Hi Fintech friends 👋,

Here are the highlights of what happened in African Fintech this week;

• The most active Fintech country in Africa removed from FATF Grey List.
• Nigerian latest Unicorn raised $90 Million to complete a $200 Million.
• The world's Stablecoin giant invested in Kenyan Fintech.
• IFC committed $6 Million to a female-led VC investing in African Fintechs.
• Two Fintechs shut down in Africa.
• One of the world's biggest Crypto platforms entered Nigeria’s investment market with tokenised US assets.

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This Week in FintechSabrina Baxter

💸Fundraise and Exits

• Moniepoint raised $90 Million to complete a $200 Million Series C round.

💰 Venture Funds

• IFC committed $6 Million to First Circle Capital, a female-led, pan-African VC fund backing early-stage fintech companies across the continent.
• Mubadala-backed AAF closed $55 Million for early-stage hybrid fund.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

• Blockchain.com entered Nigeria’s investment market with tokenised US assets.
• Nigerian digital lender Lidya shut down operations despite raising $16.45 Million.
• PayU Kenya shut down after The Central Bank Of Kenya revoked licence.

👔 Leadership Lineup

• Kenyan Frank Ireri, the former Housing Finance boss who tried to turn mortgage lenders into a modern financial group, died of cancer in Nairobi.

📰 News of the Week

• Nigeria Removed from Financial Action Task Force(FATF) Grey List.

The FATF added Nigeria to the Grey List in February 2023 due to gaps in beneficial ownership transparency, supervision of non-financial institutions, and the effectiveness of law enforcement. But this wouldn’t be the first time.

👀 Eye Openers

• No new loans are needed in Africa?

📑 Read of the week

• The case for M-PESA as a DPI & why it needs to be converted into a bank.(Hapa Kenya)

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

• Access Bank might pay $109.6 Million for Kenya’s National Bank of Kenya and $133 Million for South Africa’s Bidvest bank.
• Zest, the fintech subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings reported its first profitable quarter since its 2023 launch.

🪙 Stablecoin Watch

News;

• Kenyan Fintech Kotani Pay secured strategic funding from Stablecoin giant, Tether.
• South Africa crypto exchange VALR secured key licenses from the Financial Sector Conduct Authority.
• Zepz launched a new stablecoin-powered wallet, Sendwave Wallet.

Insights & Resources;

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

• Interview with Wiza - ‘African Fintech Guy’; From Malawi to Scaling Chipper Cash and EBANX .

🦉 Tweet of the Week

Made in Tanzania 🇹🇿 with 💚

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