The fund, known as ACO Fund 3, has received support from prominent international institutions, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), British International Investment, and the Swiss Investment Fund for Emerging Markets (SIFEM).

Standard Bank of South Africa serves as the credit provider for the initiative.

ACO Fund 3 is designed to provide private credit investments to market-leading companies and infrastructure projects across Africa and other emerging markets, aiming to deliver competitive returns for investors.

Nathaniel Micklem, co-head of Ninety One Emerging Market Alternative Credit, expressed enthusiasm for the fund’s launch.

“Along with our partners, we are very excited to be launching our 19th emerging markets private credit fund. The strategy has a long history of supporting growth and infrastructure companies across Africa and other emerging markets,” he said.

He also highlighted the ACO strategy’s strong performance record, stating it has consistently outperformed public and private credit benchmarks while contributing to the development of capital markets in its target regions.

Kalina B. Miller, IFC’s financial institutions group regional industry manager for Southern Africa, emphasized the fund’s potential impact on economic growth. 

“This milestone marks a significant step in our commitment to fostering private sector-led growth and job creation across Sub-Saharan Africa,” she said.

ACO Fund 3 is poised to strengthen private sector growth and infrastructure development across emerging markets, further solidifying Ninety One’s reputation as a key player in alternative credit strategies.

The investment will support eight hydro-powered mini-grids that are set to benefit over 10,000 individuals and local businesses.

Hydrobox, known for its innovative approach to energy access, builds, owns, and operates containerized hydro power plants.

These plants, designed for cost-efficiency and rapid deployment, provide sustainable energy solutions to areas that are often off-grid and challenging to reach.

Leveraging advanced IoT technology, each hydro unit is remotely monitored and managed, ensuring optimal efficiency and minimal downtime.

The $9 million funding was secured from FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, and EDFI Management Company, through ElectriFI, an EU impact investment facility dedicated to clean energy projects in developing nations.

The capital injection will enable Hydrobox to expand its operations and provide electricity to 2,582 households across four mini-grids, benefiting a wide range of clients, including factories, farms, schools, hospitals, restaurants, and households.

Hydrobox’s approach harnesses the power of local rivers to generate sustainable energy, reducing reliance on fossil fuels and lowering carbon emissions.

This strategy not only promotes environmental sustainability but also supports local job creation and economic development.

Thomas Poelmans, CEO and co-founder of Hydrobox, emphasized the importance of the new funding and partnerships.

“Our collaboration with esteemed investors FMO and ElectriFI is a testament to the dedication of our team. With these strong partners and a robust pipeline of projects in Kenya and the DRC, we are on track to make a significant impact on energy access in Africa. By 2030, we aim to reach one million end-users,” he said.

Announced during COP29 in Azerbaijan, the investment will bolster Acumen’s Hardest-to-Reach (H2R) initiative, a non-profit fund designed to enhance solar energy access for underserved communities.

The H2R initiative focuses on providing flexible debt and capital investment to solar companies operating in remote areas of the continent.

Acumen Founder and CEO Jaqueline Novogratz emphasized the initiative’s role in addressing energy poverty.

“H2R has already disbursed $10 million across six countries since its inception. This partnership with IFC allows us to scale our efforts and bring clean energy closer to communities that have been largely overlooked in the climate transition,” she stated.

The initiative aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by decreasing reliance on kerosene and diesel while connecting millions of households to solar electricity.

This effort aligns with the World Bank Group’s Mission 300, a collaboration with the African Development Bank, which seeks to connect 300 million people in Africa to sustainable electricity by 2030.

IFC’s investment is expected to drive significant progress toward universal energy access while contributing to regional environmental and economic sustainability.

Representing 21 countries and covering diverse sectors such as embedded finance, SME lending, and digital banking, these startups highlight the continent’s thriving fintech ecosystem.

With 85% of the selected startups featuring female leadership—a significant increase from the program’s first edition—the Accelerator underscores the growing role of women in Africa’s innovation landscape.

Now in its third iteration, the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator offers participants a 12-week intensive program that equips them with mentorship, resources, and strategic connections to scale their solutions.

The program culminates in an exclusive Demo Day, where startups showcase their innovations to investors, industry leaders, and potential partners.

Launched in 2023, the program has supported up to 45 startups annually with a 12-week intensive mentorship and funding opportunity.

Meet the Startups of Cohort 3

This year’s participants include:

• Credable (Kenya): A digital banking platform enabling financial institutions to embed financial services.
• Fixa (Rwanda): An end-to-end staffing solution for deploying blue-collar workers.
• Kacha (Ethiopia): Ethiopia’s first licensed private payment platform offering mobile money services.
• Melanin Kapital (Kenya): A carbon neobank providing green loans and carbon credits.
• Umba (Kenya): A digital microfinance bank serving Kenya and Nigeria.
• Zendawa (Kenya): An embedded finance solution for neighborhood pharmacies.
• Enza (Egypt): A platform enhancing SME engagement for banks.
• Moneco (Algeria): A neobank connecting Africa and Europe for diaspora banking.
• MoneyHash (Egypt): A payment API aggregator simplifying financial transactions.
• WafR (Morocco): A digital wallet for informal merchants.
• Block Markets Africa (South Africa): Tokenizing assets to create open financial markets.
• Jabu (Namibia): Digital cash management solutions for Southern Africa.
• Ordev (South Africa): Middleware integrating digital services for retail and hospitality.
• Sticitt (South Africa): Simplifying school-related payments.
• Bumpa (Nigeria): Digital commerce solutions for retail and D2C businesses.
• Kredete (Nigeria): A lending marketplace for borrowers and lenders.
• NearPays (Nigeria): A payment platform for tracking cash flow.
• PaySika (Cameroon): Central Africa’s first challenger bank.
• WeWire (Ghana): A B2B cross-border payments solution.

Founded in 2020 by Adham Nauman, Omar Ezz El Din, and Shady El Tohfa, Amenli provides a variety of insurance products, including medical, car, home, and business insurance.

Amenli is also regulated by Egypt’s Financial Regulatory Authority (FRA). It manages claims with insurance providers on behalf of its clients.

The funding round, led by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) Venture Capital arm, follows an earlier $1 million equity round in October 2023.

Amenli, a graduate of the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator program, also received additional backing from Y Combinator in this latest round.

The funds will enhance Amenli’s technological capabilities, diversify its distribution channels, and invest in product development to digitize and streamline the customer experience.

The company plans to leverage FRA initiatives such as electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) and eSignature to further improve its offerings.

“We are thrilled to have secured this investment from major global investors who share our vision for transforming the insurance industry in Egypt,” said CEO Shady El Tohfa.

“This funding will enable us to accelerate growth, build scalable technology, and significantly enhance our customer experience.”

Bruno Lusic, from EBRD Venture Capital, praised Amenli’s achievements and potential, highlighting the company’s data-driven platform and strong value proposition for SMEs and individual customers.

“Egypt’s largely untapped insurance market offers immense opportunities for rapid growth as adoption increases in the coming years. We are confident Amenli is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend with its advanced technology and strong leadership,” Lusic said.

This strategic merger aims to drive transformative change in Africa’s energy landscape.

It is backed by fresh funding from a consortium led by Equator VC and Praetura Ventures, with participation from KawiSafi Ventures.

Shyft specializes in developing Internet of Things (IoT) hardware and integrated software for intelligent energy management.

The company offers a range of solutions, from advanced metering systems to patented monitoring and control technologies, aimed at addressing real-world energy challenges and enhancing energy delivery experiences.

SteamaCo, an Anglo-African technology firm, supports energy providers in delivering reliable, affordable, and productive power solutions to underserved communities.

The merger combines SteamaCo’s expertise in energy revenue management with Shyft’s innovative metering technologies and local market knowledge.

Shyft’s CEO, Ugwem Eneyo, highlighted the collaboration’s broader vision, stating:

“Our goal extends beyond advanced technology. We aim to transform how power providers and consumers experience energy, enabling smarter, more resilient infrastructure. This is integral to our commitment to fostering sustainable cities and communities.”

Tom Parkison, Managing Director of SteamaCo, emphasized the potential of the partnership to enhance services in Africa.

“The integration of our advanced metering technology with Shyft’s local expertise positions us to better meet the needs of our customers. Together, we are driving innovation and delivering customized solutions to address Africa’s unique energy challenges,” he said.

Formerly known as TopSet, the startup has rebranded and introduced a new focus on helping learners master indigenous languages, beginning with Yoruba and Igbo.

To drive this transformation, Lingawa has raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding.

The investment round was led by Zrosk, Voltron Capital, Weav Capital, Kaleo Ventures, MasterCard Foundation, and angel investors such as Guy Futi and Dolapo Adejuyigbe.

The funds will be used to develop an interactive app, expand the language offerings, and recruit top talent.

Founded in 2022 by Frank Williams, Yvonne Williams, and Uche Azinge, Lingawa originally aimed to improve academic performance for K-12 students.

However, scaling challenges and difficulty convincing parents to pay for the services prompted the team to reassess their approach.

In mid-2023, the startup experimented with teacher training, which revealed a widespread demand for learning African languages.

“I wanted to learn my language but was often discouraged when family and friends mocked my attempts,” Frank Williams, Lingawa’s CEO, shared. “This experience resonated with many others, not just in Africa but globally.”

The global language learning market is projected to hit $190 billion in five years, and Lingawa estimates a $45 billion addressable market in frontier language learning alone.

One of Lingawa’s key innovations is a five-level curriculum designed for native speakers who are trained to teach African languages.

This initiative addresses the scarcity of qualified tutors by equipping native speakers with the tools to become effective educators.

To support tutors, the company introduced a buy-now-pay-later scheme, enabling them to acquire teaching devices and repay in installments using earnings from the platform.

Lingawa’s business model is centered around a subscription service, bulk packages, and introductory lessons, catering primarily to the African diaspora.

The startup estimates that half of the 20 million Africans living abroad do not speak their native language, presenting a significant revenue opportunity.

The winner will represent Africa at the global event in Tallinn, Estonia, next year, with a chance to win a share of the €1 million (US$1.1 million) prize pool.

Latitude59, Estonia’s premier startup and tech event, hosted its 12th edition in May.

The competition, now in its third year, continues to attract innovative startups from around the world.

It drew over 3,500 attendees, including more than 900 startup representatives and nearly 600 investors.

In September, Latitude59 launched its call for African early-stage startups to compete for a spot in its 2024 global pitch event.

A total of 382 applications were submitted from 37 African countries, highlighting the continent’s thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The top 10 startups have now been selected to pitch at the African final, scheduled for November 28 in Kenya.

The selected Kenyan ventures include:

• Eco Nasi: Converts pineapple pulp waste into vegan leather.
• Grekkon: Develops moisture sensors for smallholder farmers.
• NoMa: Digitizes school transportation through a tech platform.
• Paycloud: Builds a neobank to support African MSMEs with payments, credit access, and aggregation.
• Roadrims: Offers reliable and cost-effective logistics solutions.
• Twiva: Operates as a social commerce platform.
• VunaPay: Provides instant payments to farmers.
• Zerobionic: Creates a robotic arm tailored for students with hearing impairments.

Nigeria and Tanzania Join the Race

Rounding out the top 10 are AcemyX from Nigeria, which provides a learning management system (LMS) offering personalized tools for exam preparation, and Afya Mama from Tanzania, which delivers maternal and reproductive health information through SMS and a web app.

The African winner will head to Estonia to pitch at next year’s Latitude59, competing for the lucrative prize pool and gaining global exposure among investors and industry leaders.

The funds will support Energenic’s expansion within South Africa and across the continent. It will focus on scaling its operations to meet growing energy demands.

Energenic specializes in delivering cost-effective and reliable energy solutions tailored to key sectors such as telecommunications, tourism, and commerce.

The company’s efforts are particularly timely, as Africa faces ongoing infrastructure challenges in the energy sector.

With electrification rates averaging only 30% in many regions, there is increasing demand for alternative power solutions, particularly renewable hybrid systems that address both energy access and environmental sustainability.

Sihle Gumede, a partner at Sanari Capital and leader of the investment, emphasized Energenic’s role in driving innovation.

“We are thrilled to partner with the management team at Energenic as we embark on an exciting journey to expand and scale the business across the African continent,” said Gumede.

“For decades, Energenic has pioneered energy solutions within the diesel generator space. Now, with over 20 years of expertise and a spirit of innovation, the focus is shifting to hybrid solutions that provide energy security, affordability, and environmental sustainability.”

This investment marks Sanari Capital’s first entry into the energy sector and positions Energenic as the fourth portfolio company within the Sanari 3S Growth Fund.

James van Wyk, founder and CEO of Energenic, welcomed the partnership with enthusiasm.

“Having seen Energenic and our principal brand, Generator Logic, through several transformations over the past 25 years, I am pleased to welcome Sanari Capital as partners. Our dedicated team, from steel fabricators to engineers working in remote locations across Africa, shares a commitment to innovation and excellence,” he said.

Van Wyk highlighted the alignment between Energenic’s vision and Sanari’s strategic expertise.

“We have been on a journey to find an investor that understands our vision and is willing to help us grow strategically during this changing time. Sanari’s track record in scaling companies in a technologically driven world makes them the ideal partner for our next phase of growth.”

Energenic’s expansion comes as the demand for hybrid energy solutions continues to rise, driven by the need for more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy across the continent.

With Sanari Capital’s support, the company aims to solidify its position as a key player in addressing Africa’s energy challenges.