Tiger Global-backed fintech Minka launches in east, southern Africa
TLDR
- Colombian payments startup Minka expands to Eastern and South Africa, targeting Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, and more.
- Minka offers a cloud-based customizable solution adapted to different regulatory environments.
- Founded in 2016 in Bogota, Minka raised $24 million in Series A funding with support from Tiger Global and others.
Colombian payments infrastructure startup Minka has launched operations in Eastern and South Africa. The company plans to expand to Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Malawi, Zambia, Burundi, Uganda, and Mozambique in the first phase.
Minka is a cloud-based programmable solution that can be customized by its partners to fit within a variety of regulatory frameworks. Founded in Bogota, Colombia, in 2016, the fintech raised $24 million in 2022 in a Series A funding round which saw participation from Tiger Global Management, Kaszec Ventures, and the FinTech Collective.
“Low levels of financial inclusion, a heavy reliance on cash, and non-interoperable legacy payment systems are just a few of the issues our team in Latin America have overcome and we believe we must continue creating solutions that benefit society," Minka’s CEO Domagoj Rozic.
Key Takeaways
Minka's expansion into East Africa follows a growing trend of Latin American fintech companies entering the African market. In 2022, EBANX launched operations in 11 African countries, and in 2020, Uruguay's dLocal expanded into West Africa and Kenya. This expansion is logical given the similar challenges faced by both regions—over 350 million African adults lack access to financial institutions and rely solely on cash transactions. Fintechs like Minka, EBANX, and dLocal provide platforms for Africans who wish to purchase global products but are hindered by the fact that some global merchants do not accept their preferred payment methods, such as mobile money or cash. These fintechs offer solutions by enabling global merchants to accept local African payments, thus bridging the gap between local payment preferences and global commerce.
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