4 FinTech Startups Helping MSMEs Grow in Africa

By Edlyn Cardoza

FinTech’s role in society is becoming more important than ever, mainly due to Covid-19. FinTech can be used anywhere, meaning it becomes accessible to people who may never have used financial services before. Through access to essential financial services such as mobile money and e-wallets, FinTech companies help lift people out of poverty and create a more financially inclusive world.

The COVID-19 crisis has had a devastating impact on MSMEs in Africa. MSMEs face barriers in securing capital to grow their business, resulting in an MSME financing gap. One of the biggest problems MSMEs face is the lack of access to credit.

In accordance McKinsey, SMEs make up approximately 98.5% of all businesses in South Africa. MSMEs are vital to the economy of Africa and optimal support is needed to ensure their recovery and growth to the next normal.

As a ray of hope for MSMEs, FinTech solutions have helped the continent’s MSMEs overcome the challenges imposed by the pandemic by facilitating quick and easy access to credit. A growing number of FinTech startups are helping small businesses across Africa through various financial methods.

Here are 4 FinTech startups helping MSMEs grow in Africa:

Kiotapay is one of the leading African end-to-end real estate platforms for automating payments, invoicing, collections, communications, expense management, sales, inventory and other real estate processes. Kiotapay works with property managers, property owners, property developers, property sellers and property providers to automate services, create efficiency and speed up service delivery.

Not only do they enable real estate businesses to collect, attribute and reconcile payments seamlessly, but we also use technology to provide the missing link between demand and supply in real estate businesses. The Kiotapay platform automates business flows throughout the real estate value chain beginning with property sales, development and property management.

Lendha gives small businesses seamless access to credit and cost management tools for growth. Lendha provides quick and easy access to loans for small and medium-sized businesses. You have access to up to ₦10,000,000. They approve your loan within 3 hours and charge a reasonable interest rate. You can apply for a loan online without having to physically go to their office. Lendha offers flexible repayment methods, where you can make 6 monthly installments.

PesaChoice is a financial technology company that bridges the gap between salary payments and unexpected expenses for people with limited access to institutional credit. They eliminate the need to rely on predatory lenders, piles of paperwork and long waiting periods to access funds.

PesaChoice has a complete HR suit software that helps grow your business with a platform that supports all your team needs such as employee management, employee self-service, performance management, leave management, payroll, HR dashboard, e-recruitment, expense claims, asset management, loan management.

Trade Lenda is a finance company that assists micro, small and informal traders with access to finance for business needs. They also assist retailers with access to distributors and manufacturers. Trade Lenda currently operates from Lagos, Nigeria. They believe that every business has a higher potential to grow bigger when they receive financial support. And they’re on a mission to help SMEs across emerging markets access finance for business growth.