Visa, global payments leader, has kickstarted its fifth edition of its fintech accelerator program, the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator.
In Brief
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The fintech accelerator program by Visa enables African startups to access funding, global networks, and mentorship that drive regional financial inclusion.
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Previous accelerator cohorts saw startups like WorkPay and PayTic achieve rapid success and real-world deployment thanks to Visa’s support.
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Cohort 5 emphasizes high-impact fintech sectors, offering startups a direct path to pilot projects, funding, and Visa’s technical resources(upto $200,000).
Since Africa became a hub of innovations via Decentralized finance and blockchain, local innovation has continued to captivate global interest.
Visa has had a deep commitment to empowering this growth, giving innovators across the continent the platform, network, and funding to take their zeal for change into a reality.
Visa’s Fintech Accelerator 2025: Scale Your Startup with Mentorship, Funding & Global Connections
The fintech industry has emerged as the next iteration of banking. DeFi, brought about by the application of blockchain in finance, showcased how financial services can traverse geographical and infrastructural borders.
In Africa, it’s become a vital evolution providing economic growth in various regions. As a result, within the past decade, Africa’s fintech industry has skyrocketed, featuring various startups each trying to tackle financial exclusion within their area.
Visa’s biannual fintech accelerator programs have empowered many African startups, and registration for its 5th edition is ongoing. According to its official reports, since its inception in 2023, Visa pledged to invest $1 billion in Africa’s digital transformation and financial inclusion by 2027.
The program has established itself as a proven catalyst with over four successful cohorts and dozens of high-potential startups benefiting from the program. Currently, its success has facilitated nearly 20 active Visa fintech partnerships, creating a powerful synergy between global networks and agile local innovators.
Visa Startup Program: A Proven Track Record of Success
Africa is a hub brimming with a hunger for innovation, and global brands have set up shop within various regions. However, a key problem comes in when Visa’s solutions only meet a minute demographic of financially capable groups.
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This leaves a large portion of the population still cut off, since international firms cannot tackle the issue experienced within the local community. The solution was simple: foster local growth by providing much-needed startup funding opportunities.
This eventually culminated in Visa’s Africa fintech program becoming a pipeline for vital capital infusion.
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These ventures showcase how the main goal of Visa is to empower, fund and give mentorship to startups providing financial inclusion solutions. For instance, Morocco’s B2B platform Chari enhances SME digitization, highlighting the diverse ways the Visa startups program fosters ecosystem development.
What Cohort 5 Offers: Beyond Just Funding
The fintech accelerator programs are currently live and open for registration until August 15th. The program is meticulously designed to provide holistic support exceeding simple capital access.
The Visa Mentorship program provides invaluable insights through direct engagements with Visa executives. Additionally, as dominant payment platforms having a wide range of experience and networks, local startups gain direct access to veterans and domain experts.
A core aspect of the accelerator programs is leveraging Visa’s cutting-edge technology stack, APIs and product development resources. This forms the bedrock of Visa fintech partnerships throughout Africa, expanding their reach, indirectly within local communities.
The highlight of the programs is still the startup funding opportunities, which include potential investment from Visa, as evidenced by previous cohorts. With capital backing, commercial partnerships and pilot projects are within reach, depending on the unique approach your startup tackles.
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A key reminder, the nature of the cohort greatly favours innovators in high-impact sectors such as payments and payment infrastructure, lending and digital banking, financial literacy, cross-border commerce, and embedded finance.
Seizing the Opportunity: Apply Now
A Visa spokesperson stated:
“Visa’s Africa Fintech Accelerator is more than just a program—it’s a platform for transformation. We’re proud to support the next generation of African fintech leaders who are building inclusive, scalable solutions that address real-world financial challenges.”
The program offers potential funding for African fintech startups, resources to improve performance and a global network luring in added partnerships and funding.
Applications are now open and will close on August 15, 2025, with the programs themselves commencing later this year. Visit Visa’s official accelerator portal to submit applications.
The Visa startup program is actively shaping a more inclusive, innovative and interconnected financial future for Africa..
