The Entrepreneurship Academy of the SANAD Fund for MSME, in partnership with Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) and IMPACT Lab, has announced its first sector project in sub-Saharan Africa: a six-month program to accelerate high-potential, growth-stage financial technology (“fintech”) businesses in the region which are looking to expand to markets in North Africa. The initiative aims not only to promote the success of entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa, but also to tap the potential of fintech innovations to expand financial inclusion and facilitate economic benefits for businesses and individuals in the north.

With the Pan-African Fintech Accelerator, SANAD and its partners aim to equip fintech startups in Ghana, Uganda, Kenya, Senegal, and Côte d’Ivoire with the knowledge and networks to successfully scale their solutions through an entirely virtual six-month program. Through a tailor-made market integration and immersion curriculum, participants will receive industry-specific training on how to assess and enhance their fintech product for the North African market as well as access to pre-identified potential clients, corporate investors, industry experts, and an ecosystem of institutional partners. Training will be complemented by facilitated sessions with North African experts on the local fintech regulatory environment as well as mindset culture.

The Pan-African Fintech Accelerator kicks off in January 2021.

The SANAD Fund was established in 2011 to foster economic development and create jobs, particularly for youth, in the Middle East and North Africa by providing debt and equity funding to local financial institutions that lend money to support MSMEs and housing development. The SANAD Technical Assistance Facility multiplies the fund’s development impact and outreach through capacity-building at partner institutions, developing financial infrastructures according to the principles of responsible finance and conducting much required R&D.

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Press release

SANAD Fund – website