Abuja, 16 August 2022 (TDI): QED investors, a global fintech venture capital firm, received a warm welcome in the financial market of Africa. QED is a venture capital company specializing in financial technology. It made its first investment in a Nigerian fintech startup.
Our first investment in Africa has received a lot of attention this week.
Thanks to @bayareawriter for inclusion in today’s edition of The Interchange.
We’re excited to invest in Nigeria’s @TeamAptHQ and we promise more great #fintech portfolio companies are on their way. pic.twitter.com/I67rHXBhnR
— QED Investors (@QEDInvestors) August 14, 2022
Investments in African markets
Recently, a fintech startup named Team Apt Limited in Nigeria received a debt investment from QED. The two companies did not disclose the size of the funding. However, it is estimated to be worth over $50 million.
With a clientele of over 400,000 business customers, Team Aptis is Nigeria’s largest business payments and banking platform. It provides payment solutions, access to loans, and business management tools among its services. At its current run rate, the seven-year-old startup is on track to process over $100 billion annually.
Stimulating trade in Africa and bolstering economic opportunities has been one of the top priorities of the African Union. In this regard, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) has also recently disclosed plans to stimulate free trade and economic growth in the continent.
Also read: AfCFTA to Stimulate Free Trade in Africa
The QED Investors partner Gbenga Ajayi leads the venture firm’s African business. He also commented on this joint venture he said, “I am proud to bring Africa to QED and QED to Africa”
Furthermore, he acknowledged the potential of the newly tapped African market.
He stated, “When you combine Nigeria’s lack of ATM penetration with a secondary issue of a general lack of card acceptance, the opportunities for digital disruption are plentiful.”
This investment is unique to its kind. Presently, western competitors have only just tapped into the African fintech market.
Changing market dynamics
The Agenda 2063 of the African Union and its flagship project the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has been monumental with respect to QED investments. Consequently, the talk of uniting the African economies into one large trans-continental economy has been completely changing the market dynamics.
As AfCFTA brings economic liberalization to the table, it is also very much interested in developing a pan-African payment and settlement system into the niche. QED seeks this opportunity to benefit from providing it with a preposterous comparative advantage over its competitors.
