Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator Program // Apply before 29th February

Visa is now inviting startups to apply for the second cohort of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program amidst the success of its inaugural batch.

The biannual virtual program, which occurs over the course of 12 weeks, is again set to welcome 20 groundbreaking startups as part of its mission to support fintech innovators across Africa. 

The accelerator provides 1:1 mentorship, personalized training, and exclusive opportunities for funding, investment, and partnership.

Seed to Series A startups operating in Africa are encouraged to apply on the Visa website, with applications open until February 29th . Shortlisted applicants will be announced on April 15th, 2024. 

Brian Dempsey, Founder and CEO  of Power, a fintech platform empowering workers to take charge of their financial well-being across Sub-Saharan Africa, was among the 23 startup founders who participated in the first cohort. 

He commented : “The Visa Accelerator Program has been really valuable for Power as a business. Each week, I have been able to include multiple team members on topics that are really important for our growing business such as HR, Finance, Governance, Go to Market Strategies and more. The quality of the mentors and speakers has been top notch and the Accelerator team was always available when needed.”

The accelerator program, launched in June 2023, aligns with Visa’s pledge to invest $1 billion in Africa by 2027, aiming to revolutionize Africa’s payment ecosystem and uplift the digital economy.

Eva Ngigi-Sarwari, Country Manager, Visa Kenya, said: “Following the success of the inaugural accelerator, Visa is extending an invitation for a second wave of groundbreaking startups to join the program. This strategic initiative is a steadfast commitment to bolstering Africa’s burgeoning fintech ecosystem.“

She added, “ Entrepreneurs engaging in this unparalleled experience will gain access to unparalleled mentorship and an accelerated path to growth, all while forging connections within an expansive network of invaluable partners and investors.”

The first cohort featured startups operating in more than 18 African countries, with participants shortlisted from over 1,000 applicants across diverse subsectors including merchant payment solutions, lending infrastructure, Banking-as-a-Service, and B2B marketplaces. Forty-eight percent had a woman founder or a woman in their leadership team. 

During the Demo Day scheduled on February 13th in Nairobi, the first-cohort startups will pitch their innovations to key ecosystem players, funding partners, angel investors, and venture capitalists.

The Visa Accelerator Program is currently accepting applications for its second cohort from fintech startups in Africa that fall under the following categories:

• Unlocking money movement: Digitizing various payment types (P2P, B2C, B2B, G2C) to create new commerce opportunities, including cross-border remittances and funds disbursements, open banking and account-to-account solutions, mobile money flows, and interoperability.
• Embedded finance: Creating advanced intelligence to enhance payment and finance experiences in B2C and B2B commerce models, including installments, flexible financing, consumer loyalty, and Fintech-as-a-Service.
• Empowering merchants and SMEs: Accelerating the growth of merchants and SMEs through digital payment solutions to foster financial inclusion, focusing on next-generation omnichannel payments, digital onboarding, working capital optimization, and merchant value-add solutions.
• Payment infrastructure enablers: Building the base layer of payment infrastructure and key enabling services such as authentication and fraud solutions, digital onboarding and identity management, credit scoring and risk management solutions, and data solutions and insights.
• The future of finance: Embracing emerging technologies to revolutionize financial services, such as AI-powered payments, blockchain and enterprise DLT, and programmable money.
• Sustainable and inclusive finance: Enhancing payments technology to contribute to an eco-friendly economy, drive inclusiveness, reduce inequality, and create positive impact through financial services for underserved communities or climate-vulnerable communities and affordable and accessible financial solutions.

Interested applicants can send their applications by 29th February. You can access more information about the programme here!