Visa Accelerator Program
Unlock your startup's potential and fast-track your success in the dynamic world of fintech with the Visa Accelerator program. This groundbreaking initiative connects Africa's brightest minds with experienced mentors, cutting-edge technology, and unparalleled investment opportunities.
Are you ready to disrupt the industry, revolutionize finance, and make an impact in the ecosystem? Join us on this exciting 3-months journey to propel your startup towards unprecedented growth and recognition. It's time to unleash your entrepreneurial spirit and forge a path to success in the vibrant fintech landscape.

Benefits
Who Should Apply
If your team has already designed a minimum viable product related to the proposed areas designed a minimum viable product related to the proposed challenges or has a market-ready solution, you are the right fit for the program.
Program Timeline
Opportunity Areas
Unlocking new payment flows
Are you ready to digitize cash intensive P2P, B2C, B2B, G2C payments to create new commerce opportunities?
- Cross-border remittances and funds disbursements
- Finance management platforms for B2B (e.g. payables, receivables, procurement, etc)
- Social commerce and the creator economy
- Government disbursements, collections, and payouts
- Open banking and account-to-account solutions
- Treasury-as-a-Service
- Mobile money flows and interoperability


Embedded Finance
Are you creating advanced intelligence solutions to enhance payment and finance experiences in B2C and B2B commerce models?
- Installments and flexible financing models
- Transaction engagement and management (e.g. sustainability tracking, transaction controls, PFM)
- Consumer loyalty and rewards
- Banking-as-a-Service
- Fintech-as-a-Service
Empowering merchants and SMEs
- Next-generation omni-channel online and face-to-face payments
- Installments, POS financing, and BNPL
- Financing, alternative lending and risk mitigation structures
- Merchant value add solutions (e.g working capital optimization, supplier marketplace, inventory management, etc.)
- Merchant loyalty and engagement


Payment Infrastructure Enablers
- Authentication and fraud solutions
- KYC, customer onboarding and identity management
- Payment processing and facilitation
- B2B platform enablers
- Credit scoring and risk management solutions
- Data solutions and insights
The Future of finance
- Integration of AI / ML into payment solutions
- Leveraging blockchain and decentralized technologies
- Programmable money
- Crypto risk, fraud, data and intelligence
- Custodial and non-custodial infrastructure
- CBDC and stablecoin solutions


Sustainable and Inclusive Finance
- Financial services for underserved communities or climate-vulnerable communities
- Affordable and accessible financial solutions
- Impact management and measurement
- Carbon footprint and climate neutral solutions
FAQ
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All Seed to Series A startups that are post MVP and operating in Africa are encouraged to apply for the program.
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All applicants will undergo two rounds of screening by our program team. In the first round, each application will be reviewed for program alignment, existing traction, founding team, and proposed synergies with Visa. Shortlisted startups will be invited to participate in a series of virtual interviews, and finalists will be notified ahead of the program kickoff.
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Yes, this program will be run primarily in English; however, we can explore providing language support in case your startup may need the help of our in-market country teams. Please note the interview process will be conducted entirely in English.
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Unlike VEI which is a global startup competition, the Visa Africa Accelerator is a full 3-months program with more engagement and requirements. In this program, the selected startups will be required to meaningfully engage across the tailored mentorship, training, and exercise sessions over a period of 3-months.
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The program will be delivered in a hybrid format and will last for 3-months in total. It will include an onboarding week, 10 virtual focus weeks, an investor week and an in-person Demo Day. Other in-person events maybe be organized during the duration of the program such as city meetups or other country or regional events.
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Since the program is non-residential and does not require your presence daily, we do not offer free coworking space.
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Start-ups successfully completing the program could be considered for an investment by either Visa or Plug and Play. Any investment considerations will be made at the end of the program (on or around Demo Day) and we expect that up to 50% of the cohort could receive an investment from either Visa or Plug and Play. In addition, the Demo Day will be attended by regional and global Venture Capital investors that could be interested in providing further funding as well.
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The program is completely free of charge for the participating companies and there is NO fee associated with taking part in the activities throughout the cohort.
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Everything you will be providing through our application form will be treated as confidential and will only be shared with the parties involved in the selection process.
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Visa will cover flights and accommodation for a single founder from each of the participating startups to be able to attend the Demo Day in person.
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Startups are not allowed to be enrolled in another accelerator during the program.
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For further details on the terms and conditions, please check here.
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Please contact us at: [email protected]
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