Only one Kenyan startup has made it through into the second cohort of Visa’s Africa Fintech Accelerator program.
Out of the possible 20 only CheckUps Medical Hub, an Embedded health startup from Kenya, made it to the shortlist. Tanzania has two representatives and Ethiopia has one.
The list is majorly dominated by West and Central African states that command 11 enterprises. While Southern Africa only has three two from South Africa and one from Zambia.
According to the digital payments firm, Cohort 2 startups operate across 28 African countries, a 55 per cent increase from Cohort 1 where the representatives operated across 18 countries. 65 percent of them feature female leadership, rising from 43 percent in the inaugural edition.
The selected startups offer a range of solutions, such as neo-banking, merchant payments, credit scoring, risk and identity management, embedded finance, social commerce, escrow services, and more.
They aim to address the challenges and opportunities in the African fintech landscape, such as financial inclusion, access to credit, cross-border payments, and digital transformation.
Visa Vice President, and Head of Sub-Saharan Africa Aida Diarra, said that the second cohort also considered women in leadership roles across the majority of these cutting-edge startups.
“At Visa, we believe in uplifting innovation while driving access and inclusion across the financial ecosystem. Today, we are proud to say that our second cohort of Accelerator participants represents more than 50 percent of countries across Africa, up from a third during our first cohort,” said Diarra.
The Accelerator program, launched in June 2023, is aimed at uplifting the digital economy in Africa, including a pledge to invest $1 billion (Sh132 billion) in the continent by 2027 to help revolutionize the payments ecosystem.
The 12-week virtual Accelerator program will conclude with an in-person Demo Day, where startups will have the opportunity to pitch their innovations to key ecosystem players, funding partners, angel investors, and venture capitalists, enabling them to take small steps toward unlocking their full potential.
The program builds on the success of the first cohort, who graduated in February 2024 with an investor week in Nairobi that saw the participation of more than 250 attendees including banking and fintech partners, investors, and venture capital firms.
The first cohort of startups have since reported positive outcomes from the program, such as increased user growth, product enhancements, funding opportunities, and strategic partnerships with Visa and other industry players.
As part of Visa’s work to unlock financial innovation across the continent, the biannual program offers 12 weeks of 1:1 mentorship and personalized training, providing seed to series A startups with exclusive opportunities to access funding, development, and resources.
