Fintech accelerator AlphaCode has reached over 1000 members in a single year.
The Rand Merchant Investment (RMI) initiative has seen eight member-to-member deals and invested R9-million into 11 various black-owned businesses through their partnership with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. AlphaCode has also invested in Merchant Capital, which provides alternative working capital for SMEs in SA.
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“The Rand Merchant Group has a history of partnering extraordinary entrepreneurs who have built disruptive, successful businesses such as RMB, Discovery and OUTsurance,” said senior investment executive at RMI, Dominique Collett.
Companies that joined AlphaCode cover various sectors of industry. These range from lending, payments and financial literacy to blockchain as well as robo-advising and data analytics.
Many of the members already operate as successful tech businesses while others use AlphaCode’s networking and mentoring opportunities to successfully launch their businesses.
AlphaCode has had a particularly successful year, signing on even more prominent members
“To accelerate the kind of financial innovation that we envisaged we knew we needed two things. Firstly, to get the right people into the right room at the right time and secondly to apply growth capital to the best fintech ideas,” said Collett.
“AlphaCode has brought us in touch with SA’s most promising fintech entrepreneurs. Our members have won South African and international awards, they have bravely launched new products and forged new partnerships,” she continued.
Some of the AlphaCode members include Bankymoon, who’ve begun to consult to the SA Reserve Bank on blockchain technology. Others also include Peach Payments, an online payment solution; Livestock Wealth (the founder being recognised as one of Ventureburn’s top entrepreneurs under 40) and Merchant Capital.
“AlphaCode has provided a great launch platform. It offers young companies a large networking web into the fintech world. Our experience and participation have allowed us to meet innovative companies and people to the benefit of our business,” said Fincheck’s co-founder Michael Bowren.
