4 FinTechs empowering African SMEs for financial inclusion and growth

By Delisha Fernandes

FinTech companies have revolutionized how African SMEs access banking, payments, investments, savings, and loans. According to the World Bank, African SMEs offer more than half of all employment and contribute to more than a third of the combined GDP of emerging market economies.

For most of these SMEs, however, obtaining finance is a challenge. It is now widely accepted that the greatest obstacle to small businesses’ expansion is a lack of access to financing. Being a ray of hope to SMEs, FinTech solutions have been helping the continent’s SMEs overcome the challenges imposed by the pandemic by facilitating fast and convenient access to credit. A rising number of FinTech start-ups are helping small businesses all over Africa through various financial methods.

Here are 4 African FinTechs empowering SMEs for financial inclusion and growth:

• Branch

This Kenyan-based mobile lending platform provides loans to SMEs without collateral, enabling them to access funds to grow their businesses. Branch has raised more than $667 million from investors such as NEA, Founders Fund, and Playground Ventures and is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA, and with offices around the globe.

• Flutterwave

Flutterwave is a Nigerian FinTech company that provides a payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent. The company recently launched its new eCommerce service to scale small and medium-sized business (SMB) growth. It has also announced a rebrand of its logo and dashboard and added small business lending, fintech-as-a-service (FaaS), and more to its suite of offerings.

• Paymob

Paymob is a global financial technology company that builds infrastructures for the digital economy. The company’s mission is to fuel SME growth by offering a payment infrastructure that delivers the most innovative digital payment methods to businesses of all sizes. The omnichannel financial technology platform empowers merchants to accept online and offline payments, make payments, manage their finances, and grow their businesses all in one place.

• Trade Lenda

Trade Lenda drives financial and social inclusion for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises through digital microfinance and other digital finance products. The company is transforming and democratizing how credit and financial services should work within Africa. The company also assist retailers with access to distributors and manufacturers. We currently operate out of Lagos, Nigeria.