Hi Fintech friends 👋,

Meet Us at Stable Salons Africa – Kigali, March 9

Last month, Paschal Okeke hosted the inaugural Stable Salons in Nairobi the first stop in an eight-city Africa series bringing together operators, regulators, and builders working on the future of cross-border payments and digital finance.

He wrote about what the room said, and what it meant, read it here. Next stop is Kigali if you want to be in the room, register here.

Stablecon Salon - Kigali Edition · Luma

🌍 Stablecon Salon - Kigali Edition An intimate evening of conversation with industry stakeholders exploring stablecoins, treasury infrastructure & money…

This Week in Fintech

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

• African VC worried about African Tech.
• African Fintech lender targeted informal economy expansion after a $169 Million disbursement in 2025.
• The controversial crypto founder’s ouster was yet another episode echoing past scandals.

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This Week in FintechSabrina Baxter

💸Fundraise and Exits

• Fido secured $5.5 Million in debt to scale its AI-driven lending platform for MSMEs and underserved individuals.

💰 Venture Funds

• Early-stage African VC Microtraction worried about the African tech ecosystem.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

• Luno planned to become the all-in-one investment app for Nigerians.
• Pesalink partnered with PAPSS to speed up African payments in Kenya.
• Orange Money got a separate licence in Liberia.
• Swahilies partnered with Mtaji to offer working capital financing for its SME customers.👔 Leadership Lineup
• Crypto exchange NoOnes confirmed Ray Youssef is no longer CEO.

📰 News of the Week

• M-KOPA Nigeria targeted informal economy expansion after a $169 Million disbursement in 2025.M-KOPA surpassed one million customers in Nigeria in 2025. Since launching in 2019, it has disbursed ₦320 Billion($234 Million) in loans, with 2025 marking a significant acceleration. Notably, 29% of customers approximately 290,000 people report being first-time smartphone users, while 77% say they use their devices to generate income.

👀 Eye Openers

• 10 African VC firms you should know in 2026..

📑 Read of the week

• Why Fintechs Are BecomingBanks: From Payments Specialists to Payments Generalists. (Cofounders Notebook).

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

• Zap Africa cut 44% of its workforce in AI-driven restructuring.

🪙 Stablecoin Watch

• Biggest African economies led stablecoin demand growth.

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

• Interview with Nicole Yembra, an African operator turned investor who has worked on over $500 Million in deals, sharing her journey and explaining why startups should think carefully before taking venture capital..

🦉 Tweet of the Week

PayPal’s Nigeria expansion through Paga is seeing early challenges, with mixed customer reactions emerging. Communication so far has mostly come from Paga’s CEO, while users wait for more clarity from both sides.

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