Visa Invests In 4 African Fintech Startups

Visa has announced investments in four African fintech startups that recently graduated from its Africa Fintech Accelerator program.

While Visa did not disclose specific investment amounts, the initiative reflects its ongoing efforts to drive financial inclusion and support digital innovation in Africa.

Supporting Fintech Innovation Across Africa

The four startups—Oze, Workpay, OkHi, and ORDA—each offer digital solutions tailored to address key financial and logistical challenges in African markets. 

By backing these companies, Visa is betting on a diverse range of technologies to enhance access to financial services for small businesses, streamline HR operations, improve address verification systems, and support the hospitality sector.

• Oze (Ghana): Focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), Oze provides digital record-keeping tools and financial products to help African businesses manage transactions, access capital, and grow sustainably. Oze also uses machine learning to improve credit access for SMEs.
• Workpay (Kenya): Workpay offers a HR and payroll platform that simplifies employee management, payroll processing, and benefits administration. The platform supports businesses in 35 countries across Africa, allowing them to efficiently manage the employee lifecycle with features like time tracking, performance management, and “employer of record” services.
• OkHi (Nigeria): Specializing in digital address verification, OkHi provides businesses with a tool to accurately collect, verify, and navigate customer addresses, which is needed for improving service delivery and expanding access to financial products in Nigeria and beyond.
• ORDA (Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa): Serving the food service sector, ORDA offers cloud-based software to over 1,500 restaurants, supporting everything from order processing and inventory management to financial services—allowing these businesses to optimize operations and scale more efficiently.

Visa’s $1 Billion Commitment to Africa

The Africa Fintech Accelerator, launched in 2023, is part of Visa’s broader strategy to support African startups from the Seed to Series A stages. 

Through mentorship, training, and funding opportunities, the program aims to create local entrepreneurship and enable financial access. 

This effort aligns with Visa’s 2022 pledge to invest $1 billion in Africa by 2027 to strengthen regional financial systems, promote innovation, and deepen partnerships with African businesses.

Following this cohort’s success, Visa plans to host a “Demo Day” for the second group of startups in December 2024, in Cape Town, South Africa, where participants will have the chance to showcase their projects to investors and potential partners. 

With backing from companies like Amazon Web Services, which provides free cloud services to program participants, Visa aims to create a support system for Africa’s fintech sector.

Feature Image Credit: Workpay