- Visa has announced the launch of its Africa Fintech Accelerator Program.
- The Program aims to assist budding fintech startups on the African continent, with investment opportunities for up to 40 per year.
- This new Accelerator comes on the back of Visa’s Everywhere Initiative, which saw more than 1 000 African fintech startups take part in 2022.
This week Visa formally announced the launch of its Africa Fintech Accelerator Program.
The Program, which was announced at the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Africa in Marrakech, aims to develop a larger community of fintech startups on the African continent, with Visa assisting in terms of expertise, connections, technology, and investment funding.
The Africa Fintech Accelerator will target up to 40 startups each year in order to accelerate and grow the fintechs through a three-month intensive learning program focused on business growth and mentoring.
“Following the program completion, Visa intends to further support fintech growth with capital investment in select participating businesses, while accelerating their commercial launch through access to Visa technology and capabilities,” explains Visa in a press release sent to Hypertext.
“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. Visa has been increasing our investments in Africa for decades and strengthening partnerships throughout the continent to support the next wave of innovation and growth. Our new Fintech Accelerator will bring expertise, connections, and investment to Africa’s best fintech start-ups so they can grow at scale,” adds Alfred F Kelly Jr., executive chairman of Visa, who was present at the announcement.
The launch of this new Program comes on the back of Visa’s Everywhere Initiative (VEI), which saw more than 1 000 African fintech startups taking part in the competition in 2022. The finalists from the African country editions will this year be invited to join the Accelerator Program.
