| Kenya | Lami acquires Bluewave to expand to new African markets. Lami, a Nairobi-based insurtech startup, has acquired Bluewave, a fellow Nairobi-based insurtech startup for an undisclosed amount. Lami has stated that the acquisition of Bluewave will help it grow its presence in Africa by entering new markets where Bluewave already operates — Malawi and DR Congo. Disrupt Africa |
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| Africa | On Carbon and digital lending in Africa. Chijioke Dozie (@ChijiokeD), Co-founder of Carbon on the fintech’s lending origins, current company strategy, and plans for the future. CFTE Podcast |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | There are important (and competitive) data advantages that can accrue over time for digital lending businesses. Given that these loans are unsecured, lenders have to invest in data talent and infrastructure that can expertly detect and analyse patterns in customer behaviour. These investments can be quite high in the early stages when there is a lack of internal customer data. However, as more customers continue to take repeat loans and register observable patterns, estimating risk becomes cheaper and easier over time.
Also as these digital lenders evolve into credit-led digital banks, new financial offerings offer extra margins and also very valuable user data that can be fed back into the credit and risk engine. These strategies make these businesses defensible against newer players, irrespective of capital. Credit Bureaus and financial data fintechs like Mono and Okra try to flatten this competition by providing external financial data but there are still limits and challenges in using this data to determine a customer’s willingness to repay.
Ultimately, it will be interesting to see what other areas these credit engines can be applied. Estimating risk in emerging markets where there is lagging infrastructure can be very valuable and many businesses, from legacy banks to insurance companies, can greatly benefit from access to these tools. |
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| Global | What next for the card networks? Tom Noyes (@noyesclt) on the evolution of Visa and Mastercard beyond card services and the fate of banks in a future where card networks are less dominant. Noyes Payments Blog |
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| Africa | USSD as a driver for the distribution of digital services to underserved people. This article examines non-financial industries where USSD has been used to deliver service to African users. Hover Blog |
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| South Africa | Does South Africa really need mobile money? In this Twitter exchange, Wiza Jalakasi (VP, Developer Relations at Chipper Cash) and Roger Norton (Head of Product, FoundersFactoryAfrica) debate the need for mobile money adoption in South Africa. Twitter |
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| Nigeria | GIG Logistics releases a version of its app with crypto wallet. God Is Good Logistics, an African logistics service provider, has released a version of its delivery app with a crypto wallet. The crypto wallet will be released in beta phase to 2,000 users, before being rolled out gradually to the rest of the users of the app. The crypto wallet will enable customers to perform key digital transactions like buying, storing, sending, withdrawing, and earning from digital assets. In releasing its crypto wallet, GIG Logistics partnered with XPAD, a crypto platform. TechEconomy |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | It’s interesting that a logistics company has integrated a crypto wallet into its mobile application. In its current iteration, the crypto wallet does not enable users of the GIGGO app to make payments to GIG Logistics using crypto, but it allows them to perform other crypto transactions i.e. buy, sell, store, and transfer crypto. With crypto restrictions in Nigeria, a key market for GIG, we anticipate that GIG Logistics may be limited in how it maximises the crypto integration. However, there is potential for future use cases like receiving payments for logistics services in crypto and building loyalty tokens. |
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| Egypt | Thndr raises $20M USD Series A. Thndr operates an investment platform that allows individuals to invest in the Egyptian stock market and mutual funds. The YC-backed Egyptian startup has raised a $20 million investment from Tiger Global, BECO Capital, and Prosus Ventures. The company plans to use the funds to develop its product and expand its presence across the Middle East and North Africa. Other participants in this round include Endure Capital, 4DX Ventures, Raba Partnerships, and JIMCO. TechCrunch |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | In Issue 69, We reported on Thndr’s milestone as the first recipient of an Egyptian Brokerage License in more than a decade. |
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| Nigeria | Bamboo raises $15m USD in Series A funding. Nigerian WealthTech startup, Bamboo, has closed a $15m Series A funding round to accelerate its growth, penetrate new markets, and create more products. The round was led by Greycroft and Tiger Global with participation from Chrysalis Capital, Motley Fool Ventures, Saison Capital, and Y-Combinator’s Michael Seibel, among others. WeeTracker |
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| Africa | Moove has secured $10m in debt financing. Nigerian mobility fintech, Moove, has secured $10m in debt financing to enable it to expand across key markets. Moove secured the debt financing from NBK Capital Partners’ Mezzanine Fund II. Disrupt Africa |
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| Africa | Nestcoin raises $6.5m Pre-Seed funding TechCabal |
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| Nigeria | Duplo raises $1.3M Pre-Seed funding TechCrunch |
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| Nigeria | Grey selected for Y Combinator's W22 cohort. Tech Economy |
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| Africa | African blockchain lab raises $6m in Pre-Series A round. TechMoran |
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| South Africa | TallOrder raises $3.1m USD in Series A funding. Techawk |
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Share a tip | Do you have an announcement, event, or job posting you'd like to share, or have you come across an interesting bit of African fintech news recently? Hit reply and let me know! I might be able to include it in next week's newsletter. |
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