Hi Fintech friends 👋,

Here are the highlights of what happened in African Fintech this week;

  • Two funding deals were announced.

  • M-pesa Africa CEO joined Absa Bank Kenya.

  • An African corporate backed Fintech planned acquisitions across Africa.

  • An African Fintech announced the death of its founder and CEO.

💸Fundraise and Exits

  • Lupiya raised $11.2 Million to expand digital banking beyond Zambia.

  • Mogo raised $6.2 Million debt to scale informal lending.

💰 Venture Funds

  • Africa had 3 successful exits in January 2026.

🚀 Partnerships & Product Launches

  • Raenest expanded into India and the Philippines to target Asia’s freelancers.

  • Payaza secured a license to expand its payments service in Uganda.

  • Kayko secured Electronic Money Issuer License from the National Bank of Rwanda (NBR).

👔 Leadership Lineup

  • LemFi, a remittance startup promoted Dmitry Buzdin to chief technology officer.

  • Ejara announced the death of its founder and CEO.

📰 News of the Week

  • M-Pesa Africa CEO joined Absa Bank.

Absa Bank Kenya, the country’s fifth-biggest bank, announced on Wednesday that the executive who spent the last five years building one of Africa’s most powerful fintech platforms will be joining as Chief Executive for Personal and Private Banking, effective April 1, 2026.

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👀 Eye Openers

  • Some “no KYC” crypto cards promise convenience, but can convenience scale without compliance?

📑 Read of the week

📖 Other News, Reads, and Media

  • Redtech planned mergers and acquisitions as it aimed to expand into 29 countries.

🪙 Stablecoin Watch

  • Onafriq partnered with Conduit to scale stablecoin powered cross border payments.

  • Payd partnered with Noah for stablecoin powered payments for African freelancers.

🎥 VIDEO INTERVIEWS/DISCUSSIONS

  • Interview with Eke Urum, founder of Risevest, who has spent the past decade building an investech platform helping Africans hedge against local currency instability. He shares his perspective on the industry’s direction and opportunity.

🦉 Tweet of the Week

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