The Empower Africa Business Platform is Now Live !!!
Visa has announced the 19 African startups selected to participate in the third cohort of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program.
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.
This year’s participants include:
“We are delighted to partner with ISA to support the development of solar energy in Africa,” said Alain Ebobissé, CEO of Africa50. “This partnership will help to accelerate the deployment of solar energy in Africa and improve the lives of millions of Africans,” he added.

Uncover, a Kenyan innovator in personalized skincare, has secured $1.4 million in seed funding to fuel its expansion into the United States, Ghana, and Uganda.

British International Investment (BII), the UK government’s development finance institution, has invested £1.09 billion in African companies in 2024, aiming to support job creation, reduce dependency on aid, and address climate-related challenges.

Kenyan startup Octavia Carbon has successfully raised $5 million in seed funding to advance its innovative direct air capture (DAC) technology, which aims to remove carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere using geothermal resources, particularly waste heat.