At least eight fintech start-ups have received USD 1.1million in funding, as well as business support from AlphaCode, a club for entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs and businesses disrupting the financial services industry.
They were selected into AlphaCode Incubate initiative after a pitching competition which took place in South Africa. Among the eight funded start-ups are SELFsure, Akiba Digital, the ISpani Group, Nisa Finance, Jamii, Yalu, Prospa, and Pago.
The start-ups are now entitled to a cash reward of $69,000 in grant funding and another $69,000 in support, alongside other perks.
AlphaCode is the fintech incubator of Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI), and the eight winning start-ups will also be afforded access to the broader RMI network.
In partnership with Merrill Lynch South Africa and Royal Bafokeng Holdings, the AlphaCode Incubate initiative is focused on discovering fintech enterprises that have the potential to disrupt the financial services space. The program is believed to have doled out up to $905,000 in funding to 15 black-owned businesses in the fintech sector since 2015.
The latest edition of the AlphaCode Incubate initiative is said to have drawn applications from over 200 fintech startups, from which 16 teams were shortlisted to compete in last night’s final pitching event after series of vetting and scrutiny.
Dominique Collett stated that “The intention behind AlphaCode’s ‘Explore, Incubate, and Accelerate’ program is for RMI to discover the next OUTsurance or Discovery; we want to identify, partner, and grow the future of financial services in South Africa.”
