PaySika, a digital bank focusing on Francophone Africa, has received startup capital of 300,000 euros (approximately 196 million FCFA). The activity marks the neobank’s first fundraising effort since its inception in February 2020.
The company, which was co-founded by Cameroonian Roger Nengwe and his colleague Stezen Bisselou, intends to use this funding to “attract new additional profiles and continue its development by creating more fluid, safe services that fulfill user expectations.”
It hopes to begin operations in the first quarter of 2022, with the help of a consortium of French, British, and Nigerian investors. It will first deploy in Cameroon and Gabon, the two countries selected to test its solution, before moving on to Benin.
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The startup, which claims to have received 20,000 pre-registrations in its pre-launch phase, primarily targets underbanked and underserved people that are underserved by traditional banking services.
Only 20% of the population in French-speaking Africa has access to banking services, according to PaySika data. With the widespread use of mobile money and smartphones in the region, many neobanks, such as PaySika, have decided to develop mobile banking solutions in order to attract these customers.
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Sparkle, a two-year-old digital bank in Nigeria, recently raised $3.1 million to expand its operations in the country. Last August, its fellow country startup Kuda announced the raising of $55 million to expand in Africa. South Africa’s TymeBank also raised $109 million in February this year.
PaySika digital bank francophone PaySika digital bank francophone
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer