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…
TLDR The Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) has launched applications for the seventh edition of the MEST Africa Challenge, this year focused on fintech MEST runs a pan-African software training programme, seed fund, and incubator that supports early-stage technology ventures Its annual challenge, now in its seventh year, awards winners $50,000 in equity funding…
Nedbank has acquired Durban-based payments fintech iKhokha in an all-cash deal valued at R1.65 billion. This acquisition is a significant move for Nedbank, as it looks to strengthen its support for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in South Africa. Read: Bandwidth Blog & Smile 90.4FM Tech Tuesday: iPad Pro and VR? “The acquisition is a…
Visa has selected 22 startups for the fourth cohort of its Africa Fintech Accelerator, a 12-week virtual programme aimed at scaling fintech solutions The programme is part of Visa’s $1 billion commitment to Africa’s digital and financial inclusion, pledged through 2027 Launched in 2023, the accelerator has supported 64 startups to date and facilitated nearly…
