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Why COVID-19 Could Delay Interswitch, Africa’s Next Big IPO
The tech firm’s path from startup to IPO aspirant traces back to the vision of founder Mitchell Elegbe, a Nigerian electrical engineering graduate whose entire career has pretty much been Interswitch.
- Categories
- Coronavirus, Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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African Fintech Firm Flutterwave launches SME E-Commerce Portal
The service will start in 15 African countries and the only fees Flutterwave will charge (for now) are on payments. Otherwise, it’s free for SMEs to create an online storefront and for buyers and sellers to transact goods.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- e-commerce, fintech, startups
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Catalyst Fund Welcomes Four African Investors Into Its Exclusive Fintech Fold
The six will join Catalyst Fund’s Circle of Investors, a collaborative, global community of investors committed to backing inclusive fintech startups.
- Categories
- Finance
- Tags
- accelerators, fintech, startups
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Kenyan Startups Among Winners of Google’s Accelerator Program
“The start-ups accepted into the program will receive free support from Google around technology improvement, product improvement, design, growth and leadership training. They will also be paired with a Google Start-up Success Manager to work with them to improve their businesses,” said Dorothy Ooko, Google’s head of communications in Africa.
- Categories
- Technology
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- accelerators, SDGs, startups
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Revenue Over Rounds: Why We Should Encourage Entrepreneurs to Focus on Revenue Before Fundraising
Before the fallout from coronavirus, 2019 was a banner year for startup investment in Latin America. But Daniel Cossio at Village Capital cautions that Silicon Valley-levels of funding could incentivize startups to scale too big, too fast — leading to high-profile failures. He urges investors and entrepreneurs to resist the growth-at-all costs mentality and come up with an alternative definition of startup success.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
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From the Valley of Death to a $14 Million Series A: Sokowatch, Quona and the Role of Philanthropic Capital
The e-commerce company Sokowatch recently raised a $14 million Series A round, enabling it to expand its digital financial services to more merchants in Africa. But just two years ago, the company was in danger of going under. Malika Anand and Maelis Carraro at BFA’s Catalyst Fund discuss how the fund's philanthropically-funded acceleration approach has helped Sokowatch – and other promising fintech startups – survive the “valley of death” and position themselves for commercial investment.
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Coronavirus, Economic Meltdown And The World Of Impact: Insights From Allie Burns Of Village Capital
Allie Burns is CEO of Village Capital, which has run early-stage startup accelerators and boot camps for social enterprises since its founding in 2009.
- Categories
- Coronavirus
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How Can Fintech Startups Address the Financial Inclusion Gap? Three Insights from the Data Standards for Inclusive Fintech
In 2018, over US $110 billion was invested in fintech startups – up 120% from 2017. But will this capital help deliver affordable and accessible solutions to low-income customers at scale? Chrissy Martin Meier at MIX explores why standardized data can highlight gaps in investment, surface promising companies, and more effectively measure inclusion – and how MIX's Data Standards for Inclusive Fintech advance those goals.
- Categories
- Finance
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