Dubai-based Enza, a fintech launched in 2022 by former Network International executives Hany Fekry and Hamish Houston, has raised $6 million in seed funding to build payment infrastructure for banks and fintechs across Africa.
Why it matters
The rise of fintechs has reshaped Africa’s financial sector, often at the expense of traditional banks. Enza aims to bridge the gap by providing banks with the tools to compete with agile startups.
How it works
- Enza’s platform enables banks and fintechs to offer local payment solutions, from cards to real-time payments.
- Unlike traditional processors focused on merchant acquiring, Enza supports both the issuing and acceptance sides of transactions.
- The company is initially targeting Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa—Africa’s largest financial markets.
Between the lines
Payments are often the first step for financial inclusion, especially for Africa’s small businesses. Enza’s strategy centers on:
- Allowing businesses to accept payments with minimal costs.
- Leveraging transaction data to enable banks to cross-sell lending, savings, and insurance.
What they’re saying
- “Payments are the gateway, but the value is in the data and services you can layer on top,” said Enza executive director Andrew Key.
- “Banks have realized they gave up too much ground to fintechs. We want to give them the tech to compete and win it back,” said co-founder Hamish Houston.
Zoom out
Despite the growth of fintechs like Flutterwave and Moniepoint, banks remain the regulated backbone of Africa’s payments ecosystem.
Enza helps them regain visibility and control over transactions while integrating with local and global payment networks like Visa, Mastercard, and regional schemes.
The bottom line:
- Enza has already secured over 10 million monthly contracted transactions across six African markets, including Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa.
- The startup is seeing 35-40% month-over-month transaction growth and expects to double volumes in two years.
- With backing from Algebra Ventures and Quona Capital, Enza plans to expand its team and roll out new banking solutions across Africa.
“We founded Enza to solve real infrastructure problems,” said CEO Fekry. “We want African communities to access financial products as easily as people in Europe or the U.S.”
Source: Techcrunch
