Hi Fintech friends 👋,

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

• Xero acquired an African  Ai based financial reporting platform for $70 Million.
• Four Fintechs raised over $14 Million.
• The Fintech Fund raised $10 Million to fund great early stage Fintechs from anywhere. 
• An African VC launched a $33 Million fund to support growth of SMEs.
• African based angel investment syndicate was acquired by a US based Venture firm.
• Owner of Africa’s biggest mobile money partnered with Mastercard to boost digital payments.

The long wait is almost over

💸Fundraise and Exits

• TymeBank raised $9.5 Million amid 59% deposit growth and improved merchant credit.

• Regfyl, a Nigerian fraud detection company, raised $1.1 Million to expand the team and build a new compliance product.

• Egypt's SETTLE raised $2 million in pre-seed funding to enhance B2B payment automation.

• South Africa’s Happy Pay raised $1.8 million to boost growth and expand offerings.

• Uganda's ABC received investment from Netherlands-based Goodwell to increase its client base and deploy new services.

💰 Venture Funds

• The Fintech Fund whose African portfolio includes Fintechs like Stitch, raised its $10 Million second fintech-focused venture fund.

• Uncap, a venture capital firm based in Munich and Nairobi launched a $33 million fund to support the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across Africa.

• US-based Sultan Ventures expanded its reach into MENA with acquisition of Egypt's Acasia Group.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

• Safaricom partnered with Mastercard to boost digital payments and remittances in Kenya.

• Latin American fintech PayRetailers expanded into 8 additional African markets.
• Pyvio and Kora partnered to deliver B2B cross-border payments in Africa.

• Zambian neobank Lupiya partnered with Network International to launch a new debit card.

👔 Leadership Lineup

• Fintech KopoKopo named new leadership amid Moniepoint acquisition talks.

📰 News of the Week

• Xero acquired South African Ai based financial reporting platform Syft for $70 Million.

The deal is projected to close between October and December 2024 pending regulatory approval. Syft reported $4.4 million in revenue from 75,000 customers across 80 countries.

Xero will pay $40 million upfront for the acquisition, including $10 million in shares. The rest—-earn-outs and employee-restricted shares—will be paid over three years. Syft’s 70 employees will also be integrated into Xero.

👀 Eye Openers

• The Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) reported that Nigerian banks lost $25.7 million to fraud in Q2 2024. GTCO’s fintech HabariPay began recovery of $1.1 Million sent to customers in error. Ecobank Kenya lost “millions of dollars” after card flaws exposed it to fraud. A fatal error by NIBSS worsened Flutterwave's $26 Million glitch.

Do we need more fraud prevention and loss mitigation startups in Africa? Share your thoughts, and we will publish them in the next newsletter.

📑 Read of the week

• Fewer than 5% of seeded African startups make it to Series A.(Benjamindada)
• Could Mobile Money be the future of SME Banking.(Frontier Fintech)

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

• The South African Reserve Bank cut interest rate for the first time in four years.

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

• How Paystack changed the game in African Fintech 

🦉 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.

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