A UK Fintech firm will be joining the delegation accompanying Prime Minister Theresa May this week on her first official visit to Africa.
Digital money transfer firm Azimo has been selected as one of 29 representatives to showcase the best of UK business for the planned visit to South Africa, Nigeria and Kenya. It comes after Azimo recently announced a $20m investment round led by Rakuten Capital to finance global expansion for its services.
“We are the only established FinTech player to be joining the Prime Minister on this trade delegation to Africa – a testimony to how quickly we have established ourselves as a FinTech leader in the global money transfer sector,” said Michael Kent, CEO, Azimo. “UK FinTech generates billions of pounds to the economy and we are leading the world in financial innovation. It’s important we showcase the valuable contribution of this sector.”
According to data published by KPMG’s pulse of FinTech report, the UK surpassed the US on fintech investment for the first half of 2018, and took the top spot in Europe to attract $16.1bn (£12.3bn) out of the EUs $26bn total. Azimo is among the fastest growing fintech firms in Europe, having built an unrivalled global platform that enables payments in more than 80 currencies to more than 190 receiving countries. Azimo can now reach more than 5 billion potential customers via a wide variety of payout methods, including cash, bank deposits and mobile wallets. Many of the recipients of the company’s remittance payments are in Africa, especially Nigeria and Kenya.
Africa is also experiencing a fintech revolution, with a number of impressive startups emerging from the countries to be visited by the Prime Minister in the coming days.
“Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have been leading lights in fintech innovation, and with their collective population and economic potential, there’s many opportunities for UK Fintech. This includes collaborating with regional partners to provide excellent services to consumers that have been historically under-served, and to build a better and more inclusive future for financial services,” said Michael Kent.
The Prime Minister’s visit aims to strengthen ties and promote trade links between Britain and Africa and will mark the first time a British Prime Minister has visited the continent since 2013.