| Somalia | Visa launches card payments service in Somalia. In partnership with the International Bank of Somalia, Visa has launched its card payment services in Somalia. The partnership aims to connect Somalia to the global financial system as well as signal international trust and confidence in transactions originating from Somalia. Tech Cabal |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | This partnership means the International Bank of Somalia can now issue Visa cards to users. However, the payment landscape in Somali is dominated by mobile money, with 70% of Somalis already using mobile money services. Card issuing in Somalia is in itself not new but the impact of this new partnership is worth paying attention to. What effect will it have on adoption of card payments in the country? |
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| Africa | Afrexim Bank pilots Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS). The pilot is currently taking place in Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. PAPSS was designed by Afrexim Bank as a continent-wide payment system to facilitate payments for goods and services across countries within the continent in local currencies. Mobile Money Africa |
| | EDITOR'S NOTE | Afrexim Bank is a pan-African bank made up of African governments, private, and institutional investors with the aim of facilitating cross-border trade across Africa. As mentioned in Issue 81, the launch of PAPSS presents a unique opportunity for African fintech companies (especially in the cross-payment space) to plug into the PAPSS infrastructure and permanently solve the problem of moving money across countries in Africa. |
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| Nigeria | GetEquity secures capital to launch venture-funding platform GetEquity operates a platform that enables individuals to buy and sell equity in a listed startup. The Lagos-based startup announced a six-figure pre-seed funding round led by GreenHouse Capital, an African fintech investing platform. The funds will be used to launch the company's first product, a venture-funding platform that connects entrepreneurs to potential investors. African Heroes |
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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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