It could be a make-or-break year for SA fintechs
New operators need to prove themselves and 2019 will be a defining year for some companies, says head of AlphaCode
For a host of homegrown financial technology (fintech) companies 2019 will be a make-or-break year, according to a leading investor. While still a small industry by global standards, Dominique Collett, head of AlphaCode, says interest in launching and developing fintech has grown impressively in the last few years. “When we started the AlphaCode Incubate programme four years ago, we had just 10 applications for funding. In the last year we received over 200 applications for financing, and the calibre and quality of the entrepreneurs is improving. The system is maturing and we are seeing a lot of foreign capital interest — like recently when Goldman Sachs invested in Jumo.” SA has a small but growing number of companies that have been able to develop proprietary technology and expand these commercially, including Lumo, the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform and Entersekt, a payment security technology provider. But there are a number of companies that have been invested ...
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