| Africa | Ebanx expands into Africa. Ebanx, a leading payment solutions provider in Brazil, has expanded into Africa. The payments fintech started operations in Kenya, South Africa, and Nigeria in late August and plans to integrate local payment options including USSD, M-PESA, and Ozow. Reuters |
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| Africa | Ecobank launches RapidCollect for cross-border business payments. Ecobank, a pan-African financial institution has launched RapidCollect, a remittance solution for businesses. With RapidCollect, Ecobank’s business customers can receive payments from countries with an active Ecobank presence, into a single bank account. Tech Economy |
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| Nigeria | Kuda records $7.3 million in revenue in 2021. Kuda, a Nigerian digital bank, recorded ₦3.2 billion (~$7.3 million) in revenue in 2021. This represented a 4,315% increase from 2020. However, the company also reportedly incurred a net loss of ₦6 billion (~$14 million) which was a 600% increase from the previous year. TechCabal |
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| Nigeria | Important updates for driving eNaira adoption. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the integration of the eNaira - its digital currency - into the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS). With this integration, businesses and individuals can now leverage the central switch to send and receive money between bank accounts and eNaira wallets. Flutterwave, a payments company, also recently announced the integration of eNaira as a payment option on its checkout solution. Reuters |
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| Kenya | CBK issues 3-day ultimatum for compliance with digital lending regulations. The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) has directed digital lenders to comply with new digital lending regulations, which introduce caps on interest rates and data privacy obligations. The CBK has also mandated digital lenders that haven’t applied yet to send in an application for a license. TechCabal |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | There are interesting parallels between the FCCPC’s approach in Nigeria and the CBK’s regulation of digital lenders in Kenya. Both were triggered by consumer complaints and driven by a need to protect customers from predatory digital lending practices.
As we’ve previously mentioned, digital lending would require new frameworks from financial regulators across the continent, especially as both demand and supply continue to grow rapidly. |
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| Kenya | Turaco raises $10 million in Series A funding. Turaco - a Kenyan insurtech platform - has raised $10 million in Series A funding. The new round was led by AfricInvest and Novastar Ventures and will be used to deepen market penetration and possible international expansion. Kenyan Wall Street |
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| Nigeria | Touch And Pay closes $3 million seed round. Touch and Pay, a Nigerian fintech offering contactless payment solutions, recently closed a $3 million seed round from undisclosed investors. The fintech, which powers card payments for Lagos mass transit projects, also revealed plans to expand into other African countries. Disrupt Africa |
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| Nigeria | Kippa raises $8.4 million in seed funding. Kippa, a provider of financial management tools and payment solutions for SMEs, has raised $8.4 million in seed funding. The new round which included investors Goodwater Capital and TENI3 capital will be used to develop new financial products for customers. Techpoint |
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| Nigeria | Global Accelerex commences $48 million bond issuance. Global Accelerex, a Nigerian-based provider of financial services has registered a ₦20 billion (~$48 million) bond program with a successful issuance of the first tranche of ₦2.3 billion (~$5.5 million). Nairametrics |
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