Visa selected 18 startups for the fifth Africa accelerator cohort

Visa just scooped fintechs from all over Africa, spotlighting stablecoins and AI while quietly proving innovation is no longer stuck in the usual hubs.

Cohort Five gets wider and weirder

• Visa selected 18 startups for the fifth accelerator cohort.
• Drawn from 28 African markets.
• Burkina Faso and Djibouti joined the mix.

What trends dominated the selection

• Cross-border payments took center stage.
• Stablecoin-backed rails showed up everywhere.
• Faster money movement drove most pitches.

AI creeping into fintech plumbing

• Startups leaned hard into artificial intelligence.
• Tackled fraud detection and risk scoring.
• Built digital identity tools for thin-data markets.

Problems founders are chasing

• Credit access gaps shaped product design.
• Data scarcity forced creative scoring models.
• Legacy banking blind spots got targeted.

What the accelerator actually offers

• Africa Fintech Accelerator backs early and growth-stage teams.
• Provides mentorship and technical support.
• Opens doors to a global payments network.

Why this cohort matters

• New markets are finally getting airtime.
• Fintech gravity is spreading outward.
• Financial inclusion stays the core pitch.