Digital Times

Fintech

African Fintech Startup Makeba Exceeds Crowdfunding Goal

Sept. 2, 2020, 10:13 a.m.

Makeba, a fintech startup in Africa that combines point-of-sale payments and money transfer into mobile applications exceeded its minimum-raise goal, bringing in $200,000 during its current round of crowdfunding via the WeFunder platform. The pre-money valuation of the company is $30 million, and interested individuals can invest in the company for as little as $240 through the crowdfunding platform, according to a release.

Nigeria: Yellow Card Cryptocurrency Startup Raises $1.5 million In Funding Round

Sept. 1, 2020, 4:27 p.m.

Yellow Card, a Nigerian crypto startup has secured over $1.5 million in a seed funding round. The startup says it will use the funding to further expand its operations across Africa and also make it easier for people to buy and sell digital assets.The investments came from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, cryptocurrency investment firm Polychain Capital,and Celo through the Celo Ecosystem Fund.“With this funding, Yellow Card plans to expand even further and become the dominant exchange across the continent”, a statement from the firm read.

USA: LA start-up AmplifyX Lets Investors Build Portfolios Around Musicians

Aug. 27, 2020, 3:10 p.m.

AmplifyX, a Los Angeles-based start-up, is gearing up to enable investors to back the music industry. Set “to launch soon”, the platform will allow investors to build portfolios which directly fund specific musicians.They will receive royalties from streaming revenue and can monitor an artist’s data in real-time to make decisions on whether to keep investing in them. From 2015 to 2019, the entire music industry grew sales at a 9% rate. This growth totaled an industry-wide revenue of $20.2 billion in 2019, according to Motley Fool, which recently reported on Warner Music Group’s initial public offering (IPO).

Worldremit Acquires Fellow Remittance Firm Sendwave

Aug. 27, 2020, 2:28 p.m.

WorldRemit announced it has agreed to acquire remittance company Sendwave for an undisclosed sum in cash and sock. Boston-based Sendwave has remittance ops in Africa and Bangladesh.Sendwave operates a digital remittance service to East and West Africa, as well as a new presence in Bangladesh.

Ghana: Winner of Ecobank Fintech Challenge Receives $10,000 Prize

Aug. 26, 2020, 3:13 p.m.

Ghanaian startup Nokwary has been named overall winner of this year’s Ecobank Fintech Challenge, securing US$10,000 in prize money.10 finalists were selected out of over 600 applicants. Each of the finalists have been inducted into a one-year programme which will enable them to gain opportunities of commercial partnerships with the bank.Nokwary, the winner, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to promote financial inclusion, hails from Ghana.

Zambia: Zambia’s Zazu Launches Pan-African Correspondent Fintech Network

Aug. 20, 2020, 3:46 p.m.

Zazu, a Zambian fintech startup has launched a correspondent network of fintech platforms called Union5, that facilitates real-time payments across Africa and offering members equity.