Catalyst Fund welcomes four African investors into its exclusive fintech fold

Catalyst Fund, the global inclusive fintech accelerator managed by BFA Global, today welcomed six leading fintech investment firms into its fold which already makes up over 55 leading fintech investors in emerging markets.

Four of the six are from Africa. They include South Africa’s Crossfin, Nigeria’s Greenhouse Capital and Microtraction and Kenya’s AHL Venture Partners.

The two others are Mexico’s Angel Ventures and India’s Asha Impact.

The six will join Catalyst Fund’s Circle of Investors, a collaborative, global community of investors committed to backing inclusive fintech startups.

“Members of Catalyst Fund’s Circle of Investors will have access to an early-stage pipeline of vetted and de-risked startups to evaluate for investment”

Catalyst Fund’s head of growth Aaron Fu said in a statement today that each of the six investors has played a pivotal role in the growth of the fintech startup landscape in their respective markets.

“We look forward to seeing what our expanded community will create together, as we leverage the combination of global reach and local depth,” he added.

Member benefits

As members, the investors will have access to an early-stage pipeline of vetted and de-risked startups to evaluate for investment and recommend promising startups who can be fast-tracked to the fund’s accelerator programme.

Furthermore, investor members will be able to attend invite-only gatherings and gain opportunities to mentor innovative fintech startups from across the world.

They will also get access to industry data and insights on inclusive fintech across emerging markets, and collaborate on publications to share proof points and learnings with the industry.

The circle also includes Catalyst Fund’s Investment Advisory Committee members — Flourish Ventures, Accion Venture Lab, Anthemis, Quona Capital, 500 Startups and Grey Ghost Ventures — who lead sourcing for inclusive fintech startups for each accelerator programme cohort.

In January, Catalyst Fund announced it had received $15-million in funding from UK aid and JPMorgan Chase & Co, to help accelerate 30 inclusive fintech startups across Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Mexico and India who are building affordable, appropriate and accessible solutions for underserved customers (see this story).