financial service | CEO Business Africa

DriveWealth partners Chipper Cash to enable affordable access to investing

November 25, 2021November 25, 2021 Editor

UGANDA – DriveWealth, LLC, a provider fractional investing and embedded finance, has announced a partnership with Chipper Cash, a fintech startup enabling peer-to-peer money transfers and cross-border payments for nearly four million users. DriveWealth’s real-time fractional trading technology and API-based brokerage infrastructure will enable the Ugandan population to gain affordable access to investing in U.S. equities for the first time. Approximately 66% of Sub-Saharan Africa’s population did not have access to a bank account in 2020, according to the World Bank. Through its partnership with DriveWealth, Chipper Cash is empowering…

Verdant Capital closes four private equity-related transactions in South Africa

November 16, 2021November 16, 2021 Editor

SOUTH AFRICA – Verdant Capital, a specialist investment bank and investment manager, has closed four private equity-related transactions in South Africa with important fund raisings for Bridge Taxi Finance and Retail Capital, the sale of Nedan Oil and the sale of Baxi to MFS Africa. Verdant Capital has successfully raised US$20 million in debt financing for Bridge Taxi Finance from a small group of leading international impact investors. The funding will be used to grow the institution’s lease portfolio. In addition, Verdant Capital has raised US$10 million in debt funding…

Fintech Paymob partners Mastercard to launch payment acceptance service in Egypt

November 9, 2021November 9, 2021 Editor

EGYPT – Paymob, Egypt’s pioneer in digital payments, has partnered with Mastercard to launch the Tap-on-Phone digital payment acceptance service in Egypt, the first-of-its-kind in the country. Egypt has a tech-savvy population, and a smartphone penetration of more than 90%. Tap-on-Phone is a simple, convenient, and cost-effective digital payment technology that meets the needs of small merchants. The solution transforms smartphones and tablets into safe payment acceptance devices for contactless cards, mobile wallets – with no additional equipment or setup-related costs. Businesses can simply download the mobile app and offer…

Emerging Africa Group acquires majority stake in fintech startup Fundall

November 1, 2021November 1, 2021 Editor

NIGERIA – The Emerging Africa Group, a financial service firms has acquired a majority stake in Fundall, one of Nigeria’s most innovative Fintech startup. Fundall is building Africa’s first financial super app, to help individuals and businesses spend smartly, manage money and grow money – from living their best lives every day to planning for the future. This investment follows Fundall’s prior capital raise in October 2020, which was directed largely into the acquisition of a microfinance bank, as part of steps to further strengthen its operational framework and license…

Crypto exchange Yellow Card secures US$15m Series A for its expansion plan

September 28, 2021September 28, 2021 Editor

AFRICA – Yellow Card, the Pan-African cryptocurrency exchange, has announced a US$15 million Series A, to expand its personnel, develop new products, and expand into more African countries. The round, which is the largest ever by an African cryptocurrency exchange, was led by Valar Ventures, Third Prime, and Castle Island Ventures with participation from Square, Inc., Blockchain.com Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, Polychain Capital, BlockFi, Fabric Ventures, Raba Partnership, MoonPay, GreenHouse Capital, and more. Third Prime was appointed to the crypto company’s board of directors as a result of the latest investment.…

Swvl partners various Egyptian banks to fund the provision of 14-passenger vehicles

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021 Editor

EGYPT – Swvl, an Egyptian ridehailing startup, has announced a partnership with various Egyptian banks to fund the provision of 14-passenger vehicles to independent drivers working on Swvl’s unfixed transportation routes. This would help young people earn more money while also supporting the state’s efforts in this area. It will also help the transportation sector, which is expanding rapidly. Swvl’s head of city trips, Ahmed El-Demerdash, said the company has achieved an agreement with Nasser Social Bank to finance passenger vehicles of various brands and models in the Egyptian market…

Sterling Bank partners aviation and cargo conference to improve business through airports

August 24, 2021August 24, 2021 Editor

NIGERIA – Sterling Bank has announced partnership with the first aviation and cargo conference to help grow export and cargo business through the airports. The bank said it is reinforcing its emerging position as the biggest supporter of transport and travel business in Nigeria, as clearing agents at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos have confirmed that Nigeria imports tonnes of cargo by air everyday but exports very little and many freighters that arrive Nigerian airports fully laden with goods depart from the country empty. To address this problem the…

Arab Bank launches its fintech-focused accelerator program in Egypt

August 23, 2021August 23, 2021 Editor

EGYPT – Arab Bank, a financial institution, has launched its fintech-focused corporate accelerator program AB Accelerator in Egypt, following its successful launch in Jordan in 2018. The launch of this programme in Egypt comes as part of the bank’s strategic efforts to foster and support innovation in the fintech sector towards offering responsive and agile banking solutions in line with the evolving needs and expectations of clients across different segments. The AB Accelerator programme aims to accelerate the adoption of emerging technologies and solutions within the Arab Bank and support…

Wafa Life Insurance Egypt to formally start business in Egypt by the end of 2021

August 19, 2021August 19, 2021 Editor

EGYPT – Wafa Life Insurance’s Egypt division has announced that it is set to formally start business in Egypt by the end of 2021, saying the decision is the culmination of a series of negotiations with Egyptian authorities. The company, which is a subsidiary of Morocco’s Wafa Assurance and part of the Attijariwafa bank group, announced in July that it had received official permission from the Egyptian government to begin business operations in the country. You can have a read Here. Chief executive of Wafa Life Egypt Abeer Saleh said…

Vista Group Holdings SA secures US$69m Intra Africa Investment Finance Facility from Afreximbank

July 22, 2021July 22, 2021 Editor

WEST AFRICA – African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has closed a €59.2 million (US$69.72m) Intra Africa Investment Finance Facility to finance Vista Group Holdings SA’s acquisition of majority stakes in two banks. The banks are Banque Internationale pour le Commerce et l’Industrie de la Guinée (BICIGUI) and Banque Internationale pour le Commerce, l’Industrie et l’Agriculture du Burkina (BICIAB). The stakes in the two banks, which operate in Guinea and Burkina Faso respectively, are being acquired from BNP Paribas who is exiting these markets for operational reasons. The shift to African control…