Fintech

Elias Omondi Senior Manager Risk Regulations at FSD Africa
  • The pioneering accelerator programme aims to grow insurance coverage among low-income consumers by investing in innovative solutions in nine African countries.  
  •  The expanded pan-African program is designed to support entrepreneurs in developing innovative solutions for the insurance sector.
  •  It targets Insurtech (insurance technology) innovations from Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe. 
  •  The expansion of BimaLab is supported by $500,000 financing from the Swiss Re Foundation.

FSD Africa has partnered with the Swiss Re Foundation and the National Bank of Rwanda to launch BimaLab Africa Acceleration Programme to raise insurance uptake among low-income consumers in nine countries across the continent.

The expanded pan-African program is designed to support entrepreneurs in developing innovative solutions for Insurtech (insurance technology) innovations from Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

The expansion of BimaLab is supported by $500,000 financing from the Swiss Re Foundation, which is among the …

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An efficient crypto mining industry can generate more job opportunities in Africa as the demand for miners, blockchain specialists, and technology specialists increases, . This encourages nations to enhance their energy and technological capacities to support crypto operations. These enhancements can considerably benefit other industries and the economy as a whole.

African nations must embrace the chance to become a crypto mining hub. This can aid in the digital economy’s growth, citizens’ financial standing, and the infrastructure for energy production. Consequently, African governments can invest in cryptocurrencies to acquire alternative funding sources for developing renewable and alternative energy sources.…

Africa is a strong contender for developing technologies such as blockchain and cryptocurrency owing to the continent’s growing mobile tech adoption rates. Considering the turbulent global financial markets, expensive remittance costs, and restricted banking access, blockchain in Africa offers alternatives to tackle their day-to-day issues.…

Pyypl uses advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) for regulatory compliance, Anti Money Laundering (AML), and Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF).

The platform also conducts real-time Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) and sanctions (both country and individual) screening against the latest and historical UNSC, USDT, FATF, OFAC, and EUCFSF records, as well as all local databases.

Fintech startups in Africa have continued to gain a lot of attention from investors who have been pouring billions of dollars to support the industry. …

In the past decade alone, there has been a proliferation of new means of digital payment that to a great extent has brought about financial inclusion in a way that traditional platforms like banks and money lenders couldn’t.

It is the introduction of these new non-bank financial services providers generally referred to as FinTechs that has conjured the need for digital financial services regulations. Towering above FinTechs are Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), commanders of the Digital Financial Services market.

MNOs were lucky enough to find a ready and defined market to usurp. MNOs already had an existing client base and an enormous network of agents that were using their mobile telecom services for texting and calling.…

The funds which are an extension of an undisclosed six-figure raise MoneyHash announced last June from investors including Ventures Platform, Kepple Africa Ventures, LoftyInc Capital and lead COTU Ventures is aimed at fast-tracking the firm’s growth in the Middle East and Africa. 

MoneyHash started in Egypt early last year, allowing 17 companies to use its sandbox environment to connect with its API and access payments gateways such as Fawry, Paymob and PayTabs.

As more companies opt to digitize their operations across the board, most firms initially work with one or two payment processing providers. …

The Central Bank of Kenya added that all countries in the region needed to participate in flattening the multi-layered correspondent banking structure and shortening the payment chains for a digital currency to work.

The development of CBDCs has been on the rise. According to a 2021 survey of central banks by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), 86 per cent of central banks are in the process of researching the potential for CBDCs, 60 per cent are experimenting on them, and 14 per cent were deploying pilot projects.

The CBK has maintained the cryptocurrency ban and has not issued a digital currency due to concerns about the risks of a CBDC.…

This comes after the National Treasury exempted the digital lender from a law limiting individual shareholding in microfinance to 25 per cent.

In a gazette notice signed by the Cabinet Secretary National Treasury, Ukur Yatani, the San-Francisco based fintech has been exempted from Section 19 of the Microfinance Act (for 4 years through 2025).

Currently, individuals or single entities are barred from holding more than a 25 per cent stake in a microfinance institution.…

The companies that led the seed round were capital firms Distributed Global and Alter Global. Distributed Global invests mainly in blockchain companies, while Alter Global focuses on startups in emerging markets. Other firms that participated include Serena Ventures, Alameda Research, A&T Capital, MSA Capital and 4DX Ventures.

Serena Williams invested in Nestcoin to drive crypto adoption in Africa as the Nigerian startup is building products to help Africans understand and adopt crypto. Yele Bademosi and Taiwo Orilogbon co-founded Nestcoin.

According to Chainalysis, Africa’s cryptocurrency market grew by 1,200%, to US$105.6 billion, between July 2020 and June 2021. High inflation rates, weak currencies, increased unemployment rates and economic instability have supported the exponential growth of crypto in the continent.…

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