Hi Fintech friends👋

A lot has happened this week in Fintech Africa, but before we delve into that, the team and i would like to thank and appreciate everyone who attended our 3rd Annual Nairobi Fintech Meetup last week. Special thanks to our partners Asilimia, Turaco, Peach Payments, Onafriq, HoneyCoin, and DCG.

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

• Three Fintech deals worth over $10 Million were announced, including a $3 Million investment by Africa’s payment unicorn into Nigeria’s savings Fintech.
• Nigerian digital Bank acquired Ai-Fintech startup to extend its business banking.
• Two Funds worth over $20 Million were launched to fund African SMEs and Web3 startups.
• Ex VP at African Unicorn launched a Fintech to power hospitality businesses.
• Africa’s leading Ecommerce reduced losses to $4.5 Million, its Fintech business grew by 41% YOY.
• African Fintech Acquisition Resulted in $10 Million Payout for 190 Employees.
• Nigeria’s Biggest Bank by Asset named the Acting Group CEO after the unfortunate passing of its co-founder, Herbert Wigwe.

💸 Fundraise and Exits

• Nigerian Fintech-Mobility startup, Moove received $10 million Debt from Stride Ventures  for India expansion. In 2023, Moove collaborated with Uber to deploy approximately 25,000 electric vehicles in India having completed over 4.2 million trips.

• Nigerian digital Bank Carbon acquired Ai-fintech startup Vella Finance in an undisclosed deal. Carbon is absorbing Vella Finance to launch Carbon Business. Leveraging Vella Finance's AI-powered SME banking.

• Disclosed; Piggyvest raised $3 Million from Africa's payments Unicorn Flutterwave in 2023. PiggyVest claimed to be profitable, reported revenues of $25 million in 2021, growing to $27 million in 2022. They disbursed over $1.37 billion to customers by 2022 end and have 4.5 million registered users.

💰 Venture Funds

• Injaro secured a $17.5 Million fund to back Ghanaian and Ivorian SMEs. Industries targeted include mining support services, food and agriculture, education, healthcare, financial services, industrial services, and light manufacturing.

• Core DAO Launched $5 Million Core Africa Innovation Fund To Empower Local Web3 Builders.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

• Visa partnered with the Egyptian Banks Company (EBC) to ease and improve the process of international remittances for Egyptians living abroad.

• Ex-Flutterwave VP launched Mira to power order management and payment systems for restaurants and other hospitality businesses.

• South African fintech Stitch launched WhatsApp payment bot.

📰 News of the Week

• Jumia slashed operational losses to $4.5 Million in Q4, Its Fintech business grew by 41% YOY but profitability remains out of reach.

Jumia, Africa's prominent e-commerce and Fintech platform, reduced Q4 2023 operating losses to $4.5 million through strategic changes, including shutting down Jumia Food. Despite workforce reductions and shifts away from low-ticket items, profitability remains elusive. Key highlights include $59.4 million in revenue, a decline to 2.3 million quarterly active users, and a Gross Merchandise Value drop to $233.3 million due to currency devaluation. 

However, JumiaPay transactions grew by 41% year-over-year, reaching $3 million. CEO Francis Dufay emphasizes improved cost discipline and cash utilization. With a cash balance of $35.5 million and liquidity of $120.6 million, Jumia eyes expanding JumiaPay in Nigeria to tap into the potential of a cashless economy by 2024.

📑 Read of the week

• Inflation is a two-sided coin for BNPL startups in Nigeria. (Techcabal)
• January '24 Africa Fintech Market Update. (Afridigest)

• African product, global market: Tunisia based Expensya employees cashed out $10M from 2023 acquisition. (Techcrunch). 

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

• Luno planned to release a monthly proof of reserves report to gain customer trust.
• The Central Bank Of Nigeria ordered electronic payments for travel allowance, banned cash payments. This new policy aimed to improve transparency and stability in the foreign exchange market while preventing malpractices.
• Mastercard appointed Folasade Femi-Lawal as West Africa Country Manager. Femi-Lawal has 25+ years in finance, consulting, telecom, and advisory. At First Bank Nigeria, she led Cards and Messaging, driving Mobile Financial Services and Digital Banking Strategy.

• Access Holdings Plc named Bolaji Agbede as the Acting Group CEO after the unfortunate passing of its co-founder, Herbert Wigwe, on Friday, February 9, 2024. Agbede, former head of business support at Access Bank, with nearly three decades in banking and consulting, she's proven herself at Guaranty Trust Bank and Access Bank, including leading Group Human Resources.

• As inflation rises, Nigerians turn to stablecoins as a way to hedge against inflation. However, more people turning to dollar-pegged stablecoins like Tether's USDT could negatively affect the economy.

• Acquired by Flutterwave in 2021, Disha might undergo a temporary shutdown effective March 31, 2024.The company cited a need to "reassess its goals and realign its mission to better serve the creative community" as the reason for the pause.

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

• Interview with Yemi Keri, co-founder of Rising Tide Africa, a women oriented angel network in Nigeria.Rising Tide Africa portfolio has Fintechs like Bankly, Oze and Wealth8.

🦉 Tweet of the Week

🎯 Fintech Opportunities

• Julaya is hiring for Business developer.

Made in Tanzania 🇹🇿 with 💚

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