The fintech space in Africa has undoubtedly experienced significant growth in recent times, with FinTech startups attracting as much as $1billion in 2021 alone. (statista.com)
According to a McKinsey analysis, “African fintechs have already made significant inroads into the market, with estimated revenues of around $4 billion to $6 billion in 2020 and average penetration levels of between 3 and 5 percent (excluding South Africa). These figures are in line with global market leaders.”
With the support of implementing partners Stanbic Bank and Growth Africa, Make-IT in Africa designed the NextGen Fintech Accelerator, a six-month bespoke accelerator program to provide tailored support to early stage fintech startups with a product in the market prioritizing a customer base and sustainable revenue models. The program’s primary objective was to strengthen local innovation to advance the digital financial sector in Ghana by directly supporting startups as well as disseminating the necessary know-how in the Ghanaian tech ecosystem to foster and advance the digital financial sector.
Twelve innovative startups participated in this program, having access to experts from Stanbic Bank and other reputable consultants from across Africa. Throughout the six-month phase of the program, the startups went through a thorough assessment of their business model, highlighting gaps that hindered their growth. They were also engaged in training bootcamps, industry workshops, business talks, startup mentorship, and “Meet the regulator” series with the Bank of Ghana, the National Insurance Commission, and the Securities and Exchange Commission.
NextGen FinTech Accelerator Startups at the Ghana Digital Innovation Week 2022. © GIZ The winners of our Fire Pitch: FX Kudi, FigTech Limited and SikaFx. Congratulations!
The NextGen Ghana Fintech Accelerator Demo Event was staged during the Ghana Digital Innovation Week (GDIW) 2022, on Friday November 28, 2022, at Grand Arena AICC. Three major activities were at the core of the event:
- Panel discussion with regulators: Bank of Ghana, National Insurance Commission, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System
- Reverse Investor Pitch: brief presentations from support organizations.
- Fire Pitch context: pitches from startups from the program.
FigTech Limited, a platform that provides access to a wide range of financial products, emerged winner of the pitch event, with FX Kudi and SikaFx bagging second and third places respectively. Through the support of our implementing partners, Stanbic Bank, each participating startup will receive further legal advisory support service to the tune of $10,000. For emerging winners, Figtech secured an additional commercial video production support of up to $1,500.
Make-IT in Africa is committed to providing relevant support to further help the growth of these businesses.
Kevin Kodjo, Co-Founder of FX KUDI, gives an overview about the FX KUDI FinTech platform.
Habib Majid Habib on the SIKAFX FinTech platform.
About the author: Doreen Aglago-Cofie is a member of our Make-IT in Africa team, based in Ghana.
