This comes less than six months after closing its initial seed round; bringing total seed funding to $9.2 million. The round was led by BECO Capital, with participation from STV, Flourish Ventures, and Arab Bank, alongside existing investors Outliers and BYLD.

With this funding, Stream is doubling down on its role as a foundational layer in the region’s financial stack; enabling businesses to move faster, operate with more precision, and scale without operational bottlenecks, in a world where the way businesses get paid is changing as fast as the businesses themselves.

The pace of fundraising mirrors the demand Stream is seeing in the market, and reflects strong conviction from both new and returning investors. Across MENA, businesses are scaling faster and operating more complex revenue models, yet most billing infrastructure has not kept up.

Stream consolidates billing, payments, and post-payment operations into a single system businesses can rely on and control.

Speaking on the seed extension, Ibrahim Aldlaigan, founder and CEO of Stream said,

“Billing is evolving faster than most businesses realise. As our region is realizing its potential, infrastructure needs are changing. Stream is focused on removing any friction that slows or blocks businesses from getting paid. The demand we’re seeing from customers is clear, so we extended the round to move faster, ship more, and take Stream into its next phase.”

The platform enables companies to design flexible payment models, from one-time transactions to subscriptions and installment plans, while eliminating operational drag across reconciliation, reminders, and reporting, with deep ZATCA integration ensuring local Saudi tax compliance.

Building on an already robust platform, the team has continued to innovate at pace, shipping subscription management APIs that enable businesses to build and manage recurring billing models, and introducing MCP (Model Context Protocol) support as a foundational step toward AI-native payments.

Dany Farha, Founder and Managing Partner at BECO Capital shared,

“Our conviction in Stream was rooted in backing a resourceful exceptional founder, Ibrahim, who has deep local payments expertise and sharp product vision. We are excited to support and be part of Stream’s quest to build the billing workflow layer for MENA, an entire new category between payment processing and accounting software with no direct incumbents”

Globally, financial tooling is evolving toward programmability, automation, and deeper integration into business operations. In MENA, however, many businesses are still constrained by disconnected systems –  inefficiencies that compound as they scale.

The businesses themselves are changing too: new models, new channels, and new ways of operating are demanding a different kind of payments infrastructure. Stream is built to meet that moment.

Sarah Alsaleh, general partner at Outliers, shared,

“Ibrahim and the Stream team hold our deepest conviction. They continue to capture a growing opportunity with precision of insight and relentless execution. This is exactly the kind of company that defines markets”.

Founded in 2024, Stream initially gained traction in education before expanding into SaaS and service-led businesses.

Today, Stream processes millions in payments every month, serves hundreds of businesses on its platform, and powers billing for leading organizations such as Atyab and Riyadh Schools Group.

The platform is also seeing strong organic adoption, with hundreds of freelancers and vibe coders signing up for a more frictionless way to get paid.

The round was co-led by Flourish Ventures and 1kx, with backing from White Star Capital and Fabric Ventures. With this, the company’s total funding now stands at $9.2 million.

Kulipa builds payment infrastructure that allows fintech companies to issue cards funded directly from stablecoin balances. These cards can be used anywhere card networks are accepted, including for everyday purchases and ATM withdrawals.

Stablecoins already handle more than $300 billion in daily settlements, but their use in everyday payments is still limited. The systems that connect blockchain-based transactions to traditional card networks are still fragmented and usually require large upfront capital.

Kulipa says its platform removes some of these limitations. It verifies balances and settles transactions onchain, reducing the need for prefunding.

At the same time, it takes on fraud liability for issued cards, which lowers operational pressure for its partners.

“Stablecoins have proven their value as a settlement layer, but using them in everyday financial products is still early,” said Axel Cateland, Founder and CEO of Kulipa.

“Card issuance is the bridge between onchain balances and real-world payments. We built Kulipa to give regulated fintech platforms the compliant, capital-efficient infrastructure they need to operate at global scale.”

The company operates what it describes as a local-first model, with regulatory coverage across the European Union, Argentina and Nigeria. It is also working on expansion into the United States through BIN sponsorship.

Kulipa launched its infrastructure in February 2025 and since then, it has issued more than 120,000 cards and signed 20 customers. These include Flutterwave, Solflare, nSave and Ready.

The company also reports a 70% month-on-month increase in transaction volume.

“At Flutterwave, we’re focused on building payment infrastructure that works across markets at scale. As stablecoins become a more practical settlement option, it’s important that businesses can turn those balances into real-world spending,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Founder & CEO of Flutterwave.

“Partnering with Kulipa allows us to extend stablecoin value into globally accepted payments in a compliant, scalable way.”

“Kulipa has enabled Ready to become an onchain alternative to banks,” said Itamar Lesuisse, CEO of Ready. “With their infrastructure, we can issue globally accepted cards directly from stablecoin balances, giving our users seamless access to everyday spending in a compliant and scalable way.”

Kulipa was founded in 2023 by a team with experience across payments, compliance and technology. Cateland previously worked on Apple Pay and Google Pay deployments at Mastercard.

Co-founder and CTO Michael Shynar has worked at WhatsApp and Google, while Head of Compliance Benoit Roger brings experience from Binance and Nickel Bank.

Investors say the company is addressing a key gap in the market.

“We’re seeing stablecoins moving beyond cross-border settlement and becoming part of real financial infrastructure,” said Ameya Upadhyay, General Partner, Flourish Ventures.

“The missing piece has been compliant, scalable card issuance. Kulipa fills that gap by combining capital efficiency with multi-region regulatory coverage, enabling fintech platforms to bring stablecoin settlement into everyday payments.”

1kx Founding Partner Christopher Heymann added, “Stablecoins are reshaping how money moves globally, but for mainstream adoption, people need to spend them as easily as they spend fiat. 

“Kulipa meets users where they already are, starting with the card in their wallet, and gives businesses a turnkey way to offer that experience. We believe this payments layer is critical infrastructure for the next phase of crypto adoption.”

Kulipa says it will use the new funding to strengthen its infrastructure and support more fintech platforms looking to offer stablecoin-based payments at scale.

The companies will also join Madica’s intensive 18-month support programme, designed to help early-stage founders build scalable, investment-ready businesses.

Madica is seeking to close Africa’s funding gap by backing founders and startups usually overlooked by traditional venture capital. 

Since launching in 2022, the programme has focused on entrepreneurs from underrepresented regions and industries, providing capital and the kind of mentorship as well as structure that can make or break early ventures.

Both startups bring artificial intelligence into real-world African contexts. Anavid, founded by Ahmed Chaari and David Nilsson, uses AI to integrate with retail surveillance systems, reducing theft losses and improving in-store experience. 

Hypeo AI, led by Meriam Bessa and Salah Eddine Mimouni, provides a software solution that automates influencer marketing, from brand matching to campaign payments.

For Madica, these investments will help enhance innovation, which is also thriving across Africa, not just in a few well-known hubs.

“At Madica, we believe and continue to prove that some of the world’s most transformative ideas come from places that are too often ignored,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, head of Madica. “The founders we’ve just welcomed are visionaries, building solutions with the power to uplift communities and shape industries. We’re proud to stand with them as they take on the next stage of their journey.”

For the founders, the partnership provides access to Madica’s growing investor network, business coaching, and two fully funded immersion trips to leading tech ecosystems both within and outside Africa. 

These trips, part of Madica’s structured learning model, give founders a platform to engage directly with investors, mentors, and other founders solving similar challenges.

Speaking on Hypeo AI’s mission, Meriam Bessa, the company’s co-founder and CEO, said, “Our region is rapidly growing with creative energy, but without the right digital backbone, it often goes untapped. We’re changing that by using AI to reimagine how brands and creators find each other, collaborate, and thrive. Backing by Madica will help us strengthen our AI capabilities to achieve this goal.”

Madica has also partnered with the African Business Angel Network (ABAN) to expand deal flow and co-investment opportunities for its portfolio companies. The collaboration, unveiled at the ABAN Congress in Lagos, aims to improve access to local capital and connect angel investors with institutional partners.

According to Yemi Keri, President of ABAN, “The future of Africa’s innovation economy depends on how effectively we can mobilise local capital and empower local investors. Our collaboration with Madica helps bridge the gap between angel investors and institutional capital, ensuring that more funding comes from within the continent, and that startups everywhere in Africa can access the right type of support to scale.”

Madica’s portfolio already includes a mix of standout startups such as Medikea, Daleela, Pixii Motors, and ToumAI, with a strong focus on gender diversity and regional inclusion. 

Its model combines funding with hands-on learning, helping founders refine governance, growth strategy, and personal well-being, areas often neglected in early-stage business building.

To date, Madica has continued to scout for new investment opportunities across the continent. Eligible startups must have a minimum viable product (MVP), ideally with paying customers, and be led by full-time African founders with limited prior institutional backing.

The team recently participated in Moonshot by TechCabal in Lagos and is heading to Big Angels Day Africa in Dakar this October, part of its approach to meet founders where they are, and to bring early-stage capital closer to the people shaping Africa’s digital future.

The funding round was led by Flourish Ventures, with participation from Visa Ventures, TLCom Capital, Stellar Development Foundation, Lava, Musha Ventures, 4DX Ventures, Antler, and individual investors.

Founded in 2020, HoneyCoin has built a stablecoin-powered payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to move money across borders in hours rather than days. 

The company connects directly with banks, mobile money networks, and global payment partners, aiming to lower settlement costs while improving transaction speed.

The Nairobi-based startup processes over $150 million in monthly transactions and serves millions of end users across 45+ countries. Its infrastructure supports payment collection, real-time money transfers via stablecoins and traditional rails, and issuance of bank accounts, debit cards, and wallets. Clients include high-growth businesses and fintechs such as Cedar Money, TerraPay, and Jiji.

“HoneyCoin is tackling real-world challenges in cross-border payments and financial access across Africa,” said Cuy Sheffield, head of Crypto at Visa. “It’s a strong example of how stablecoins can unlock more efficient and inclusive payment solutions in emerging markets.”

Founder and CEO David Nandwa said the company has been profitable for two years and intends to use the new capital to secure additional licences, expand into Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda, and Francophone Africa, and launch new products. 

These will include a Visa-backed stablecoin debit card, a cross-border liquidity solution for corporates in partnership with Interswitch, and a banking-as-a-service platform in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania.

Efayomi Carr, principal at Flourish Ventures, noted: “We first backed HoneyCoin in 2021 based on David’s technical expertise and regulatory vision. Since then, he’s built a licensed, profitable, and high-growth infrastructure platform powering nearly 300 financial institutions and processing billions in transactions annually.

“This follow-on investment reflects our deep confidence in HoneyCoin’s results to date and potential to lead the next generation of compliant, blockchain-enabled finance across Africa.”

HoneyCoin holds multiple licences, including in Canada, the US, Europe, and key African jurisdictions, with direct partnerships with banks, mobile operators, and payment providers. The company claims its B2B settlement volumes are growing 16% month-on-month, while consumer activity through its Peer app is rising by 5% monthly.

According to Nandwa, “Our mission is to build the operating system for money; how it’s moved, held, and collected, regardless of medium or geography—just like Apple redefined computing. This raise enables us to lead that transformation, across Africa and other global markets.”

This funding will bolster the development of Fuse’s platform, designed to break down obstacles in the fragmented MENA banking space. The region’s complex regulations and banking systems have traditionally made it difficult for global businesses to operate smoothly. 

Fuse, however, is stepping in with a solution to this long-standing problem. Founded in 2023 by George Davis, a former co-founder of BVNK, and James Smith, the company’s Chief Technology Officer, Fuse is offering a virtual International Bank Account Number (IBAN) product aimed at global businesses wanting to move money seamlessly within MENA. 

This product is commonplace in Europe, but Fuse claims it is the first to offer such a solution for MENA. As Davis put it, “We’re currently the only provider of virtual IBANs in the Middle East… it simply didn’t exist.”

The platform provides businesses with USD-denominated virtual IBANs for international transactions and local UAE IBANs for regional payments. The advantage of this offering is that companies can now perform cross-border money movements and local payouts without the need for complex local banking setups, foreign exchange (FX) handling, or navigating regulatory issues.

Many businesses, especially those based in the US, Europe, and Asia, have long struggled with entering the MENA region. Traditionally, they’ve faced two choices: work with smaller local payment firms that lack scale or rely on larger global players that lack local licences and often fail to provide reliable partnerships. 

Fuse finds its niche in the middle, offering a fully licensed, scalable infrastructure solution for businesses needing access to the MENA region. “Fuse is built for the Middle East,” Davis said, drawing a distinction between Fuse and its global counterparts, such as Visa-backed Currencycloud.

Fuse’s solution is already in demand. The company now serves over 20 clients, including well-known businesses such as DLocal, RemotePass, and platforms like Deel, Airbnb, and Etsy. 

The platform’s main strength lies in its ability to process payments instantly and efficiently. Clients can use the platform to issue virtual IBANs for employees or customers, enabling them to pay salaries or make other local transactions without the need for a local presence or entity.

One of Fuse’s unique features is its ability to support businesses in a wide range of sectors, including payroll, remittance services, and e-commerce.

For example, Fuse enables employers in the US to pay salaries to employees in the UAE, all while bypassing the need for complex compliance or residency requirements. 

With the platform’s smart routing and real-time notifications, businesses can be assured that payments are processed accurately and swiftly.

The funding round, which was led by Northzone, a European venture capital firm, also saw contributions from Flourish Ventures, Alter Global, and notable individual investors, including Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, and George Makhoul, the former president of Morgan Stanley MENA. 

Sanjot Malhi, partner at Northzone, highlighted the importance of Fuse’s approach, noting, “The Fuse team is transforming payment infrastructure in one of the world’s fastest-growing markets… their ability to simplify MENA’s complex cross-border flows is exactly what the region needs.”

Fuse plans to use this fresh capital to expand its team and secure additional regional licences. The company aims to extend its services beyond the UAE, expanding into countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. 

This comes at a time when the region is experiencing an explosion in e-commerce and digital payments, creating a fertile ground for businesses like Fuse to thrive.

For now, Fuse is firmly anchored in the UAE, but with plans to scale quickly, it looks set to become the go-to company in the MENA fintech sector.

The round was led by Flourish Ventures, a global investor in financial technology, with participation from Vision Ventures and Arab Bank’s Xelerate, along with individual backers like Marqeta founder Jason Gardner.

This funding comes just a year after MoneyHash secured $4.5 million in seed funding, bringing its total capital raised to over $12 million since its launch in 2021. The company plans to use the funds to strengthen its foothold in the MEA region and explore new opportunities in other emerging markets.

Addressing Payment Challenges in Emerging Markets

Payment processes in emerging markets are notoriously complex, with high transaction failure rates and limited standardisation among providers. 

Businesses usually face challenges in integrating multiple payment systems to meet customer and regulatory requirements. These challenges are particularly pronounced in regions like Africa and the Middle East, where diverse payment methods and currencies make scaling difficult.

MoneyHash aims to simplify this sector by providing an all-in-one payment operating system. Through a unified API, businesses can simplify pay-in and pay-out operations, optimise transaction performance, and access features like fraud prevention, customisable checkouts, and detailed reporting tools. 

The platform also supports subscription management, virtual wallets, and payment links, giving companies a thorough solution to manage their payment needs efficiently.

Initially targeting small merchants, MoneyHash has pivoted towards larger enterprises in 2024, launching an enterprise suite that now accounts for 35% of its client base—a threefold increase this year. 

Well-known customers include Tamara, a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) giant, and Kitopi, a leader in the cloud kitchen sector. These partnerships have contributed to a fourfold increase in processing volumes and a threefold rise in revenue over the past year, according to CEO Nader Abdelrazik.

“In emerging markets, digital payments represent only a fraction of total transaction volume, suggesting massive growth potential in the coming decade,” Abdelrazik said. “We’ve built MoneyHash specifically to help merchants overcome these complex challenges and turn payments from a liability into a strategic advantage.”

Flourish Ventures, the lead investor, emphasised the impact of MoneyHash’s platform. “The team’s expertise in payment solutions and customer-centric approach places them as a leader in emerging markets,” said Ameya Upadhyay, a venture partner at Flourish Ventures who will join MoneyHash’s board.

The company has over 300 pre-integrated APIs covering more than 100 markets, allowing businesses to connect seamlessly with local and international payment providers like Adyen, Stripe, Fawry, and Mono. 

This network has helped MoneyHash improve payment efficiency and accessibility across the region.

Headquartered in New York but with a team spanning nine countries, MoneyHash plans to allocate its new funding towards deepening its presence in MEA while laying the groundwork for expansion into additional emerging markets. 

With the leverage of its unique expertise and strong investor backing, the company aims to drive innovation in the fintech space, supporting businesses to overcome challenges in operations and scale more effectively.

Founded in 2021 by Nader Abdelrazik and Mustafa Eid, MoneyHash is a payment orchestration platform targeting the needs of emerging markets.

The company provides businesses with a unified platform to manage complex payment ecosystems, optimise performance metrics, and bolster growth opportunities.

However, a recent report by Flourish Ventures reveals an often-overlooked aspect of this growth story — the mental health and well-being of African founders. 

According to the research, an astonishing 86% of African startup founders report that the pressures of their role have impacted their mental health. 

Even as startup culture continues to thrive on the continent, it’s obvious that addressing founder wellbeing is no longer optional; it’s essential for long-term success and sustainability.

The Startup Pressures and External Stressors

The report surveyed 169 founders across 13 African countries, shedding light on the mental and emotional toll that comes with the entrepreneurial journey. 

Key stressors include the difficulties of fundraising, inflation, and currency fluctuations. External pressures were found to be more, with economic and market conditions contributing heavily to founder stress. 

For instance, inflation is a big concern for founders in Nigeria and Egypt, where over 66% of respondents cited it as a major stressor.

This external environment means founders must constantly adapt, often working long hours to manage their companies amidst uncertainty. 

These macroeconomic issues add to the “occupational health hazard” that startup founders face. Even among those who consider their startups to be thriving, 76% reported that the pressures have taken a toll on their mental well-being.

Founder Loneliness: A Silent Burden

In addition to the external pressures, many founders experience profound loneliness in their journey. Over 78% of founders reported feeling isolated, highlighting that even in a high-communication role, the founder’s path can feel solitary. 

This isolation is often compounded by the need to project strength and resilience to maintain morale among team members and to meet investor expectations.

African founders generally lack structured support systems to share their burdens. While friends and family provide emotional support, they often lack the business insight needed to help founders scale through complex industry challenges. 

This lack of peer support leads to an increased sense of isolation, a scenario that is particularly acute for female founders, who are more likely to experience stress related to work-life balance, fear of failure, and isolation.

Limited Investor Support: More Pressure, Less Relief

Investors play a huge role in shaping the success of startups, but for many African founders, investor relations add to the pressure rather than alleviating it. 

Only 17% of founders feel comfortable discussing their challenges openly with investors, and just 11% believe that investors genuinely care about their well-being. 

Many founders feel that investor expectations are misaligned with the realities of running an African startup, where economic conditions are frequently challenging.

Coping Strategies and the Road to Resilience

Even with these challenges, African founders display commendable resilience. The survey shows that adopting multiple coping strategies, such as maintaining a balanced diet, getting regular exercise, and leaning on support systems, can significantly improve mental health outcomes. 

However, more support from the venture capital industry is necessary. While 25% of founders reported consulting a coach or therapist, many struggle to access the mental health resources they need due to limited time and funds.

The report emphasizes that African founders can benefit greatly from investor-led initiatives that promote mental health, such as access to coaching, leadership training, and resources for personal resilience. 

Founders are calling for investors who prioritize the founder’s well-being as a critical component of startup success. As one founder pointed out, “Great investors believe in the person behind the business model, not just the model itself.”

Building a Sustainable Ecosystem for Africa’s Future

African founders are passionate and driven, with 81% stating that they enjoy the journey, and 64% saying they would start another venture if their current one failed. 

However, for Africa’s startup ecosystem to thrive, stakeholders—including investors, accelerators, and mentors—must create a more supportive environment that prioritizes founder wellbeing.

The report is a wake-up call to Africa’s venture capital and startup communities: building resilient companies requires resilient founders. Actively promoting mental health and creating spaces for open dialogue will ensure the ecosystem can cultivate not just successful ventures but also sustainable, thriving entrepreneurial journeys.

It has become imperative for investors and founders alike to consider mental health as an integral part of the success formula.

Entrepreneurs with the support to manage stress effectively are more likely to innovate, grow, and lead the continent into a prosperous future. 

The African founder journey is filled with both passion and perseverance—let’s ensure that well-being becomes a core part of the narrative.

Launched in late 2022 by Flourish Ventures, Madica aims to address the funding gap faced by many African startups, particularly those led by underrepresented founders.

Madica has wasted no time in making its mark, announcing its first investments in three innovative startups across diverse industries and boosting innovation across a wide range of ventures.

Kola Market, a Ghanaian B2B platform, is one of the startups, helping Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) by providing innovative tools to boost their sales, optimize inventory management, and secure financing. In addressing these needs, Kola Market helps SMEs thrive in the competitive African market.

GoBEBA, a Kenyan company, tackles the challenge of getting bulky essentials to urban consumers. The company’s direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform simplifies the purchase and delivery process, ensuring safe, quick, and reliable doorstep service. This makes it easier for people in cities to get the everyday items they need without time issues.

Looking to the future of food, NewForm Foods, a South African company, is developing cultivated meat technology. Its solution allows food producers and retailers to rapidly develop and scale cultivated meat products at a lower cost than traditional methods.

This advancement has the potential to bolster the food industry and promote more sustainable practices.

Madica isn’t stopping there. The VC plans to invest in up to 30 startups by the end of the year, seeking opportunities in emerging markets like Tunisia, Morocco, and Ethiopia.

This is in line with its goal to support a wider range of founders and sectors, particularly those beyond the well-funded fintech space and those led by women.

Madica also gives up to $200,000 per startup and tailored support including mentorship and hands-on guidance for up to 18 months. The program structure is designed to be both personalized and adaptable, attending to the specific needs of each company at different stages.

Madica aims to boost investment in Africa’s pre-seed stage, attract more capital to the continent, and serve as a reference point for global VCs looking to invest in Africa. Succeeding in this could bring about expansion through partnerships, further ensuring its mission is fulfilled.

Emmanuel Adegboye, Head of Madica, places emphasis on the importance of supporting overlooked founders. “We’re excited to announce our first set of investments, which showcase the remarkable talent and innovation in the African tech ecosystem. Each one of these startups represents the untapped potential of African founders who lack the support they direly need because they are too often perceived as risky by global investors. This year, our goal is to support more of these founders and integrate them into the global startup ecosystem. 

The glaring imbalance in venture funding in Africa is a big concern, and we want to support founders who are often overlooked by investors. We aim to be a catalyst and inspire other investors to join our goal of broadening the reach of venture capital and founder mentorship.” 

Marie-Reine Seshie, founder and CEO, Kola Market, said, “We’re encouraged about the possibilities this support opens up, allowing us to test new ideas and scale our operations in ways that will make a difference, especially for our customers.”

Tasneem Karodia, co-founder and COO, Newform Foods conclusively noted: “I think this is a great fit and we look forward to continuing this partnership into the future on our journey to scale.” 

Aiming to serve mission-driven and under-represented founders, the new sector-agnostic program will invest capital in tech startups and offer founders tailored mentorship and world-class company-building support. 

Over the next three years, Madica seeks to back 25-30 African entrepreneurs with up to $200,000 each, coupled with multi-year programmatic support.

The new investment program aims to address systemic challenges faced by early-stage founders in Africa, such as limited access to capital, industry networks, mentorship, and structured training. 

A central element of the program will be a carefully curated panel of seasoned African operators who will mentor Madica founders. Based on the belief that strong mentorship is a central feature of the most vibrant startup ecosystems, Madica will provide this mentor community with rewards tied to company success. 

To further cultivate this sense of community, Madica intends to share a part of its financial returns with the broader ecosystem. In pioneering some of these unique features in an investment program, Madica hopes to promote a vibrant and more equitable funding environment on the continent.

Madica, short for ‘Made In Africa’, is an Africa-wide initiative and invites founders from across the continent, including those outside the large tech hubs of Nigeria, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa. Further, Madica will prioritize companies led by local founders, women, and those focused on frontier sectors to shore up gaps in funding on the continent. 

For example, African-educated CEOs raise significantly less than their foreign-educated counterparts in both number of deals (44%) and in amount (28%). Start-ups with a female CEO fare far worse, as they are overlooked in favor of start-ups led by male CEOs, with 93% of the 2021 funding in Africa going to the latter.

“Although investment is booming on the continent, funds are often disproportionately targeted at a few well-networked entrepreneurs and skewed towards the more prominent tech hubs,” said Emmanuel Adegboye, Head of Madica.

“Unlike other programs, Madica is sector-agnostic and intends to double down on providing hands-on support, extensive resources, access to networks and more. This is why, in addition to $6M of investment capital, we have reserved an equal amount for programmatic support. We encourage founders across the continent to apply for our program. We believe Africans have an unmatched entrepreneurial spirit, and  one of Madica’s core goals is to ensure a level playing field for every African founder.”

Eligibility 

To be eligible for the program, mission-driven start-ups must have a minimum viable product (MVP), have founder(s) who are engaged full time and have received little or no institutional funding.

Ameya Upadhyay, Venture Partner at Flourish Ventures, added, “Madica is an investment in the African venture ecosystem, with the audacious goal of creating a broader systemic shift. Through Madica, we intend to develop a cadre of mentors, create world-class programming, crowd-in follow-on capital and leverage Flourish’s global presence to extend the reach of local networks. These will eventually benefit other participants in the ecosystem – startups, investors, and policymakers.”

Upadhyay said, “We hope that Madica can help change the narrative around African startups – lower the perception of risk, attract more capital, inspire more founders, and garner more media attention.”

Madica operates an open application process so founders can apply without an introduction. The program will work with partners such as incubators, accelerators, and angels to identify and support entrepreneurs. 

How to apply 

All applicants will undergo the same evaluation procedure, and investments will be made on a rolling basis throughout the year. Applications are now open, and interested startups can find out more and apply by visiting Madica’s website.

Themed: ‘Financial Inclusion for All’ the Hackathon is in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Flourish Ventures, AXA Mansard, as well as NIBSS and will be held during the NACOS annual conference taking place in Abeokuta, Ogun State from August 16-18, 2022.

As part of pre-event activities, a webinar was held on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, and attended by students of 30 tertiary institutions from the six geo-political zones of the country. 

However, while the Hackathon will begin on August 16, with several teams building their solutions, the pitching of Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) will take place on August 18, 2022. Already, over 60 teams have registered for this challenge.

In her opening remarks at the webinar, Mrs Aituaz Kola-Oladejo, Executive Director, Financial Services Innovators (FSI), traced the history of financial inclusion hackathons in Nigeria. According to her, it began in October 2021 as a means of discovering Tech talents in tertiary institutions, and to change the current narrative in the nation’s digital ecosystem.

“The objectives of this hackathon is to change the lifestyle of Nigerians from cash to cashless transactions, and to encourage seamless conduct of business via digital platforms,” she said.

Delivering a paper at the webinar, Mrs Njideka Nwabukwu, Head, Strategy Coordination Office, Financial Inclusion Delivery Unit, Central Bank of Nigeria, disclosed that the targets of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy have not been met due to the hiccups afflicting stakeholders in the industry.

Nwabukwu, who represented Dr Paul Oluikpe, Head, Financial Inclusion Delivery Unit, CBN, identified the impediments on the path of NFIS to include inadequate infrastructure by banks in rural areas, poor mobile telephone network penetration in some parts of the country, and high operational cost by service providers.

According to her, other factors hindering the resolution of this problem in Nigeria are lack of innovation by operators, limited competition, and unsuitable business implementation.

Proffering solutions to the challenges, Nwabukwu said the CBN would keep churning out forward-thinking regulations that will guide Financial Services Providers and innovators in the financial inclusion space.

“The financial inclusion targets can only be attained with effective collaboration of stakeholders,” she concluded.

In his paper, IT expert and CEO, Electronic Settlement Group, Olaolu Awojoodu, rendered an overview on Financial Inclusion Challenges in Nigeria. He said lack of access to affordable technology, religious and cultural beliefs, as well as barriers created by lack of trust from consumers, were some of the factors hampering financial inclusion in the country.

Awojoodu stated further, “Although, the Financial Inclusion Strategy is targeted majorly at the banked and unbanked in the society, with all the banks in Nigeria having less than 6,000 branches, it is not surprising that the target of the NFIS has been slow.”

NACOS president, Comrade Olamilekan Toheeb rounded off the webinar with a vote of thanks. He commended the facilitators and urged the participating teams to work hard for success in the hackathon.