F5.5G Leap-forward Development of Broadband in Africa The Africa Broadband Forum 2024 (BBAF 2024) was successfully held in Cape Town, South Africa recently, under…
AlphaCode : News
Fintech review and predictions for 2022 by premier SA fintech investor
Fintech has gone mainstream and is no longer a niche sector. There are now over 26 000 fintech companies globally that employ half a…
How to win a R1.5-million entrepreneurial package for your fintech idea or business
South Africa’s most prestigious fintech R10-million startup initiative, AlphaCode Incubate, shares how to improve the chances of accessing its support and unpacks the trends in…
AlphaCode awards R450 000 to healthcare fintech at virtual demo day
Rand Merchant Investments (RMI) startup incubator AlphaCode has taken another step to find the next unicorn in financial services when it chose Oyi Medical Card and awarded it R450…
AlphaCode seeks next fintech unicorn – applications open for prestigious R10m programme
Applications are open for the next AlphaCode Incubate programme which aims to identify, partner, and grow innovative financial services entrepreneurs. Successful applicants will receive funding, guidance…
Rand Merchant Investments/AlphaCode successfully exits investment in Luno
Rand Merchant Investments (RMI), through its fintech investment arm, AlphaCode has announced that it has exited its investment in Luno. Luno is a leading global cryptocurrency company that…
Is Africa heading towards a cashless society?
Cash may have traditionally been king, but Covid-19 has contributed to a faster pace of digital payment adoption. Recently on AlphaCode’s monthly Industry Insights webinar, two…
Current environment offers opportunities for digital entrepreneurs to solve new pain points
The current environment offers many opportunities for entrepreneurs in the digital space according to fintech experts, Willem Roos, CEO of Rain (former OUTsurance CEO), and Dominique…
New SA fintech offers staff earned wage access when there’s more month than money
Living paycheque to paycheque is a harsh reality for 76% of hard-working South Africans. Techpreneur, Raeesa Gabriels, is shaking up the financial services industry…
Tech startups share their lockdown experiences
Several of South Africa’s startups, associated with AlphaCode, share how the country’s extended lockdown has provided some with growth opportunities as some individuals adapt…
As businesses re-open, no-touch payment solutions needed for customers
As businesses reopen during level-four lockdown in South Africa, there’s increased demand for contactless (no-touch or remote) payment options. Many businesses are being forced…
What SA fintech disruption really looks like
We spend a lot of time thinking about the concept of “disruption” in personal finance. It’s more than just business, we want everyone to…
Fintech covers car insurance excess, reduces premiums, and you stay with your insurer
SelfSure, a new SA fintech, has come up with a smart way to solve the problem faced by many car owners when they put…
Fintech helps control medical costs for you and your staff with a medical savings card
Between 70% and 80% of employed South Africans cannot afford medical aid and do not always have cash readily available to pay for unexpected…
SA’s best, simple and cheap ways to save your December bonus
If you are lucky enough to get a December bonus, that you haven’t already spent on Black Friday specials and you’re not deep in…
SA tech entrepreneurship: what’s working and what inhibits
Despite the ongoing hype around entrepreneurship and trendy startup tech businesses in South Africa, there are prevailing myths that muddy the thinking around the…
Want to build a top fintech by learning data science? Apply for AlphaCode Explore
Registration for the AlphaCode Explore programme is now open. A joint initiative of The Explore Data Science Academy (EDSA) and Rand Merchant Investment Holdings…
Fintech Zande closes gap in SA’s R40bn cash market for spaza shops
It is estimated that the SA spaza shop market is valued at about R40-billion a year and that 90% or more of the transactions…
20 fintech ideas selected for initiative to boost scarce data science skills in SA
South African businesses and startups are aware of the increasing importance of using data effectively, but the demand for data science skills exceeds supply….
South African fintech in 2019 – what can we expect? [Opinion]
Here are my fintech predictions for 2019 based on what we are seeing with our members at AlphaCode which closely track international trends in…
How to take your business global
Many South African businesses have ambitions far greater than the domestic market. This is particularly true of financial services as our system is the…
Fintech business pays hosts in advance for Airbnb bookings
Further disruption in South Africa’s accommodation and property letting sector is on the cards as AirAdvance, a fintech startup, provides those offering private accommodation…
SA fintech Akiba Digital launches fun savings app for SA millennials
Financial literacy remains a barrier for the youth. There is currently no platform that offers financial insights and proactively empowers or educates millennials about…
AlphaCode awards R16m in support, funding to eight promising fintechs
Last night (18 October), Rand Merchant Investment Holdings (RMI), through AlphaCode, awarded entrepreneurial packages valued at R16-million to eight of South Africa’s most promising…
School payments app Karri expands offering to organisations needing to collect funds
The Karri app, launched in April last year, has grown to just under 300 South African schools driven by parent and teacher demand for…
Explore Data Science Academy, Alphacode seeks aspiring SA fintech entrepreneurs
Do you have an idea that could make you South Africa’s most successful fintech entrepreneur? Are you looking to acquire the skills to launch…
Four top fintech businesses selected for AlphaCode’s R2.5m scale-up programme
Four businesses that are shaking up financial services have been named as finalists in AlphaCode’s recently launched accelerator programme, AlphaCode Accelerate. AlphaCode is Rand…
AlphaCode seeks next OUTsurance or Discovery, offering R16m in support
AlphaCode, an initiative of Rand Merchant Investments (RMI), has set aside R16-million to identify a new generation of financial services entrepreneurs through its AlphaCode…
Insurtech is transforming a staid South African insurance industry
One of the hottest trends in South African fintech in 2018 is insurtech — which has gained momentum over the last two years, says Dominique Collett,…
Regtech, the new fintech, driven by complex financial regulations
“There are three elements driving interest in regulatory technology (regtech) in South Africa and abroad,” explains Dominique Collett, senior investment executive at Rand Merchant…
AlphaCode head calls on SA to become a fintech centre of excellence
Dominique Collet, senior investment executive at Rand Merchant Investment Holdings and head of AlphaCode has called on the South African fintech scene to become “a…
Goodbye online crooks: SA startup keeps money safe till buyers, sellers both agree
As online fraud in South Africa escalates, buying and selling goods using online platforms places both buyers and sellers at risk. After Jethro O’Brien,…
South African fintech in 2018 – what can we expect? [Opinion]
Fintech continues to surprise with little to touch the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in 2017. This will continue in 2018 and I make…
Four black-owned fintech startups each win R1m at Alphacode pitching event
Four black-owned South African financial services startups each won R1-million last night at a pitching event hosted by AlphaCode. The event was held on 31…
Slide app, SA’s own version of Venmo, aims to boost person-to-person payments
South Africa has just got its own version of Venmo, one of the US’s most successful payment platforms owned by PayPal that processes $25-billion in…
Mama Money makes FICA simple: take a photo and a selfie
The South African-based fintech startup that offers the cheapest cross border money transfer rates into key African countries and now into India, has introduced…
FinChatBot to improve customer service, reduce costs for financial services
If you’ve had enough of being put on hold, speaking to call centres in India or waiting for that promised call back on your…
AlphaCode makes fourth investment, in Luno an international bitcoin platform
South African bitcoin trading platform Luno today (19 September 2017) announced its expansion into 35 new markets across Europe, and the conclusion of a R120-million Series B…
SA founder of Fintech platform Prodigy Finance announces over R3bn fundraise
International fintech platform Prodigy Finance, which has developed the world’s first borderless credit model, today (21 August 2017) announced a R3.19-billion fundraise. The amount includes a R532-million Series-C…
Tremendous innovation in sophisticated fintech payments in South Africa
In 2016 $5.5-billion of venture capital investment went into payments startups. This represented 22% of global fintech investment activity. In South Africa, payments still…
