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.
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.
Join an online community of TWIF Premium members and enjoy exclusive fintech conversations, private events, roundtable discussions, networking, job matching, and premium industry insight - all in one place.
💸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
👔 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.
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 .
