Renew Capital Launches Venture Lab to Back African Fintech Founders

STARTUP VENTURE CAPITALApril 17, 2026 at 11:57 AM UTC

TLDR

Renew Capital launches Renew Venture Lab: EmFi Series to support startups building financial products for small businesses in Africa.
Program aims to address the $330 billion credit gap in Africa by helping startups assess creditworthiness through technology and data.
EmFi Series signifies a shift towards tech-enabled credit solutions, enabling startups to offer loans, payments, and other financial services directly to users in Africa.

Renew Capital has launched a new programme to support startups building financial products for small businesses. The initiative, called the Renew Venture Lab: EmFi Series, aims to identify and fund founders developing credit solutions across Africa.

The firm, founded in 2012 by Matthew Davis and Laura Davis, invests on behalf of high-net-worth individuals, foundations and family offices. It focuses on tech-enabled companies and says it takes a founder-led approach when making investment decisions.

The programme follows the launch of Renew Capital’s latest fund in 2024. The EmFi Series will help startups build or improve systems that allow them to offer credit to their customers, using data generated through their platforms.

Across Africa, small and medium-sized businesses account for about 90% of private sector activity but face limited access to formal finance. The continent has an estimated $330 billion credit gap, with fewer than 20% of SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa able to access loans from traditional banks.

Renew Capital said startups are using technology and data to assess creditworthiness. “Africa’s most important financial story is not being written by banks,” Matthew Davis said. “It’s being written by tech founders who understand their customers better than traditional lenders.”

Key Takeaways

The launch of the EmFi Series highlights a shift in how credit is created and distributed in Africa. Traditional banks rely on collateral and formal records, which exclude most small businesses. Tech companies are building alternative systems based on transaction data, mobile activity and business operations. This creates new ways to assess risk and extend credit. The opportunity is large, with a $330 billion financing gap and millions of underserved businesses. Venture firms are moving earlier in the value chain by supporting startups that embed financial services into their platforms. This model, often called embedded finance, allows companies to offer loans, payments and other services directly to users. It reduces customer acquisition costs and improves repayment visibility. The approach also aligns with the growth of digital tools across Africa, where mobile penetration is high but formal banking access remains limited. For investors, this creates exposure to both technology growth and financial services margins. For startups, access to capital and structured support can accelerate product development and scale. The main risks include regulation, data quality and repayment performance, which will shape how fast these models expand.

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