech Accelerator Program

CheckUps Medical Hub – Kenya – Embedded Finance (Health)

AzamPay – Tanzania – B2B Marketplace

Beem – Tanzania – Social Commerce

Bizao – Ivory Coast – Merchant Payments Solution

Hub2 – Ivory Coast – Enabler Infrastructure

Iwomi Technologies – Cameroon – Money Movement

Proboutik – Cameroon – Merchant Payments Solution

Vaultpay – Democratic Republic of Congo – Merchant Payments Solution

Aku – Nigeria – Neo-banking

Cleva – Nigeria – Money Movement

Curacel – Nigeria – Insurance Management

E-doc Online – Nigeria – Open Banking

Raenest – Nigeria – Money Movement

Bridgecard – Nigeria – Enabler Infrastructure

Truzo – South Africa – Escrow Services

Chapa – Ethiopia – Merchant Solutions