Hi Fintech friends 👋,

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

• Africa’s largest crypto startup raised $33 Million to scale its B2B services.
• Africa’s cross-border payments platform raised $2 Million to expand its B2B services to China.
• Nigeria based HR platform launched cross-border payroll and was in talks for a $1.5million seed round.
• Africa’s largest Uber backed Mobility Fintech expanded to Mexico.
• Nigeria’s B2B ecommerce platform acquired a fintech company that raised $6 Million last year.
• Kenya's Central Bank issued an operating license to America’s largest Bank.

💸Fundraise and Exits

• OmniRetail, a B2B eCommerce startup in Nigeria acquired Traction Apps, a fintech that raised $6 Million last year, for an undisclosed fee.

• Klasha raised an additional $2 million to expand B2B cross-border payment rails into China.

• Ghanaian insurtech BIMA raised Investment from AAIC.

💰 Venture Funds

• Ethiopian venture capital firms hoped for deregulation.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

• Uber-backed Moove expanded to Mexico, extending its global footprint.

• Fintech startup Lendsqr launched $610K working capital for lenders.
• PaidHR introduced new cross-border payroll and was in talks for a $1.5million seed round.
• The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) issued an operating license to JP Morgan and wanted to develop a new instant payment system, the biggest advance in the country’s money transfer network.

• LittleFish partnered with Visa to drive digital transformation for African MSMEs.

👔 Leadership Lineup

• M-KOPA appointed former Nokia CEO Rajeev Suri as new board chairman.

📰 News of the Week

• Yellow Card, Africa’s largest crypto startup raised a $33 million Series C to fund growth and expansion.

With this latest round, the startup's total funding has reached $88 million. Previously, it announced a $15 million Series A in 2021 and raised $40 million in a Series B round in 2023.

Yellow Card operates in 20 countries, has over 1 million consumers and 30,000 businesses on its platform, and it is now doubling down on the B2B side.Yellow Card’s transaction volumes surging from $1.7 billion early last year to over $3 billion.

👀 Eye Openers

• How can Africa attract capital? Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, America's largest bank, on how Africa can attract more private investment:

📑 Read of the week

• Building the Next Banking Giants - What Today's Challenger Banks Can Learn from the Past. (Frontier fintech)

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

• South African retail bank Capitec restricted customers from sending funds to crypto exchanges.
• Egypt's MaxAB co-founder exited the company 2 months after merger with Kenya's Wasoko.

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

• Securing Funding As A Fintech Startup In Africa with Tomi Solanke of Trove Finance which serves over 400,000 Africans and facilitated over $200 Million in four years.

🦉 Tweet of the Week

🎯 Fintech Opportunities

An opportunity to be a part of the largest special fintech event in Africa, taking place soon in South Africa and Ethiopia. Reach out to wiza@thisweekinfintech.com .

Made in Tanzania 🇹🇿 with 💚

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