Welcome to TechCrunch Fintech (formerly The Interchange)! This week, we look at some hot fintech startups in Africa, how Mint’s shutdown was Copilot’s win, and why VCs have doubled down on a certain expense management startup.
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The big story
While venture funding in Africa (like everywhere else in the world) has been down lately, the past week has been a good one for the region’s fintech ecosystem. TC reporter Tage Kene-Okafor reported on how Uber led a $100 million investment in African fintech mobility Movement as the startup’s valuation reached $750 million. He also wrote about how Zone raised $8.5 million to upgrade its decentralized payments infrastructure. And Annie Njanja reported how the Tanzanian payments company NalaIts successful pivot to providing a remittance service in 2021 also led to the creation of a B2B payment platform.
Analysis of the week
Intuit’s decision to shut down its budget app Mint has led to opportunities for startups in the space. Christine Hall wrote about how Copilot has grown more in the past four months than it has in the previous four years, and the startup was able to parlay that growth into a $6 million Series A funding round led by Nico Wittenborn’s Adjacent. TC previously reported on Copilot when it first launched with $250,000 in angel funding, and then again when it added Apple Card support. Monarch Money co-founder Ozzie Osman had also told TechCrunch that Mint’s loss was their gain.
Dollars and cents
Unsexy industries can also attract investors. Start expense management Coast pursues businesses with so-called real field staff and fleets to manage. It claims to have grown revenue by 550% last year and just raised another $25 million in equity funding.
Digital bank Onyx Private revolves around B2B. The YC-backed startup raised $4.1 million last year with the goal of serving high-earning millennials and Gen Zers. But last week, it told customers it was ending banking operations and closing their accounts.
Swiss fintech nsavewhich makes banking in Switzerland accessible to people in countries with unstable banking sectors or countries experiencing high inflation, has raised $4 million in funding.
What else are we writing?
Despite the recent growth in fintech, Eric Glyman, its co-founder and CEO Staircase, believes the industry, and companies like his, are just scratching the surface. Glyman recently told the TechCrunch Found podcast that despite how much his corporate card and expense unicorn company has grown so far, it has only tapped into 1% of its potential market share. Fun fact: Both Ramp and Deel it became five this week — just one day apart.
In its broad antitrust complaint apple and its iPhone business, the US Department of Justice has a specific target against Apple’s massive economic activity.
Other titles of high interest
An unexpected pairing: Bolt and Checkout.com team up for frictionless commerce
Reward startup Fetch rides private credit boom, raises $50 million from Morgan Stanley
Wealthfront postpones IPO plans
Affirm Holdings CEO Keith Rabois Sells Over $318K worth of Shares
Cloud banking technology provider nCino acquires DocFox
Marco raises $12 million to support LatAm trade finance
PayPal-Backed NX Technologies Raises $24M to Streamline Car Payments
Prizepool receives a cease and desist from the FDIC for false and misleading statements
DLocal appoints Pedro Arnt as CEO as Sebastián Kanovich steps down
Ryan Zauk has joined OMERS Ventures as a fintech investor
ICYMI: Klarna takes aim at Visa, Mastercard with open banking push
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