Hi Fintech friends 👋,

Here are the highlights of what happened in African Fintech this week;

• Four Fintechs raised over $38 Million.
• Two Fintechs secured partnerships to power cross border payments.
• Nigerian startup that raised $2.1 Million and shut down, returned the remaining $357K to investors.
• Africa’s biggest payments startup hired a new CFO.
• The World’s largest Crypto exchange urged Nigeria to end “unjust detention” of its executive after a viral video.

💸Fundraise and Exits

• Cercli raised $4 Million seed funding to streamline payroll management in North Africa.

• Egypt-born FlapKap raised $34 Million pre-series A to scale SME financing across MENA.
• Lending-as-a-service startup Rubyx secured a $526K loan from Proparco.

💰 Venture Funds

• August 2024 brought a funding slump, a sharp decline in Africa's investment landscape, and a surprising surge in investor activity in MENA.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

• Zambia's ChitChat partnered with Mastercard to launch virtual cards for cross-border payments.

• Fincra secured an International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) license in Nigeria.
• Mansa and Bitmama partnered to enhance cross-border payments through virtual crypto cards.

👔 Leadership Lineup

• Flutterwave named ex-Citi executive Mitesh Popat as new CFO, nine months after former CFO Oneal Bhambani left the company.

• Binance urged Nigeria to end “unjust detention” of its executive after a viral video.

📰 News of the Week

• Thepeer returned $357K as investors moved on from demands for an audit.

Thepeer, the fintech that raised $2.1 Million in June 2022 at $5 Million valuation and shut down in April 2024, returned $357,960 to investors in June, 2024, completing the shuttering of the startup founded in 2021. The refund suggests that an angel investor who wrote a $10,000 cheque would have received a $2,280 refund. 

👀 Eye Openers

• Debt now powers 5% of deals in Africa, is it the right move for the startup? 

How do startup pioneers speak about debt?

What is your view on using debt as a source of capital for African startups? Let us know in the comments, and we will publish your views in next week’s newsletter

📑 Read of the week

• 100% insurance penetration in Africa could happen with this strategy.(Techpoint)

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

• Banks and fintechs remained wary of Crypto despite new licenses.
• CAC warned PoS operators of shutdowns as registration deadline passes.

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

• Interview with David Adeleke, Founder & CEO of Zeeh Africa on Building Open Banking Infrastructure for Africa.

🦉 Tweet of the Week

🎯 Fintech Opportunities

People will be talking about this event for weeks after it happens.

Main sponsors confirmed. few more slots remaining. If you’re keen, this is the time. Please reach out at wiza@thisweekinfintech.com.

Made in Tanzania 🇹🇿 with 💚

👍🏽👎🏽  Did you enjoy this edition of This Week In Fintech Africa? Please share your feedback with me on Twitter or LinkedIn .