Inside Uganda’s emerging fintech ecosystem
Business news
Tanzania-based M-Pay, with US$500 million of capital, said it has successfully raised a $600 million venture financing round.
Tanzania-based M-Pay, with US$500 million of capital, said it has successfully raised a $600 million venture financing round.
A former US Army captain from Connecticut has become the first angel investor for M-Pay, which plans to launch an online payments platform in Uganda next year.
M-Pay’s co-founders, Tunde Makaranya and Jonathan Njogu, met at an annual entrepreneurship conference in the US in February this year. The first meeting was held at the home of Makaranya in New Haven, and Njogu was drawn to M-Pay after hearing its pitch.
The company’s pitch focused on its service’s ability to support the economy in sub-Saharan Africa with mobile money transfers. The M-Pay platform is expected to help Uganda’s small and medium businesses to move money over the internet, according to the company.
Makaranya, who is based in the US, told BusinessTech that he had been thinking for some time about funding a new venture. A few months ago he had received a proposal from M-Pay’s co-founders, and was keen to visit the US to meet their team.
“I have always wanted to come to Uganda to get to know and learn more about M-Pay, but I had no idea of the size and reach of M-Pay. I had no idea how it could be a big impact on the lives of Ugandans,” he said.
When Makaranya arrived at the US embassy, he was given an “in-depth” pitch on the company’s growth plans for the local market. He was impressed by the quality of the pitch but had a hunch that it would be a long process to close the financing round and build the business.
Makaranya also said he had a hunch that the US government would not support his venture.
“I had no idea that