Each of these innovative teams has been awarded $100,000 in funding as they move forward in the competition, which aims to address financial inclusion challenges across emerging and frontier markets.

The selected startups come from a diverse range of financial technologies, offering solutions aimed at bridging the financial inclusion gap for underserved communities. 

These semifinalists will showcase their innovations at the Milken Institute’s Middle East and Africa Summit, set to take place in Abu Dhabi, UAE, from December 5-6, 2024. 

During the summit, the teams will pitch their solutions to a panel of experts, competing for a chance to secure a spot in the final round of the competition.

The Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech offers a total of $2 million in awards, with the ultimate Grand Prize of $1 million to be announced in May 2025 at the Milken Institute’s Global Conference in Los Angeles. 

The focus of this year’s competition is on advancing financial inclusion for marginalised populations, with an emphasis on scalability, sustainability, and tangible impact.

The 10 Semifinalists are as follows:

1. AZA Finance (Kenya)
   Led by Caroline Shiku Njathi, AZA Finance provides low-cost, secure financial services, such as currency exchange and payments, for businesses across major currencies, addressing the financial needs of businesses in Africa.
2. Chapa (Ethiopia)
   Headed by Nael Teklehaimanot, Chapa offers an online payment gateway with a developer-friendly API that simplifies payment integration for Ethiopian businesses, making it easier for companies to process payments online.
3. Chumz (Kenya)
   Led by Sam Njuguna, Chumz is a savings platform that utilises gamification and behavioural psychology to encourage low-cost savings, helping individuals manage their finances more effectively.
4. Farmpawa (Uganda)
   Under the leadership of Moses Eteku, Farmpawa connects investors to farming assets through its crowd farming platform, empowering farmers and promoting sustainable agricultural growth in Uganda.
5. Flow Global (United Kingdom)
   Michael Rothe’s Flow Global is a liquidity engine aimed at assisting retail merchants by providing the working capital solutions they need to thrive in the digital economy.
6. Paycloud by Lipa Later (Kenya)
   Paycloud is a digital banking solution designed to address late payments in Africa. Led by Eric Muli, the company offers seamless payment processing, automated invoicing, and financial tools to help businesses streamline their financial operations.
7. Nyla Bank (Ghana)
   Led by Mubarak Sumaila, Nyla Bank is Africa’s first digital Islamic bank, offering Shariah-compliant financial products designed to empower over a billion people with ethical, innovative banking solutions.
8. Oze (Ghana)
   Headed by Meghan McCormick, Oze focuses on digital lending, providing SMEs in Africa with tools to digitise financial data and helping banks better assess credit risk for lending.
9. Trade Lenda (Nigeria)
   Led by Adeshina Adewumi, Trade Lenda is a banking platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), offering quick loan access and micro-savings solutions to help businesses achieve their financial goals.
10. Verto (United Kingdom)
    Under the leadership of Rachel Coombs, Verto is a B2B cross-border payments platform designed to serve businesses in emerging markets. The platform handles 49 currencies and streamlines transactions, reducing intermediary fees and accelerating settlement times.

Over the coming months, the semifinalist teams will be testing and refining their solutions, which will be judged based on their potential impact, scalability, and sustainability. 

The teams will now prepare for their Innovation Showcase in December and the global spotlight is on their ability to provide lasting solutions that expand access to essential financial tools and services for underserved populations.

The post Meet the 10 Startups Selected for Milken-Motsepe Prize in FinTech Semifinals appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

The partnership aims to boost the ease of transactions for both merchants and M-PESA customers in the Ethiopian market.

Through this agreement, merchants using Chapa’s payment gateway system can receive payments from Safaricom M-PESA customers.

Simultaneously, M-PESA customers can make quick and secure payments to merchants on Chapa’s checkout.

“Chapa is one of the rapidly growing payment system operators in Ethiopia and partnering with them complements our goal of making M-PESA available everywhere. The digitization process in Ethiopia has picked up momentum and such partnerships further enhance the ease with which people make their transactions,” stated Paul Kavavu, General Manager of Safaricom M-PESA Mobile Financial Services PLC. 

Chapa, on the other hand, sees this partnership as an opportunity to expand its customer base and provide a broader range of payment solutions to its merchants. Moreover, becoming a merchant with Chapa involves a streamlined, fully online onboarding process, ensuring ease and convenience every step of the way.

“M-PESA has been received warmly here in Ethiopia as demonstrated by its onboarding of over a million customers in its first three months. Partnering with them allows merchants using our payment gateway to easily transact with this rapidly growing customer base. Therefore, the partnership helps both parties grow together while empowering entrepreneurs and businesses,” remarked Chapa’s Co-Founder and CEO, Nael Hailemariam.  

Safaricom M-PESA and Chapa are committed to providing efficient and accessible payment solutions to users.

The partnership is expected to create more opportunities for customers of both M-PESA and Chapa, ultimately leading to a better customer experience and more significant progress towards financial inclusion.

The post Payments: M-PESA and Chapa Are Creating Opportunities for Entrepreneurs appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.

This collaboration aims to empower merchants using Telegram to seamlessly accept payments from their customers, marking a significant milestone for financial inclusion and digital payments in Ethiopia.

With over 500 million active users globally, Telegram has emerged as a trusted platform for communication, surpassing even Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, IMO, and other messenger apps in Ethiopia.

Leveraging Telegram’s immense popularity, hundreds of thousands of businesses on the platform have been successfully selling their products through Telegram channels and groups.

Chapa’s integration with Telegram’s bot ecosystem allows merchants to accept payments without requiring customers to leave the app. Whether through mobile money, bank transfers, or debit/credit cards, Chapa enables users to make payments instantly, enhancing convenience and accessibility.

This partnership brings a new level of ease and efficiency to the world of e-commerce, benefiting both businesses and consumers.

“We are honored to represent Ethiopia on the international stage as the exclusive Telegram payment provider in Africa,”

said Israel Goytom, CTO and Co-founder of Chapa.

“This noteworthy accomplishment speaks to the progress of our emerging fintech sector and reaffirms our commitment to drive financial technology advancements within the region.”

Bot developers can seamlessly integrate Bot Payments into any e-commerce platform by accessing Telegram’s open platform and available APIs. This integration opens up exciting opportunities for merchants, allowing them to accept payments through any platform powered by a bot.

Chapa’s mission is to empower Ethiopian businesses to expand their reach in the global market, and this partnership with Telegram takes us one step closer to achieving that goal. We revolutionizing how users interact with businesses, offering a seamless experience combining messaging and payments.

Imagine the convenience of ordering a pair of shoes and paying for them through a simple chatbot. With Telegram enabling payments within the messaging platform, the possibilities are endless. Chapa and Telegram are excited to bring this transformational experience to Ethiopian users, enhancing their daily lives and unlocking new avenues for growth.

The post How Chapa and Telegram Are Revolutionising Digital Payments in Ethiopia appeared first on Tech | Business | Economy.