| Kenya | Equity Bank partners with NALA for in-bound remittances into Kenya. NALA, an African cross-border remittance startup has partnered with Kenya's Equity Bank for inbound remittances. With this partnership, NALA customers can remit money directly into Equity Bank accounts and mobile money wallets. Kenyan Wall Street |
|
|
| Kenya | Kenya's Airtel Money breaks off into a separate company. Airtel Money, which was the mobile money subsidiary for Airtel Kenya, has split into a standalone business. This new business will be called Airtel Money Kenya and will continue to provide mobile money services in collaboration with Airtel Networks, the telco. This comes after Airtel Africa divested 25.7% of its shares in its mobile money business to Mastercard, Rise, Qatar Holding, and Chimera Investment. IT News Africa |
|
|
|
| Nigeria | The Nigerian Senate passes Startup Bill. The Nigerian Senate has approved the Nigerian Startup Bill, a proposed set of laws designed to enable Nigeria's startup ecosystem. Following this approval, the bill will be passed on to the House of Representatives and then to the President before becoming law. TechCabal |
| |
|
| Ethiopia | Kacha receives mobile money license in Ethiopia. Kacha has been granted a mobile money license by the National Bank of Ethiopia. With this license, Kacha can build out an agent network and offer mobile payment services to customers. CEO Business Africa |
|
|
|
| Africa | The complexities of KYC and AML regulations. Victor Asemota (@asemota) explores the nuanced ways in which Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) practices are limited by government regulation. Twitter |
|
|
|
| Africa | Bizao raises €8 million in Series A funding. Bizao, a pan-African payments startup, has raised €8M in funding. The new round, which included investments from AfricInvest, Adelie, and Seedstars Ventures, will be directed at expansion and new product development. TechCabal |
|
|
| Sudan | Bloom raises $6.5 million in seed funding. Bloom, a neo-banking startup based in Sudan, has raised $6.5 million in seed funding. The startup issues debit cards and allows customers to save in both local and international currencies. Investors in this round include Visa, Y Combinator, and Global Founders Capital. PYMNTS |
|
|
|
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. |
|
Know someone who'd enjoy Decode Fintech? |
|
|
|
|
