Apply Now: Visa Accelerator Program (Cohort 4) – Africa

This groundbreaking initiative connects Africa’s brightest minds with experienced mentors, cutting-edge technology, and unparalleled investment opportunities.

Join them on this exciting 3-months journey to propel your startup towards unprecedented growth and recognition. It’s time to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit and forge a path to success in the vibrant FinTech landscape.

Themes

• They are looking for the best and brightest companies to address the following themes. If you believe your company is building solutions in one or more of these areas, you are welcome to apply and join the Visa Accelerator Program:
  • Unlocking New Payment Flows
    • Are you ready to digitize cash intensive P2P, B2C, B2B, G2C payments to create new commerce opportunities?
      • Cross-border remittances and funds disbursements
      • Finance management platforms for B2B (e.g. payables, receivables, procurement, etc)
      • Social commerce and the creator economy
      • Government disbursements, collections, and payouts
      • Open banking and account-to-account solutions
      • Treasury-as-a-Service
      • Mobile money flows and interoperability
  • Embedded Finance
    • Are you creating advanced intelligence solutions to enhance payment and finance experiences in B2C and B2B commerce models?
      • Installments and flexible financing models
      • Transaction engagement and management (e.g. sustainability tracking, transaction controls, PFM)
      • Consumer loyalty and rewards
      • Banking-as-a-Service
      • FinTech-as-a-Service
  • Empowering Merchants & SMEs
    • Are you targeting to accelerate the growth of merchants and SMEs through digital payment solutions to foster financial inclusion?
      • Next-generation omni-channel online and face-to-face payments
      • Installments, POS financing, and BNPL
      • Financing, alternative lending and risk mitigation structures
      • Merchant value add solutions (e.g working capital optimization, supplier marketplace, inventory management, etc.)
      • Merchant loyalty and engagement
  • Payment Infrastructure Enablers
    • Are you solving the ground layers of payment infrastructure and key enabling services?
      • Authentication and fraud solutions
      • KYC, customer onboarding and identity management
      • Payment processing and facilitation
      • B2B platform enablers
      • Credit scoring and risk management solutions
      • Data solutions and insights
  • The Future of Finance
    • Are you building at the frontier of payment and FinTech? Are you integrating cutting edge technology to build the future of Finance?
      • Integration of AI/ML into payment solutions
      • Leveraging blockchain and decentralized technologies
      • Programmable money
      • Crypto risk, fraud, data and intelligence
      • Custodial and non-custodial infrastructure
      • CBDC and stablecoin solutions
  • Sustainable & Inclusive Finance
    • Are you enhancing payment technology to contribute to a more equitable and inclusive financial system, reduce inequality and create positive impact for people, economies, and the environment?
      • Financial services for underserved communities or climate-vulnerable communities
      • Affordable and accessible financial solutions
      • Impact management and measurement
      • Carbon footprint and climate neutral solutions

Benefits

• Knowledge and Expertise Gain a competitive edge with a tailored program covering product design, marketing finance, sales and more. Receive experts’ guidance and strategic insights to accelerate your startup’s growth and unlock its full potential.
• Mentorship Gain access to 1:1 mentoring from experts and founders in the ecosystem from Africa and beyond. Learn from the experience of others to solve your challenges.
• Visa Specific Training Benefit from exclusive FinTech and payment training modules designed by Visa. Enhance your understanding of the fintech landscape, payment ecosystem, and industry best practices. Startups will also get the chance to access Visa’s developer portal and experiment with Visa products and services.
• Funding Secure the funding you need to bring your innovative ideas to life. Showcase your startup during the Demo Day and you could be considered for an investment opportunity by Visa, Plug and Play, and their wider Venture Capital community.
• Partnership Opportunities Forge powerful partnerships that can drive your startup forward. The program aims to open doors to valuable collaboration opportunities with industry leaders, innovative companies, and strategic partners.
• Product Perks Gain access to a wide selection of product perks and discounts from over 100 vendors for a combined offer value of over $200,000 such as AWS with product credits, mentorship and fintech-specific training modules.

Eligibility Criteria

• If your team has already designed a minimum viable product related to the proposed areas, designed a minimum viable product related to the proposed challenges, or has a market-ready solution, you are the right fit for the program.
  • Stage
    • Seed to Series A startups with at least an MVP
  • Solution
    • Building a solution addressing one of their themes
  • Traction
    • Market tested solution that has gained traction
  • Geography
    • Existing operations in Africa or demonstrated commitment to expand in Africa.

For more information, visit VISA.