E-Financial
IFC Supports Launch of €100m Fund on Digital-technology Start-ups in Africa
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has helped Partech Ventures launch a €100 million fund that is expected to become the largest venture-capital fund focused on digital-technology start-ups in sub-Saharan Africa.
The initiative will help accelerate an ongoing digital transformation that is helping drive economic growth in the region.
IFC’s €15 million equity investment makes it an anchor investor in the Partech Africa fund, which just reached its first close.
The transaction marks IFC’s first investment in a mainstream venture capital fund in sub-Saharan Africa, where start-ups in the technology sector face significant funding gaps that limit their ability to grow.
This sector is critical to economic growth and prosperity in Africa—digital technology is expected to contribute about $300 billion to the region’s gross domestic product by 2025, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.
“Technology can have a huge transformative impact in Sub-Saharan Africa, which has a vast untapped source of entrepreneurial energy. Africa’s population is overwhelmingly young—it has lots of people with strong tech skills and innovative ideas that could improve lives, said Philippe Le Houérou, Chief Executive Officer of IFC.
But they lack the necessary funding. We think the Partech Africa fund will make an important contribution to closing this funding gap and driving entrepreneurship and growth.”
Tidjane Dème, General Partner for Partech Africa, said: “With a very hands-on and operational team, closing more than 70 transactions per year, Partech will bring a great value to African founders.
Moreover, thanks to our global network of corporate partners, our dedicated business development team will expose African startups to European and U.S. markets, enabling commercial contracts and long-term strategic partnerships.”
The fund will be open to countries across Africa, although eight countries show the strongest need for venture capital: Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Uganda.
It will provide early-stage growth funding—in amounts ranging from €500,000 to €5 million—for start-ups in a variety of sectors. These include financial technology, health technology, and mobile technology.
The naira appreciated to N1,600 per dollar in the parallel market at the close of trading hours on Monday, strengthening from N1,610 per dollar recorded over the weekend.
Similarly, the naira saw a slight gain in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NFEM), trading at N1,605 per dollar compared to N1,606 last Friday, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This represents a marginal N1 appreciation.
As a result, the gap between the parallel market and official exchange rate widened slightly to N5 per dollar, up from N4 over the weekend.
Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent N315.18bn on currency issue expenses in 2024, marking a sharp increase of 306 per cent compared to N77.67bn recorded in 2023, the apex bank’s audited financial statement for the year has shown.
Currency issue expenses cover the printing, processing, distribution, and disposal of banknotes.
The latest figures reveal that the CBN’s cost of managing physical cash spiralled dramatically during the year under review, as Nigeria grappled with lingering cash shortages and disruptions in the money supply chain.
The surge in expenditure came as the country continued to deal with the effects of the naira redesign policy introduced in late 2022.
Despite efforts to stabilise cash circulation throughout 2023, Nigerians still faced queues at ATMs and difficulties in accessing cash in early and late 2024.
Faced with mounting public outcry, the CBN deployed several emergency measures to address the crisis.
Deposit Money Banks were directed to ensure consistent ATM loading and rural cash distribution, while the Bank also launched public hotlines for citizens to report cash scarcity incidents.
Also, the CBN ramped up enforcement efforts, including deploying monitoring teams, issuing sanctions against non-compliant banks, and mandating improved cash distribution.
PalmPay, a full-service digital bank, has reaffirmed its dedication to advancing the future of payments in Nigeria by promoting the widespread adoption of contactless-enabled payment terminals.
This was made known during the recently concluded BusinessDay Future of Payment Conference, themed “Fintech Evolution: Gateway to Payments.” In his welcome address, BusinessDay Publisher, Frank Aigbogun, emphasized that the next phase of fintech innovation must be driven not only by speed, safety, and simplicity but also by trust, inclusion, and accessibility to ensure broad-based impact across all segments of society.
Talking about PalmPay’s impact in the panel session titled “The Next Wave of Digital Payments: Trends and Innovation,” Ifeanyi Uzoka, Senior Business Development Manager at PalmPay, discussed the evolving landscape of digital payments in Nigeria.
He noted that while regulatory frameworks have supported the introduction of contactless payments, the high level of cash dependency remains a key barrier to widespread adoption.
“At PalmPay, financial inclusion is central to everything we do,” Uzoka stated. “To support this mission, we’ve launched contactless-enabled debit and premium cards, ensuring our users have access to convenient and secure payment experiences. We also understand that trust is critical, which is why all contactless transactions on PalmPay’s platform include an additional layer of authentication for enhanced security.”
PalmPay continues to lead innovation in Nigeria’s digital finance ecosystem by delivering secure, user-friendly, and future-ready solutions. The company’s recently launched debit and premium cards in partnership with Verve are now serving its growing base of over 35 million users nationwide.
This move into contactless payments underscores PalmPay’s alignment with global payment trends and its ongoing commitment to building a more inclusive and digitally empowered economy.
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