Visa has unveiled the fourth cohort of its Africa Fintech Accelerator program for 2025, spotlighting 22 early-stage startups from 12 African countries set to revolutionize financial services across the continent. This 12-week initiative aims to nurture innovation and foster financial inclusion by supporting diverse solutions addressing challenges such as SME digitization, lending, cross-border payments, payroll, AI-driven transactions, social commerce, climate insurance, and neo-banking.
The cohort includes startups from Kenya (5), Nigeria (4), Egypt (2), Morocco (2), Zimbabwe (2), and single representatives from Ghana, Uganda, Mauritius, DRC, Botswana, Ivory Coast, and South Africa. This geographic diversity reflects the program’s goal of tackling unique market needs across Africa.
Highlighted startups include:
- BigDot.ai (Zimbabwe): Blockchain-powered digital checkouts for SMEs reducing cash dependency.
- ChatCash (Zimbabwe): AI-driven sales and payments through messaging apps.
- Credify Africa (Uganda): Capital and logistics solutions for SMEs in underserved markets.
- Flend (Egypt): Tech-enabled non-bank SME financing.
- Hsabati (Morocco): Operational data collection to support SME financing.
- IPT Africa (Mauritius): Real-time foreign exchange visibility for bulk payroll payments.
- Lemonade Payments (Kenya): Privacy-focused blockchain wallets.
- Maishapay (DRC): Payroll, digital payments, and POS for B2B clients.
- MNZL (Egypt): Asset-backed lending using home and auto equity.
- Motito (Ghana): Flexible asset-financing marketplace.
- Muda (Kenya): Stablecoin liquidity platform for cross-border assets.
- mystocks.africa (Botswana): Unified African stock exchange trading platform.
- OKO Finance Ltd (Ivory Coast): Automated climate insurance for agribusinesses.
- PressPayNg (Nigeria): Financial services tailored for the education sector.
- Sevi (Kenya): B2B payments and stock financing for retailers.
- Shiga Digital Inc (Nigeria): DeFi tools for African financial inclusion.
- ShopOkoa (Kenya): AI credit and payments for micro-enterprises.
- Startbutton (Nigeria): Multi-currency merchant-of-record for cross-border payments.
- Twiva (Kenya): Social commerce platform connecting sellers and influencers.
- Vittas (Nigeria): Finance and payment tools for healthcare providers.
- Woliz (Morocco): AI-driven digital transformation for nano-stores.
- Zazu (South Africa): Neobank for entrepreneurs with business financial tools.
Visa’s Africa Fintech Accelerator program demonstrates its commitment to empowering local entrepreneurs and addressing both regional and global financial needs through innovation and inclusion.
