Businesses that are required by law to collect know-your-customer (KYC) information are set to benefit from improved speed and reliability as digital identity systems become more commonplace in Africa. The banking, insurance and automotive sales sectors are among the key beneficiaries, though areas such as driver’s licence issuance, qualifications verification and criminal record checks are…
The partners aim to cultivate a generation of African digital leaders who can strike a balance between innovation and effective regulation. Cambridge Enterprise and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria have partnered to enhance Africa’s capacity to strike a balance between innovation and regulation within the continent’s rapidly evolving fintech landscape. The collaboration is…
Dubai-based fintech group Optasia officially listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) on Tuesday, November 4, after a R6.5 billion ($345 million) initial public offering priced at R19 per share, the top of its range. The offering was several times oversubscribed, resulting in Optasia having a market capitalization of R23.5 billion ($1.4 billion). The stock…
SME Snapshot has launched an updated version of its business management dashboard, aimed at helping small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) demonstrate their financial health more clearly to potential funders. Access to finance remains one of the biggest barriers to SME growth in South Africa, despite the sector contributing over a third of GDP and employing…
Lesaka Technologies has rapidly emerged as a vital fintech enabler in Southern Africa, with its strategic focus on township economies attracting national attention. Building on its broader market ambitions, the company is now demonstrating tangible impact at street and store level among consumers, traders and township entrepreneurs. Lesaka currently serves over 90 000 micro merchants and…
South African fintech borrowers are concentrated in below prime risk tiers. South Africa’s fintech market is projected to reach $19.5 billion (R340 billion) by 2030, signalling a major shift in how consumers engage with credit. This is according to TransUnion’s latest research into SA’s fintech lending market, which reveals insights into borrower behaviour, loyalty and…
Optasia CEO Salvador Anglada. Image: Supplied Optasia, a fintech company partly owned by Ethos Capital, plans to list on the JSE and raise up to R6.3-billion by selling a combination of new and existing shares. The company, which operates AI-powered financial services in 38 countries, will raise about R1.3-billion in a lsiting and also hold…
Fintech firm Optasia has set sights on listing on the JSE. Financial technology (fintech) firm Optasia has set sights on listing on the JSE. In a statement today, the company announced it is proposing to undertake a primary issuance of approximately R1.3 billion ($75 million equivalent) to support growth, both organically and through future potential…
Deon Tromp, CEO of Omnea. South African fintech company InstaPay has launched a new digital wallet, InstaPay Gini, aimed at underbanked and unbanked South Africans. InstaPay Gini operates as an open-loop wallet, designed to be used across a broad network of merchants rather than being tied to a single provider. The company says the platform…
Float founder and CEO Alex Forsyth-Thompson South African fintech start-up Float has raised US$2.6-million (R46-million) in new funding for local expansion, to enhance its proprietary technology and to prepare for international growth. The four-year-old card-linked instalment platform currently serves about 2 000 retail stores and processes thousands of high-value transactions monthly, with average order values…
