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Between the beginning of 2015 to the end of May 2017, a total of 57 African fintech startups could raise over $92 million USD. The amount of investments is expected to increase even further within the next few years.
So, why are investors being attracted here?
This is due to the mix of high potential returns along with the great potential impact that different and innovate solutions that startups are coming up with.
During the last 29 months, 301 fintechs were tracked. The Finnovating for Africa report results of tracking these startups and found that about 20% of the startups rose money during that time.
Stephen Deng, an investment officer at DFS Lab, states African fintech startups are specifically trying to provide savings, credit, and insurance, along with other financial services to the masses.
Smartphones are becoming increasingly popular, so Steven Deng believes that now is the vital time to take advantage of that rise in popularity.
The director of investments at the company Accion Venture Lab, Amee Parbhoo believes that small business all over Africa require working capital to prosper.
Along with the rise of startups comes the opportunities of fintech to hop on the opportunities presented for them. Many companies across Africa are heavily requiring investors to either help them become financially stable or to even drive their progress forward at a better rate.
Many banks in Africa such as Barclays and Standard Bank in south Africa are starting to see the prospects of partnering up with startups. The banks would help run accelerators and support initiatives for the startups; all in all, ending up as a beneficial scenario for both the bank and the startup as they both are earning profits.
