The fund, named Accion Venture Lab Fund II, LP, is managed under Accion Impact Management’s venture strategy, now rebranded as Accion Ventures. 

It is the continuation of a decade-long initiative to back startups providing affordable and inclusive financial tools. Since 2012, the strategy has invested $59.4 million in 76 companies across 39 countries, with 13 successful exits.

The new fund brings in commitments from a mix of old and new investors, including development finance institutions, family offices, asset managers, foundations, and financial service firms. Among them are FMO, Proparco, ImpactAssets, Ford Foundation, MetLife Asset Management, and Mastercard Worldwide.

Some of the first investments under this fresh round have already been made. PaidHR in Nigeria, Foyer in the United States, FinFra in Indonesia, and Flowcart in Kenya are among the startups receiving early backing.

Accion Ventures is focusing on fintech solutions that can make a difference for the 1.6 billion people globally who remain unbanked or underbanked, and the $5.7 trillion annual credit gap faced by small businesses. 

The fund is designed not only to provide capital but also to give startups operational support, governance guidance, and connections to networks that are often closed off to early-stage firms.

Michael Schlein, president and CEO of Accion, explained the rationale behind the move:

“With the huge uptick in mobile technologies in emerging economies, we see a significant opportunity to connect many small businesses and low-income consumers to the digital economy for the first time. Leveraging third-party capital to deliver social and financial objectives is a critical part of Accion’s strategy. 

“This fund seeks to support the growth of early-stage, disruptive companies providing high-quality, affordable financial services that can help reduce poverty and create opportunity for millions of people globally.”

Rahil Rangwala, managing partner, Accion Ventures, emphasised the role of innovation in the fund’s direction:

“We are excited to support the growth of incredible innovators across the globe in early-stage fintech who are using new technology ranging from Gen AI to satellite imagery and embedded finance, leveraging the power of mobile phones and the internet to deliver sustainable financial returns, alongside real world impact for underserved people globally. 

“We have a strong pipeline and team in place and will continue to leverage our networks to deliver quality, affordable financial services for small businesses and consumers globally.”

Managing Partner, Amee Parbhoo, noted how Accion Ventures plans to use the fund:

“With this new funding, we will build on our success to date, finding and scaling some of the world’s most innovative fintech companies that provide a full suite of financial products and services to small businesses globally. 

“Our global portfolio and local approach mean we can spot and respond to trends faster, driving local innovations on a global scale, and share learnings across geographies. We aim to be one of the first institutional checks a company receives and will continue to engage early, while maintaining sufficient reserves to back our winners as they scale.”

Accion Ventures operates across Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the United States. Its strategy is to identify startups with a deep understanding of their local markets, then provide the financial backing and strategic input needed to grow beyond their immediate environment.

Accion fintech fund supports the growing momentum of inclusive fintech as both a social need and a market opportunity. The venture aims to back innovators capable of bolstering financial access on a global scale.

The partnership will introduce new microcredit solutions aimed at serving unbanked and underserved populations across the continent.

With over 100 million customers in sixteen countries across Africa and the Middle East, Orange Money Group facilitated more than €160 billion in transactions in 2024. 

JUMO has disbursed over $8 billion to more than 31 million African customers, matching expertise and a desire to scale with Orange Money Group.

This partnership will enable Orange Money Group to advance its financial inclusion strategy by introducing new microcredit services to its customer value proposition. 

The collaboration with JUMO leverages their data analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities, refined over 10 years to optimise credit allocation, reduce the cost of risk for lending to < 4% and grow sustainable portfolios.

This strategic alliance will also enable the rollout of various credit products across multiple markets from a multitude of funders, creating a new microfinance marketplace for the unbanked in emerging markets, with an initial focus on Francophone Africa. 

JUMO’s leading expertise in asset allocation and credit risk management makes it a key partner for Orange Money Group in Africa. Orange Money Group customers will be eligible to securely request credit through their mobile devices, without needing a bank account or collateral.

JUMO has developed a range of short-term and installment loan products for consumers, merchants and distributors with limited access to these services. They use trained AI algorithms to assess credit risk and facilitate the immediate flow of capital through their partnerships with pan-African banks and development finance institutions.

JUMO’s AI-driven technology for banks and payments ecosystems will provide Orange Money Group the opportunity to introduce real-time app-based and USSD lending to their African customers. The offering is multi-country, multi-product, and multi-funding, with plans to launch in Burkina Faso imminent, to be followed by Mali and Botswana.

This partnership delivers a streamlined user experience that combines financial inclusion with cutting-edge technology. The process is as follows:

• Users access the service via their Orange Money Group wallet
• They request an amount of credit
• JUMO’s AI technology evaluates eligibility based on transactional data
• If validated, the amount is immediately credited to the user’s wallet.
• Repayment is made automatically according to agreed terms.

Aminata Kane, CEO of Orange Money Group said: “After developing transfer and payment services used thousands of times every second, we now aim to support our customers in their personal projects, as well as help them manage everyday emergencies. In recent years, Orange Money has expanded its portfolio with highly accessible small loan offers.”

“By partnering with JUMO, we aim to accelerate this momentum, roll out these services across a wide range of countries, and combine our expertise with their technology to deliver support that is even faster, more transparent, and better tailored to the needs of all our customers”.

Andrew Watkins-Ball, JUMO CEO and founder: “We are proud to have been chosen to partner with Orange and we are excited to connect Orange customers with products from the market-leading banks that run on our platform. 

“This collaboration, built on top of Orange Money Group’s mobile payments and money transfer platforms, will provide customers with great financial choices and allows our bank partners to grow in new markets”.

This strategic move addresses the unique financial landscape of the region, where a significant portion of the population still remains unbanked.

This integration will further Unlimit’s offering for Tanzanian businesses, with their solution enabling access to a comprehensive suite of national, regional and global payment methods. 

It will also provide merchants access to a vast new customer base of M-Pesa’s 60 million, Mixx by Yas’ 20 million and Airtel Money’s 41.5 million users, simplifying transactions and minimising customer churn, while helping to create a smoother and more inclusive payment experience.

Tanzania is quickly emerging as a regional digital payments hub, with the annual transaction value of its mobile money market now exceeding $80 billion.

This shift comes as cash payments become less common and total digital transaction volumes surge, with Unlimit recording a 76% increase between 2023 and 2024.

“Tanzania is one of the fastest-growing economies of the decade, and it’s now entering a new era of digital payments maturity,” said Irene Skrynova, Chief Customer Officer at Unlimit. 

“By continuously expanding our services and integrating dominant local payment methods, we ensure that both banked and unbanked users are fully supported. This positions us to seamlessly enable international brands to enter and scale in this thriving market, while empowering Tanzanian businesses to connect with their target audiences effortlessly.”

The expansion of Unlimit’s services in Tanzania follows their successful launch into the nation in Q2 2024, with the receipt of their Bank of Tanzania licence and the opening of a regional office. 

The integration of these mobile-money services expands Unlimit’s existing Tanzania offerings and underscores its commitment to supporting merchants with a wide range of payment options across Africa. 

These include local and international cards across Africa, such as Visa and Mastercard, and Verve in Nigeria; mobile money solutions such as M-Pesa and Airtel Money in East Africa; USSD payments in Nigeria; as well as bank transfers through all regional banks.

Revealed in World Bank’s Global Findex 2025 report, 40% of adults in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) saved money formally in 2024, a 16 percentage point surge since 2021, the fastest growth in over a decade. 

Sub-Saharan Africa, home to the world’s most active mobile money users, recorded a 12-point jump in formal savings, reaching 35% of adults.

In Nigeria, Mobile money operators, including OPay, PalmPay, and Paga, processed transactions valued at ₦71.5 trillion between January and December 2024, according to Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS) data. 

This represents a 53.4% increase from ₦46.6 trillion recorded in 2023, stressing how mobile-based financial services are penetrating both urban and rural populations.

“Digital finance can convert this potential into reality,” said Ajay Banga, president of the World Bank Group. “We’re helping countries get their people access to new or improved digital IDs, modernising payment systems, and removing regulatory roadblocks—so that people and businesses have the financing they need to innovate and create jobs.”

Even with these advances, the global unbanked population is at 1.3 billion adults. Shockingly, more than half of this figure, around 650 million people, are concentrated in just eight countries: Nigeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and Pakistan.

Women account for 55% of the unbanked globally. The poorest households are also disproportionately excluded, with 52% of the unbanked population drawn from the lowest 40% income bracket. Education is a factor too, 62% of unbanked adults have only primary-level education or less.

Interestingly, mobile technology could help narrow this gap. The World Bank found that approximately 900 million of the unbanked own a mobile phone, and over half of them, about 530 million, have smartphones, showing potential for future financial access through digital channels.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, mobile money is the main driver of financial inclusion. Today, 15% of adults globally own mobile money accounts, a figure much higher within Africa. The region continues to lead in mobile wallet usage globally.

Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, highlighted the progress: “More people than ever have the financial tools to invest in their futures and build economic resilience, including women and others previously left behind. This is real progress.”

For women in LMICs, account ownership has nearly doubled over the past decade, rising from 37% in 2011 to 73% in 2024. Globally, account ownership among women now stands at 77% compared to 81% among men.

Regional breakdowns reveal sharp contrasts:

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, account ownership increased from 49% in 2021 to 58% in 2024.
• South Asia now reports 80% account ownership, with India leading, 90% of both men and women there now own financial accounts.
• Middle East and North Africa saw account ownership climb to 53%, up from 45% in 2021, though formal savings remain at just 17%.
• East Asia and the Pacific lead with smartphone ownership at 86% and account access at 83%.

In Nigeria specifically, fintech and mobile money platforms are driving financial access into underserved markets. Operators like OPay, PalmPay, and Moniepoint are expanding transaction volumes and also opening millions of mobile wallets for the financially excluded.

However, phone ownership gaps are a challenge. Only nine LMICs report mobile phone ownership below 65%, yet disparities persist among women and the poorest households. In South Asia alone, over 300 million women remain without mobile phones, with affordability noted as the primary reason.

Real-time digital payment systems like India’s UPI and Brazil’s PIX are being spotlighted as models that could help bridge financial access gaps. These systems enable low-cost, instant transactions, offering blueprints for African and other LMIC policymakers.

In the words of the World Bank: “The impact that mobile phones and the internet are having extends not only to account ownership, but also to potentially productive uses, including saving formally and making or receiving digital payments.”

In summary, mobile money has become an important tool for financial inclusion across Africa, especially in Nigeria. But the digital divide means millions are still locked out of financial systems.