Visa has launched applications for Cohort 5 of its Africa Fintech Accelerator, a 12-week virtual program designed to help Africa-focused fintech companies scale through mentorship, training, investor access and strategic partnerships.
Applications close on 15 August, with startups expected to bring either a minimum viable product or market-ready solution into the program.
Since launching in 2023, the accelerator has supported 64 startups across 17 African countries, catalyzing over $55 million in follow-on funding and an estimated $3 million in revenue uplift generated during the training period alone.
Visa’s pan-African initiative sits under its broader $1 billion pledge by 2027 to accelerate the continent’s payments infrastructure and digital transformation.
The program’s momentum was marked by the recent announcement of 22 new startups selected for Cohort 4, representing a new wave of homegrown innovation across 12 African markets. Collectively, these ventures are addressing structural gaps in SME digitization, payroll, cross-border payments, DeFi, education finance, social commerce and climate resilience.
Visa’s backing is not just symbolic it delivers the tools and global networks that startups need to scale across fragmented regulatory and banking landscapes.
Each cohort culminates in a high-stakes Demo Day, where founders pitch to VCs, angel investors, banking partners and regulators.
Cohort 4: The 22 Startups Powering Africa’s Fintech Frontier
- BigDot.ai (Zimbabwe): Empowering SMEs through blockchain-powered financial tools, digital checkout solutions, and a drive towards cashless transformation.
- ChatCash (Zimbabwe): AI-driven chatbot tools enabling small businesses to conduct payments and customer service across WhatsApp, Messenger and other social platforms in multiple languages.
- Credify Africa (Uganda): Bridging the trade finance gap for African importers with frictionless access to capital, logistics integration and seamless cross-border payments.
- Flend (Egypt): A digital non-bank lender offering smart SME financing via real-time data analysis to plug North Africa’s $100 billion+ SME credit shortfall.
- Hsabati (Morocco): A business operations management tool that helps MSMEs collect data and gain creditworthiness scoring, unlocking access to partner-bank financing.
- IPT Africa (Mauritius): Specializing in real-time FX, bulk payroll processing, and compliant cross-border payments for African businesses operating across regions.
- Lemonade Payments (Kenya): A white-label payments system offering privacy-first blockchain wallets to merchants while ensuring compliance and data security.
- Maishapay (DR Congo): A full-service B2B platform integrating POS terminals, digital payroll and multi-channel payments in one unified ecosystem.
- MNZL (Egypt): Offering asset-backed credit by unlocking liquidity from home or car equity an alternative to traditional consumer lending.
- Motito (Ghana): A growing “buy-now-pay-later” asset financing marketplace for underserved customers to access basic appliances and tools.
- Muda (Kenya): A digital asset exchange facilitating stablecoin liquidity and faster cross-border payments for traders and B2B fintech clients.
- Mystocks.africa (Botswana): An all-Africa trading platform simplifying stock market access across fragmented capital markets for retail investors.
- OKO Finance Ltd (Ivory Coast): A climate-focused insurtech automating weather-indexed insurance payouts to de-risk agriculture for both farmers and lenders.
- PressPayNg (Nigeria): An edtech-fintech hybrid providing savings, credit and insurance solutions targeted at financing African students’ education.
- Sevi (Kenya): Digitizing non-digital B2B value chains by streamlining supplier-retailer payments, credit tracking, and reconciliation systems.
- Shiga Digital (Nigeria): A decentralized finance (DeFi) platform designed for African users with simplified access to crypto savings, lending, and payment tools.
- ShopOkoa (Kenya): AI-based savings and revenue-linked credit services for micro-businesses offering daily tracking, automated cashflows, and loyalty integration.
- Startbutton (Nigeria): A “merchant of record” service simplifying multi-country commerce by enabling local currency transactions for international firms.
- Twiva (Kenya): A social commerce platform matching SMEs with influencers who market and resell their products offering shared revenue models.
- Vittas (Nigeria): Financing tailored to African health providers bundling loans, inventory tracking, and digital payment tools to improve care delivery.
- Woliz (Morocco): Transforming nano-stores into digital hubs with loyalty schemes, contactless payments and AI-based inventory analytics.
- Zazu (South Africa): A digital banking platform offering expense management, invoicing and bookkeeping tools for African SMEs under one roof.
These firms are using technology to redefine Africa’s fintech infrastructure from the ground up.
The program concludes with a high-impact Demo Day, connecting startups with venture capitalists, angel investors and regional industry leaders.
Visa’s accelerator is not merely a showcase of African potential it is a strategic pipeline for continent-wide fintech leadership. For African fintech founders ready to leap into global relevance, the deadline to apply for Cohort 5 is fast approaching: August 15.
With 62% of its startups led by women or featuring women in executive roles, the accelerator is contributing to inclusive growth, while also expanding operational footprints now spanning 31 African countries.
As Africa’s fintech sector surges with projected annual revenues of $65 billion by 2030 Visa’s long-term bet is not just about payment rails, but about enabling local innovators to shape the next financial era.
