Hi Fintech friends 👋,

It has been a slow week with less Fintech announcements, here are the highlights of what happened in African Fintech this week;

• Africa’s Development Bank revealed that Africa loses $1.6 Billion daily to illegal cross-border financial flows. 
• VCs in Africa shared insights on what it takes to build an African Unicorn using Fintechs case studies.
• One of Africa’s Central Bank ordered banks to pay $137 Million to telecom operators for USSD charges by December 31, 2024.
• Visa doubled down on African partnerships to expand its financial services.

💸Fundraise and Exits

• No fintech deals were announced this week, but just a reminder that out of Africa’s nine unicorns, all except Andela are fintech companies.

💰 Venture Funds

• Despite a good performance in H2 2024 - including Moniepoint Group and Tyme gaining unicorn status, the total raised by start-ups in Africa this year is not going to match 2023 levels.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

• Banque Centrale Populaire partnered with Visa to transform payments across Sub-Saharan Africa.

👔 Leadership Lineup

• VCs in Africa shared insights on what it takes to build an African Unicorn using Fintech case studies.

📰 News of the Week

• Africa loses $1.6 Billion daily to illegal cross-border financial flows.

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) revealed that Africa loses almost $1.6 billion daily due to illicit financial flows and profit sharing relating to African multinational organizations. The agency explained that these illicit operations have been a major player in corrupt practices, as the region loses $587bn yearly.

👀 Eye Openers

• The most popular payment methods on Nigeria 2024:

The volume and value of instant online transactions surged to 5.63 billion and $307 Billion H1 2024, up from 3.5 billion and $165.6 Billion in the same period of 2023. To put it in perspective, Nigerians increased how often and how much they paid online by 60% and 85%, respectively.

📑 Read of the week

• Kenya's Payment Landscape: A Tale of Cash, M-Pesa, and Rising Competition(Linkedin)

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

• The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) ordered banks to pay $137 Million, a 85% of a $161.2 Million debt owed to telecom operators for USSD charges by December 31, 2024.

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

• Interview with Tayo Oviosu: The Untold Story of Building "PayPal" for Africa.

🦉 Tweet of the Week

🎯 Fintech Opportunities

• Post revenue African startups in Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda are invited to apply for EUR 100,000 in non-dilutive funding and technical assistance.

Made in Tanzania 🇹🇿 with 💚

👍🏽👎🏽  Did you enjoy this edition of This Week In Fintech Africa? Please share your feedback with me on Twitter or LinkedIn .