Hi Fintech friends 👋,

It has been a busy week with more Fintech announcements, here are the highlights of what happened in African Fintech this week;

• Five African Fintechs announced funding deals.
• Israel based Fintech Unicorn launched a $4 Million fund to invest in African startups.
• Nigerian Fintech launched a consortium-led Naira stablecoin.
• Binance executive sued EFCC over unfair detention.
• A Nigerian Fintech allegedly involved in scamming employees taxes, laid off its employees who protested for their salaries.

Join online community of TWIF Premium members and enjoy exclusive fintech conversations, private events, roundtable discussions, networking, job matching, and premium industry insight - all in one place.

Community

📱To join our Slack with 10,000+ other fintech enthusiasts, sign up below. This Week in Fintech has two online communities: * TWIF Premium for fintech founders, investors, and operators. * TWIF Basic for all fintech enthusiasts. 💡 Join TWIF Premium ( $100 / year ) 💡TWIF Premium Benefits 👉 Curated conversations with fintech experts. 👉 Private invites

This Week in FintechSabrina Baxter

💸Fundraise and Exits

• Tunisian fintech startup EasyBank raised $370k funding round.

• Ivorian Remittance fintech startup Cauridor raised $3.5m seed funding.

• Khazna raised $16 Million Pre-Series B to expand digital banking services in Egypt and beyond.

• Iwomi raised $100K from The Baobab Network to automate regulatory compliance for banks and Fintechs. 
• Hakiki raised funding to expand vehicle financing in Kenya.

💰 Venture Funds

• Saviu II, the francophone-focused fund, reached a second close of €25 million to invest in African startups.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

• Nigerian crypto startup Busha listed cNGN, a consortium-led Naira stablecoin.

• Startbutton, a startup that helps businesses expand abroad without physical offices, launched in seven Francophone African countries.
• Tuma Ventures entered Tanzania with new PSP licence approval.

👔 Leadership Lineup

• Binance executive sued EFCC over unfair detention.

📰 News of the Week

• Israeli unicorn StarkWare launched a $4 million fund to invest in African blockchain startups.

The company valued at $8 billion, through its fund might provide grants and investments of between $150,000 to $500,000 and above to early-stage startups building on StarkNet, StarkWare’s proprietary decentralized application platform that operates on the Ethereum blockchain.The fund will target high-potential startups across West, South, and East Africa, focusing on teams combining strong technical skills and local business acumen to create scalable blockchain solutions.

👀 Eye Openers

• Is Africa's biggest mobile money provider losing its dominance?

📑 Read of the week

• How Tosin Eniolorunda Built a Billion-Dollar Giant by Betting on Nigeria's Underserved Markets.(Linkedin)

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

• Bento abruptly laid off the tech team following protest over delayed January salaries. 

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

• From Banking to DAO: An Interview with Yacob Berhane, Founder of Pariti, Which Helps Growth-Stage Businesses in Underserved Markets Prepare for Investment by Providing Access to a Distributed Global Talent Network.

🦉 Tweet of the Week

🎯 Fintech Opportunities

• Applications open for 4th Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator. Apply 

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 .