Francophone Africa does not often get much attention in discussions about fintech in Africa. Payment start-ups in Nigeria, large banks in South Africa and East Africa are more prominent in this niche. Yet there are companies in the French-speaking part of the continent that are pushing the boundaries of the sector. Bizao is one of these innovative and game-changing start-ups. Its mission is to contribute to a more inclusive economy by harnessing the power of mobile payments. Focus on Bizao, the startup that is creating cross-border payment channels for millions of people in Francophone Africa.
From an API key to a payment network covering a dozen countries in French-speaking Africa
Founded in 2019 by the French Aurélien Duval-DelortBizao is building a combination of financial services for Africa, focusing on three main service areas: merchant payments, carrier billing and local and international money transfer.
Duval-Delort's basic idea was to build a single API to connect all Orange affiliates to its partner countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, etc. The idea emerged while he was heading the innovation department for Africa at the French multinational telecoms company. But the project evolved into a product integrating the technology of several operators.
Just over a year after its launch, Bizao has become a cross-border payments network present in at least 10 French-speaking African countries (including Senegal, Cameroon, Gabon and Tunisia), with nearly 350 million transactions processed per month. The startup's payment infrastructure consists of several partnerships with pan-African banks (mainly Ecobank, UBA and Orabank), telecom operators (MTN, Orange, Moov) and international payment companies (Visa and Mastercard) that enable international transfers.
Like most payment fintechs, Bizao makes money by charging commissions on transactions made through its platforms. The company has added Wave Senegal to its portfolio of partners. This allows it to expand its activities in Senegal.
8 million fundraising: the beginning of a new era for Bizao
After a first round of financing of €1 million in 2019, the French startup, which allows its users to accept the various means of payment available on the African territory, raised, in July 2022, an amount of €8 million for its expansion. Its investors, AfricInvest, Adelie and Seedstars Africa Ventures, are among the main players in private equity and venture capital in Africa.
This fundraising will allow the fintech to strengthen its development and research strategy, and at the same time deploy new payment products and services. It will therefore not be a surprise to find its payment service in other African countries soon, as a continuation of its actions in the framework of SDG 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure.
Bizao is a fintech whose mission is to help local and international companies accelerate their growth through the digitalisation of payments. The French startup, which targets the African market, has succeeded in building an infrastructure that aggregates different payment methods.
