From 0 to 6 in 4 Years: Africa's Fintech Unicorn Surge of 2019-2023
Between 2019 and 2023, Africa experienced a remarkable surge in fintech startups achieving unicorn status, reflecting the continent's dynamic and rapidly evolving financial technology landscape. Here’s a detailed look at the six fintech unicorns that emerged during this period:
1. Interswitch
Country: Nigeria
Founded: 2002
Unicorn Status Achieved: 2019
Valuation: $1 billion
Notable Investors: Visa
Overview: Interswitch is a pioneer in digital payments in Africa, offering a wide range of payment solutions including online payment gateways and third-party card processing.
2. Flutterwave
Country: Nigeria
Founded: 2016
Unicorn Status Achieved: 2021
Valuation: $3 billion
Notable Investors: Tiger Global, Salesforce Ventures, Avenir Growth Capital
Overview: Flutterwave provides a payment gateway that facilitates international payments for companies like Facebook and Uber. It has rapidly expanded across Africa and beyond, processing over 200 million transactions valued at $16 billion in 2021.
3. OPay
Country: Nigeria
Founded: 2018
Unicorn Status Achieved: 2021
Valuation: $2 billion
Notable Investors: SoftBank Vision Fund, Sequoia Capital
Overview: Initially focused on ride-hailing services, OPay shifted to mobile payments and financial services after regulatory changes. It now offers a wide range of services including money transfers, loans, and savings.
4. Wave
Country: Senegal
Founded: 2018
Unicorn Status Achieved: 2021
Valuation: $1.7 billion
Notable Investors: Sequoia Heritage, Stripe, Partech Africa
Overview: Wave is a mobile money provider that has become the largest in Senegal, offering low-cost financial services such as money transfers and bill payments. It has significantly disrupted the mobile money market in Francophone Africa.
5. Chipper Cash
Country: Uganda, Ghana
Founded: 2018
Unicorn Status Achieved: 2021
Valuation: $2.2 billion
Notable Investors: SVB Capital, Deciens Capital
Overview: Chipper Cash is a cross-border money transfer platform that also offers bill payments, virtual cards, and stock market investing. It has over 5 million users and processes over $1.5 billion quarterly.
6. MNT-Halan
Country: Egypt
Founded: 2017
Unicorn Status Achieved: 2023
Valuation: $1 billion
Notable Investors: Chimera Abu Dhabi, Commercial International Bank
Overview: MNT-Halan started as a ride-hailing service and has since evolved into a super app offering e-commerce, business loans, consumer finance, and digital payments. It is one of the leading fintech companies in Egypt and has expanded its operations across the MENA region.