Thursday, April 23, 2026Global tech, startups & capital — covered for Africans.
The African fintech sector continues to demonstrate remarkable growth and consolidation as we kick off H2 2025. This week’s developments showcase remarkable movements with Wave securing a massive $137 million debt facility from Rand Merchant Bank to accelerate its cashless Africa mission, while South Africa’s fintech landscape sees strategic consolidation with Lesaka Technologies acquiring Bank […]
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The African fintech sector continues to demonstrate remarkable growth and consolidation as we kick off H2 2025. This week’s developments showcase remarkable movements with Wave securing a massive $137 million debt facility from Rand Merchant Bank to accelerate its cashless Africa mission, while South Africa’s fintech landscape sees strategic consolidation with Lesaka Technologies acquiring Bank Zero for $61 million. Meanwhile, funding activity remained robust across multiple sectors, with notable rounds for invoice-financing platform Liquify, transport digitisation leader BuuPass, and agricultural fintech AgriCash. The week also highlighted continued investment in financial inclusion with Sticitt’s youth banking focus and Optique’s affordable eye care expansion. Get the complete details below.
Funding Round: Seed ($1.5 Million) Investors: Undisclosed Founders: Alberta Asafo-Asamoah Founded: 2024, Ghana
About Company Liquify is a fintech company operating a digital invoice-financing platform designed to help small exporters in Ghana and Kenya access same-day cash for unpaid invoices. The platform integrates onboarding, KYC, AML compliance, credit scoring, and settlement processes into a streamlined system that clears invoices in hours rather than weeks, addressing a critical cash flow challenge for African exporters.
What Next? Liquify is capitalising on the friction created by traditional banks’ sluggish financing processes to position its solution as a fast and affordable alternative. The company aims to capture market share by offering exporters the rapid liquidity they need to maintain operations and scale their businesses.
Funding Round: Undisclosed Investors: Yango Ventures Founders: Sonia Kabra and Wyclife Omondi Founded: 2016, Kenya
About Company BuuPass operates a comprehensive bus management system (BMS) that helps transport operators manage their operations, inventory, and sales. The platform connects operators to its marketplace where passengers can search, compare, and book tickets through multiple channels, including websites, mobile apps, and USSD codes, digitizing the long-distance travel experience across Africa.
What Next? The funding from Yango Ventures marks a new phase in BuuPass’s ambitious plan to digitise long-distance travel across the African continent. The company will focus on expanding its operator network and enhancing platform capabilities to capture more of the fragmented African transport market.
Funding Round: Debt ($137 Million) Investors: Rand Merchant Bank Founded: 2018, Senegal Founders: Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk
About Company Wave is a leading mobile money platform that has established itself as a dominant force in West Africa’s financial services sector. The company operates a comprehensive digital payments ecosystem that enables users to send money, pay bills, and access various financial services through mobile technology, significantly advancing financial inclusion across the region.
What Next? Fueled by this substantial debt facility, Wave is doubling down on its ambitious mission to make Africa the first cashless continent. The funding will support the company’s expansion efforts and infrastructure development as it seeks to scale its mobile money solutions across new markets.
Funding Round: Series A (Undisclosed) Investors: Knife Capital Founders: Theo Kitshof Founded: 2018, South Africa
About Company Sticitt is a fintech startup that digitises school payments while gamifying financial literacy education for students. The platform creates an integrated ecosystem where educational institutions can efficiently manage payments while students learn crucial financial skills through engaging, game-based experiences.
What Next? The company is positioning its youth banking tool as a long-term driver of financial inclusion, aiming to establish healthy financial habits early and create a pipeline of financially literate young adults who can participate more effectively in the digital economy.
Funding Round: Series A (Undisclosed) Investors: Knife Capital Founders: Leon van Vuuren Founded: 2017, South Africa
About Company Optique is disrupting the traditional optometry model with a digitally enabled, low-cost approach to eye care. Operating 19 branches and an online store, the company targets underserved South Africans by offering ZAR 99 eye tests, transparent all-inclusive pricing, and interest-free payment plans to make eye care accessible to broader populations.
What Next? With the Series A funding, Optique is positioned to expand its network of affordable eye care centers and enhance its digital capabilities, furthering its mission to democratize access to quality eye care across South Africa.
Funding Round: Seed (Undisclosed) Investors: Alex Angels Founders: Diaa Youssef and Mostafa El-Sehli Founded: 2024, Egypt
About Company AgriCash provides farmers with a comprehensive digital financing platform that combines AI-powered agronomic insights, crop insurance, and market access. The company’s flagship product features a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) model specifically tailored for farmers, offering interest-free access to agricultural and livestock supplies for up to 12 months with credit ceilings of EGP 3 million.
What Next? AgriCash has set ambitious targets of reaching EGP 500 million in business volume by the end of 2025. The company plans to launch livestock financing products in 2026, further developing its end-to-end agricultural finance ecosystem to serve Egypt’s farming communities comprehensively.
South African fintech firm Lesaka Technologies has acquired digital banking provider Bank Zero in a significant $61 million deal that represents a rare merger of fintech infrastructure with full banking capabilities. The acquisition was announced by Bank Zero’s chairman, former FNB CEO Michael Jordaan, who disclosed that the transaction will be structured as a mix of cash and Lesaka shares.
Under the deal terms, Bank Zero shareholders will receive a 12% stake in Lesaka Technologies, while Lesaka will absorb Bank Zero’s banking license, effectively transforming the fintech company into a licensed bank. This strategic move combines Lesaka’s extensive distribution network across consumer and merchant segments with Bank Zero’s banking infrastructure.
Bank Zero, founded in 2021 as a low-cost banking platform with a promise to eliminate transaction fees, struggled to achieve scale despite its innovative approach. Meanwhile, Lesaka has built a robust fintech ecosystem and established itself as a household name in South Africa’s financial technology space. The acquisition allows Lesaka to leverage Bank Zero’s banking license while potentially revitalizing the struggling digital bank through improved distribution and operational capabilities.
This deal reflects the broader consolidation trend in African fintech, where established players are acquiring complementary capabilities to create more comprehensive financial services offerings.
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