Absa Bank CIB has secured a US$150mn facility from the UK’s British International Investment (BII) to fund sustainable trade in Africa. According to a joint press release, the financing will support transactions, including those benefiting women—and youth-led SMEs. The press release says the partnership is “making strides in advancing the efforts of the African Continental
IFC today announced a risk sharing facility for Equity Bank of Kenya that is the first globally to be dedicated to financial inclusion for refugees and their host communities. The $20 million facility will boost financial inclusion for individuals and small businesses in Kenya’s most underserved regions, including the Turkana and Garissa refugee hosting areas,
NCBA has expanded in Ukunda, as part of its strategy of taking the businesses into new sectors of the economy, as well as providing its services to local clients. Following this announcement, the NCBA Customer centric approach will ensure clients enjoy full banking services, including asset financing, personal and business loans, digital banking, as well
Safaricom has expanded M-PESA Kenya’s International Money Transfer (IMT) service to Ethiopia, enabling customers to send money from Kenya to Ethiopia via M-PESA Global. Through this expansion, the two companies aim to increase mobile money use and penetration across Ethiopia, boosting local economies and creating opportunities for individuals and businesses across the region. Safaricom Kenya’s
Mukuru, a leading financial services platform providing world-class fintech technology to customers globally, has announced the launch of its new mobile wallet launch in Malawi: the Mukuru Wallet. This move aligns with the business’s unwavering commitment to Malawi and responds to the growing demand for a digital store of value among cash-dependent citizens who have
The Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) announces that the Kenya Electronic Payment and Settlement System (KEPSS) has been successfully migrated to the ISO20022 Global Messaging Standard (“ISO20022 Standard”). KEPSS, Kenya’s Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, is operated by CBK to process large-value and time-critical payments. It is the backbone of Kenya’s domestic and regional payment
NMB Bank Plc, in collaboration with Mastercard, proudly announces the launch of Tanzania’s first QR Pay by Link (QR PBL) payment solution, a significant milestone in the country’s journey toward digital transformation. This innovative solution allows SMEs to accept card payments via QR code or secure link, providing businesses with an efficient, cost-effective way to
Kenya’s consumer lending market, according to TransUnion Kenya’s Q1 2024 Market Analytics Report, reflected a mix of resilience and optimism in the first quarter of this year. This growth has been driven by lenders who, equipped with deeper insights and advanced tools, have adapted to the evolving regulatory environment. As a result, they are now
Thunes – a B2B payments infrastructure platform – has announced a partnership with Access Bank to improve cross-border payments in and out of 13 African countries. The collaboration will enable Access Africa to facilitate inbound and outbound cross-border payments in 13 markets: Botswana, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique,
TBD and African FinTech Chipper Cash partnered to facilitate B2C and B2B cross-border payments across 40 African countries. Chipper Cash has integrated with TBD’s open messaging protocol, tbDEX, to power cross-border payments and decentralized identity use cases, the companies said in a Tuesday (May 14) press release. “Across Africa, the challenges of currency liquidity and
