Visa Opens Applications for Africa Fintech Accelerator’s Sixth Cohort

Mohammed Fathy

Last updated 15-04-2026

4 min

Visa opens Cohort 6 of its Africa Fintech Accelerator, closing 17 May 2026.

The programme has backed 104 startups, worth a combined $1,4 billion.

Eighteen new ventures pitched at GITEX Africa, spanning 28 markets.

Alumni partnerships showcase “commercial engagement” and real market access.

Accelerators can’t fix regulation gaps, but offer startups an early push.

Visa has opened applications for Cohort 6 of its Africa Fintech Accelerator, inviting startups from across the continent, including Egypt, to apply before 17 May 2026 through its accelerator portal. The call comes just days after the programme wrapped up its fifth cohort with a Demo Day at GITEX Africa in Marrakech, where 18 high-growth startups from 10 African countries took the stage.

There is something quite telling about the timing. Hitting the 100-startup mark is no small feat, and Visa used the occasion in Morocco to underline that the accelerator has now supported 104 ventures since it began. Together, those companies represent a combined valuation of $1.4 billion. Not bad at all for a programme that is still relatively young.

The latest cohort reflects the spread and ambition of African fintech. The 18 startups operate across 28 markets, tackling everything from SME lending to payment infrastructure. Founders mingled with investors and corporate partners during the three-month programme’s closing event, a reminder that in fintech, partnerships are often the secret sauce, or, at least, half the battle.

From what I’ve seen covering the region for Arageek, these accelerators can sometimes be a bit of a faff if they stop at mentorship slides and demo theatrics. That said, Visa’s model appears to lean heavily on commercial engagement and access to its global network, which is spot on if the aim is real scale rather than just good PR. I reckon that practical market access is what many early-stage founders actually need, well… I mean, more than another pitch deck workshop.

Several alumni collaborations were highlighted in Marrakech. In Morocco, Zazu from Cohort 4 is working with Chari, a Cohort 1 graduate, to roll out a neobank offering for SMEs. Chari’s card issuance capabilities, previously enabled with Visa’s backing, are helping power the launch. It’s a clear example of startups building on each other’s rails rather than reinventing the wheel.

Elsewhere, Credable, part of Cohort 3, is teaming up with Onafriq, an accelerator sponsor and Visa partner providing payment infrastructure across Africa. Together, they are developing digital credit propositions using Visa Flexible Credential, with the goal of expanding card-based credit access in emerging markets. Credable already has live credit and savings products in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Mozambique and Zambia, so this next step could carry weight.

Kredete, also from Cohort 3, is pushing ahead with stablecoin-linked card payments. After launching in markets such as Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger and Nigeria, the company is now eyeing expansion into the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman, alongside further African growth. Stablecoins remain a hot topic, and not everyone is convinced, but early traction suggests there is appetite. Whether it will scale smoothly is another question, of course.

Meanwhile, Egypt-born MoneyHash has signed a multi-year agreement to enable Visa’s Cybersource on its platform, strengthening payment acceptance for merchants across the MENA region. For startups in our part of the world, deeper integration with global payment infrastructure can be a game changer. I’ve lost count of how many founders told me that cross-border payments were their biggest headache.

Commenting on the milestone, Godfrey Sullivan, Senior Vice President and Head of Product and Solutions for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Visa, said the strength of Africa’s fintech story lies in growing collaboration between founders, enablers and industry leaders. He noted that surpassing 100 supported startups demonstrates how partnerships can help scale businesses and widen financial access across the continent.

On the flip side, accelerators alone won’t solve structural challenges such as regulation gaps or fragmented markets. But they can help startups find their feet faster, and sometimes that early push makes all the difference.

Applications for Cohort 6 are now open until 17 May. For ambitious fintech founders across Africa, this is definately one to consider.

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