The next African unicorn (TWIF 11/2)

Hello Fintech Friends,

Thank you to TechCrunch for inviting us to talk about Stablecoins: The future of fintech at Disrupt this year. Ben at Brale, Cuy at Visa, and I could probably have gone on for another two hours (photos here). We have some more stablecoin-focused initiatives coming soon from TWIF, keep an eye out.

We're most of the way through conference season, but if you're still hungry to socialize, here are a few TWIF events coming your way:

Today's newsletter is brought to you in partnership with NYU Stern's MS in Fintech (MSFT) Program.

Read on below to see which African payments company just got a $1 billion+ valuation.

(PS: Have feedback for us? 👍👎 Let us know!)

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📊 Stat of the Week

Visa's non-card transactions are growing: Visa direct transactions grew 38% in the latest quarter to 2.8 billion.

Confirmation of Payee, a UK fraud-fighting payments tool to confirm that consumers are sending money to the right recipient, has been extended to cover almost 99% of all transactions made through Faster Payments and Chaps.

💸 Venture Financing

Duetti, a music rights investment and transactions platform, raised $114 million to expand its offerings. (source)
Moniepoint, a Nigerian payments processor, raised its valuation to $1 billion after closing a new $110 million Series C, further positioning itself for pan-African growth. (source)
Reflexivity, which builds artificial intelligence solutions for the investment industry, secured $30 million in Series B funding, aiming to expand its analytics and AI capabilities. (source)
InterfaceAI closed a $30 million funding round to accelerate the development of its conversational AI for financial services. (source)
Glow, a DeFi platform for solar grids, raised $30 million. (source)
BondBloxx raised $27 million to scale its suite of fixed-income ETFs and build out its platform. (source)
Zinc, an education-focused wealth startup, raised $25.5 million from Nexus Venture Partners and other investors to expand its platform. (source)
Tabs secured $25 million in a Series A round led by General Catalyst to enhance its tech solutions in the fintech sector. (source)
Visa-backed Osigu raised $25 million to advance its healthcare management platform. (source)
Elevate secured $20 million in growth funding to expand its AI-driven technology and support its market growth. (source)
Biild, an Austin, Texas-based provider of financial solutions for commercial subcontractors, raised $17.5 million.
Wildfire Systems raised $16 million in a Series B round to fuel growth in its loyalty and rewards platform. (source)
Brightwave, an AI-powered research startup, announced $15 million in Series A funding to enhance its financial analysis tools. (source)
Tilled, a payment tech startup, raised $12.5 million to support its growth in payment processing. (source)
Tola, a cash flow management platform for SMBs, raised a $10.2 million seed round. (source)
Databento, which specializes in providing high-fidelity market data through a developer-friendly platform, raised $10 million. (source)
Sapien raised $8.7 million in seed funding led by General Catalyst to build its social networking and cryptocurrency platform. (source)
Casap, a dispute automation startup, raised $8.5 million to enhance its fintech automation services. (source)
Gig Wage, a payment platform for the gig economy, raised an $8.3 million Series A extension.
VibePay, a UK UK peer-to-peer open banking payments app, raised £5 million. (source)
Berlin-based UnitPlus raised €4.7 million to develop its capital markets technology platform. (source)
Auquan secured $4.5 million in seed funding to advance its AI-driven fintech automation tools. (source)
Stay raised $3 million in seed funding to further its hospitality tech offerings. (source)
Fondo secured $3 million to expand its financial services platform for freelancers. (source)
Finfra raised $2.5 million to enhance its financial infrastructure for SMBs. (source)
Bridgepoint and General Atlantic partnered to reinvest in Kyriba, expanding its treasury and financial management services. (source)
Klarna’s valuation increased to $14.6 billion as an investor doubled down, showcasing confidence in the company’s growth potential. (source)
Airwallex, backed by Tencent, is seeking funding to achieve a $6 billion valuation and expand globally. (source)

The AI race is heating up. Don’t get left behind. Learn how to use these tools and get proficient.
— Wiza Jalakasi (@wizaj) October 31, 2024

Productivity growth over the past couple years and over the post-pandemic period appears to be...

Booming.

We're clocking a 2% annualized pace in productivity post-pandemic, after accounting for the Q3 data + GDP/employment revisions

Trend observed pre-pandemic just 1.4% pic.twitter.com/kILjIA3d9m
— Skanda Amarnath (@IrvingSwisher) October 30, 2024

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Join NYU Stern's MS in Fintech (MSFT) Program and transform your professional journey! Designed for experienced individuals who recognize the growth of fintech and are looking to advance their skillset, this program empowers you to drive technological change in financial services. Enjoy the flexibility of completing your studies with just seven weeks away from the office each year. Remember, GMAT/GRE and TOEFL scores are not required to apply—take the first step towards your future and start your application today!