Exploring Africa’s blossoming fintech ecosystem, The Fintech Instances delves into the success of Visa’s Accelerator Program from the cohort’s perspective, uncovering this system’s instrumental function in fostering and bolstering startups throughout the continent.

Happening nearly over the course of 12 weeks, The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program goals to assist the expansion of fintech startups throughout the continent. The primary version of the accelerator noticed a cohort of 23 startups from international locations throughout Africa obtain assist through experience, connections, know-how, and funding funding.

Following this system, Visa plans to additional assist the fintech startups with funding and different assets with a purpose to assist speed up their development and make a big impression on the African digital economic system. 

As a part of a particular video interview sequence, Simon Ward, CEO and Founding father of Floatpays, an worker advantages firm that goals to advertise monetary inclusion for everyone, sat down with The Fintech Instances to share his ideas on the African market, in addition to the corporate’s involvement with the Visa accelerator. 

A maturing ecosystem

Contemplating the present African ecosystem, Ward stated that “maturing” is probably the most applicable description, believing there’s potential for fintechs to take maintain within the monetary world. 

He stated: “There’s plenty of enthusiasm in partnering with fintechs, which in our sense didn’t exist some time in the past. It was very a lot conventional enterprise and conventional banks, however as we transfer ahead, we’re seeing extra of these varieties of conventional organisations eager to companion with startups to drive innovation via these ecosystems. It’s undoubtedly a maturing panorama and a really thrilling one.”

It’s an curiosity in partnerships that was notably priceless for Floatpays in the course of the Visa Accelerator, with introductions to the opposite members of the cohort being a key facet of their involvement. 

“Assembly the opposite 22 startups within the group has been extraordinarily priceless to us,” he defined. “To grasp their challenges, what they’re doing, what Africa means to them of their particular area and potential partnerships which may come from that was improbable. There are plenty of collaborations and concepts which may really formulate new enterprise pondering via this system.”

Trade expertise

The advantages of this system have been exponential to the startups concerned, with Ward explaining it has been an “thrilling few months to be part of the Visa Fintech Accelerator program.”

Ward continued: “Initially, one of many points of interest of the accelerator was the direct interplay that we may have with Visa. We now have a couple of product concepts we’re beginning to check out when it comes to monetary inclusion and having a companion like Visa to assist us on that journey was an enormous benefit. 

“Having mentors on this system to sense verify the place you’re at has been nice, we’re all at completely different levels in our enterprise evolution so Plug and Play have performed an ideal job of bringing in a pleasant number of mentors the place we may quiz them and profit from the expertise when it comes to serving to mature our startups and actually get us prepared for that subsequent stage of development.” 

To be taught extra about Floatpays, its place within the African market and involvement within the Visa Fintech Accelerator, watch the complete video interview beneath.