15 African startups selected to bridge Africa’s $330bn SME financing gap

Fifteen African technology startups have been selected by investment firm Renew Capital to develop financial services for millions of small businesses that remain beyond the reach of traditional banks, highlighting a growing shift in how credit and banking services are being delivered across the continent.

The startups emerged from more than 500 applicants across 48 African countries in Renew Capital’s inaugural Venture Lab: Embedded Finance (EmFi) Series, an accelerator that targets companies already serving small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through digital platforms.

The selected startups are expected to integrate financial products such as loans, payments, insurance and working capital directly into services that SMEs already use every day. The approach could help close Africa’s estimated $330 billion annual SME financing gap, one of the continent’s biggest barriers to business growth.

The investment programme reflects a broader trend in African technology, where investors are increasingly backing embedded finance, financial services built into non-financial platforms, as a faster way to reach underserved businesses than relying solely on conventional banks.

From agriculture and logistics to healthcare and enterprise software, many startups now collect transaction and operational data that can be used to assess creditworthiness, enabling them to offer financing to businesses that have little or no formal banking history.

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Matthew Davis, co-chief executive officer of Renew Capital, said the future of SME finance in Africa would likely be led by companies that already have strong relationships with business owners.

“The next generation of Africa’s small business banks won’t be banks. They’ll be startups that already understand how SMEs operate, have their data and have earned their trust. These 15 companies are building from that advantage,” he said.

The selected startups come from Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, Uganda and Zambia, demonstrating how innovation in embedded finance is spreading beyond Africa’s traditional technology hubs.

Nigeria accounted for three of the finalists: Regxta, Rigo and Tradevu, while Ghana produced four startups, the highest representation in the cohort. Other selected companies include AgroCenta, Boost Technology, Kutana, Oze, Dots for Africa, Fanaka, MajibuAfrica, Marakisoft, Shiprazor, Solimi, Z Systems and Zendawa.

Before reaching the final stage, all applicants participated in expert-led sessions featuring founders of some of Africa’s fastest-growing startups and executives from leading embedded finance and Web3 companies. Forty-seven startups advanced to a pitch competition and received startup support packages worth more than $250,000 before the final 15 were chosen for advanced technical training and investment consideration.

The programme comes at a time when smartphone adoption across Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to rise from 54 percent in 2024 to 81 percent by 2030, while mobile money continues to expand across the continent. Together, these trends are creating new opportunities for technology companies to deliver financial services directly through the digital platforms businesses already trust.

For investors, the shift represents more than another fintech trend. It signals a future where Africa’s most successful financial institutions may not be banks at all, but technology companies that use customer data, digital distribution and everyday business interactions to bring credit and other financial services to entrepreneurs long excluded from the formal banking system.