Onafriq fintech partners with Ripple: Africa's Fintech Boom

Onafriq fintech partners with Ripple: Africa’s Fintech Boom

Time Stamp: November 13, 2023 1:07 AM
  • Ripple has partnered with Onafriq fintech to expand cross-border payment systems in Africa.
  • On November 5th, 2023, MFS Africa officially rebranded to Onafriq fintech.
  • Onafriq fintech will utilize Ripple’s payment technology and three partnering companies: Zazi Transfer, PayAngel, and Pyypl.

Africa’s fintech industry is among the fastest and most lucrative economic milestones amid the fourth industrial revolution. It has overhauled cross-border payment systems throughout the continent, significantly boosting its financial inclusion rate. Organizations like Flutterwave, Yellowcard, BitPay, and Luno have strived to propel the continent into new financial highs.

 Fortunately, the lucrative nature of Africa’s fintech industry has attracted the attention of corporate titans in the web3 industries. Top organizations like Binance, Kraken, Ethereum, and Coinbase have taken active steps to provide better digital asset payment services via promising African startups.

In recent news, Ripple has collaborated with Onafiq to expand remittance capabilities in Africa, the Gulf nations, the UK, and Australia. This new collaboration holds much promise for Africa’s fintech industry and may aid Ripple in its attempt to regain its former glory.

Ripple Partners with Onafriq fintech to overhaul digital asset payment systems in Africa

Ripple Exchange has had quite the journey since its debut in 2012. Its high rise to fame led to many expectations of the crypto titan. Many crypto experts and veterans predicted that XRP, Ripple’s native token, had the potential to outpace Bitcoin. Its easy-to-use and diversified user interface quickly gained recognition worldwide. Unfortunately, its high rise to fame was barred through various crypto lawsuits. 

The US SEC had valid suppositions coveting the XRP, and, unfortunately, it significantly defamed its efforts. The XRP token lost all its value, and individuals became weary of associating with the former crypto titan. Fortunately, the US SEC recently dropped its case, and Ripple has doubled its efforts to regain its former glory.

In its most recent development, Ripple has partnered with Onafriq fintech to expand cross-border payment systems in Africa and its partners. According to the announcement, Ripple will power new digital asset payment corridors between 27 African countries, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the Gulf Cooperation Council. 

Onafriq fintech has stated it will utilize Ripple’s digital asset payment technology and three partnering companies: Zazi Transfer, PayAngel, and Pyypl. Zazi Transfer will provide cross-border payment services to Australia. At the same time, PayAngelw will focus on serving the U.K. Pyypl will utilize its network and facilities to serve GCC member states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Also, Read Ripple Unveils CBDC Platform to help governments launch and manage their CBDCs.

Africa’s fintech industry has experienced a surge of cross-border payment systems, with remittances taking a massive percentage. In an interview with Cointelegraph, Aaron Sears, Ripple’s senior VP of global customer success, said, “Sub-Saharan Africa has proven to be a bright spot of crypto adoption, with consumers in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa employing digital assets for real-world, day-to-day purposes. Connecting our partners PayAngel, Pyypl, and Zazi Transfer with Onafriq over Ripple Payments will bring the benefits of faster and more cost-effective cross-border payments to individuals seeking to send money into Africa from around the globe.”

Dare Okoudjou, founder and CEO at Onafriq, stated that this partnership will open more opportunities for his organization to enter Africa’s crypto sphere. Facilitating digital asset payments across Africa’s fintech industry would broaden the awareness of digital assets while improving the industry’s performance. 

He added, “These connections are set to enable fast, secure, and low-cost remittances at scale between Africa and the rest of the world and represent a bold first step for our crypto strategy to leverage blockchain technologies to amplify our impact on people and businesses on the continent. Our mission is to make borders matter less when it comes to payment within, to, and from Africa. We are advancing this mission through our partnership with Ripple, which is already enabling new types of connections with fintechs such as PayAngel, Pyypl, and Zazi Transfer.“

Before Onafriq fintech, there was MFS Africa.

Africa’s fintech industry has significantly improved over the years. Before, the industry generally focused on providing mobile payment systems across Africa, but through blockchain technology, this feature has turned into cross-border and digital asset payment systems. The same transition occurred at MFS Africa at the beginning of November 2023.

MFS Africa was Africa’s largest digital payment network. Although with the steady transformation of Africa’s fintech industry, MFS Africa felt the time had come to shed its old skin and embrace the new wave of innovation in Africa’s tech industry. On November 5th, 2023, MFS Africa officially rebranded to Onafriq fintech.

onafriq-fintech-mfs-africa

MFS Africa re-branded to Onafriq fintech to accommodate its recent growth.[Photo/Tech-Cabal]

Dare Okoudjou commented, “The name MFS Africa, just like an old jacket, was getting a little tight for us as we’ve grown. We’ve expanded beyond just mobile financial services, becoming a true omni-channel platform across the continent and beyond. As we embark on this next phase of our journey, we wanted a name that reflects our aspiration of wiring up the whole continent into one network of networks with pathways from and to every African and every African business.”

Dare claimed that the decision was made after the significant growth of MFS Africa. This new milestone led to the acquisition of GTP, extending its reach throughout the US market. The inspiration behind the name comes from the fusion of “Ona,” a Yoruba word for pathways, “Afrique,” the French word for Africa, and a not-to IQ, signaling MFS Africa’s commitment to dominating Africa’s fintech industry.

Also, Read: Ripple moves for the African mobile money market.

Dare added, “The trademark MFS belongs to another company in the US, and our ability to use it outside of Africa was becoming difficult. With this new name, we can bring everybody together under one brand and identity. From the start, my goal was to build a payment infrastructure that touches every corner of Africa and lasts for over 100 years. I hope that we get to do that and that we get to make borders truly matter less.”

Wrapping up

Ripple partnering with Onafriq fintech benefits Africa’s fintech industry significantly. Its diverse digital assets and cross-border payment system will broaden the continent’s financial inclusion rate and inspire many innovators to take the mantle. In addition, Ripple is known for its high rise to fame, and with its current trajectory, it may dominate the crypto world more than we think.

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