Nigerian startup Startbutton, South African firm Zazu, and 20 other entities confessed participation in the 4th Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program.
The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, a 12-week program supporting early-stage fintech companies, has announced that applications for its fifth cohort are now open [1]. The deadline for submissions is August 15, 2025.
This program is part of Visa's commitment to Africa's digital economy and its pledge of $1 billion by 2027 to transform the payments ecosystem. Previously, Visa has invested in fintech startups from Ghana and Tunisia from its accelerator's inaugural cohort [5].
The fourth cohort of the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator included startups focused on various sectors, such as SMB digitisation, lending, cross-border payments, payroll, B2B payments, AI-powered transactions, social commerce, climate insurance, and neo-banking. These startups cut across 12 countries: Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Uganda, Mauritius, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Botswana, Ivory Coast, and South Africa [6].
Collectively, the fintechs in the first three cohorts have added more than $3 million in revenue during the course of the training [9]. Notable startups from previous cohorts include ShopOkoa from Kenya, which provides AI-driven credit and payment solutions to small- and micro-enterprises in Africa [2]; Hsabati from Morocco, which helps businesses manage operations, enabling data collection and ecosystem scoring to facilitate financing through partner banks [3]; and Zazu from South Africa, a neobank for African small and medium-sized businesses, providing digital business accounts, expense management, invoicing, and bookkeeping tools in one platform [7].
The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program aims to accelerate the growth of African fintech startups, providing them with training, mentorship, resources, and access to funding. Startups accepted into the program will have the opportunity to work closely with Visa experts and industry leaders to refine their business models, develop their products, and scale their operations.
In addition to the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator, Visa is also supporting the digital transformation of African SMEs through initiatives such as Lemonade Payments from Kenya, offering a white-label digital payments solution with secure, blockchain-powered wallets [8]; BigDot.ai from Zimbabwe, helping SMEs use less cash through digital transformation, seamless checkouts, and blockchain-powered financial inclusion [4]; and Muda from Kenya, a digital asset exchange and OTC platform focused on cross-border payments and stablecoin liquidity solutions for African businesses and fintech's [10].
The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program has already accelerated 64 fintechs across three cohorts, with an estimated cumulative portfolio value of $1.1 billion [11]. Alumni of the program have subsequently raised more than $55 million following completion of the program [11].
If you are an early-stage fintech startup looking to grow and scale your business, consider applying for the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program before the August 15 deadline [1]. This could be a valuable opportunity to connect with industry leaders, receive mentorship, and access resources to take your business to the next level.
References: [1] Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator opens applications for fifth cohort. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.visa.com/africa/news/visa-africa-fintech-accelerator-opens-applications-for-fifth-cohort [2] ShopOkoa. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.shopokoa.com/ [3] Hsabati. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hsabati.ma/ [4] BigDot.ai. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://bigdot.ai/ [5] Visa invests in Ghana's Oze and Tunisia's Konnect Networks. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.visa.com/africa/news/visa-invests-in-ghana-s-oze-and-tunisia-s-konnect-networks [6] Fourth cohort of the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator includes startups from 12 African countries. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.visa.com/africa/news/fourth-cohort-of-the-visa-africa-fintech-accelerator-includes-startups-from-12-african-countries [7] Zazu. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://zazu.co/ [8] Lemonade Payments. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://lemonadepayments.co/ [9] Collectively, the fintechs in the first three cohorts have added more than $3 million in revenue during the course of the training. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.visa.com/africa/news/visa-africa-fintech-accelerator-opens-applications-for-fifth-cohort [10] Muda. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://mudacoin.io/ [11] Visa's Africa Fintech Accelerator program has accelerated 64 fintechs across three cohorts, with an estimated cumulative portfolio value of $1.1 billion. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.visa.com/africa/news/visa-africa-fintech-accelerator-opens-applications-for-fifth-cohort
Businesses and fintech startups in Africa can tap into the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program to access training, mentorship, resources, and funding. This technology-driven initiative, part of Visa's commitment to Africa's digital economy, provides a valuable opportunity for early-stage fintech companies to refine their business models, develop their products, and scale their operations with the guidance of industry leaders.
