4DX Ventures and Flutterwave have invested $2.4 million in CinetPay, a digital finance platform that allows merchants in Francophone Africa to accept and process payments seamlessly. CinetPay’s sales and marketing efforts would be bolstered across nine markets in West and Central Africa as a result of the investment.
“For a first institutional investment, we couldn’t have asked for two better partners in 4DX Ventures and Flutterwave,” said Idriss Marcial Monthe, CEO & Co-Founder of CinetPay. “We’ve watched firsthand as thousands of merchants waste crucial time, even up to 6 months, getting their payment systems in order. Now we’ve got the resources to market and sell our optimal solution across the region and we’re excited to ensure that all businesses in our region never miss a sale again. We have selected highly strategic partners as investors and are excited about the immediate next steps we take together in terms of simplifying and improving digital payments in Francophone Africa.”
CinetPay has processed over 30 million transactions for 350 active merchants in nine countries, including Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Cameroon, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Guinea, since its 2016 launch in Côte d’Ivoire. CinetPay’s platform allows businesses to process over 130 different payment operators, ranging from mobile money to credit and debit cards and e-wallets, all through a single interface, eliminating the need for merchants to spend months integrating with different systems in order to manage sales and revenues.
CinetPay, which is used by a wide range of businesses from e-commerce platforms to digital public services, insurance companies, and schools, makes receiving payments online or via mobile Point of Sale (PoS) devices simple and secure.
CinetPay is building a successful commercial partnership that began in 2019, and this investment comes in the wake of Flutterwave’s recent acquisition of Disha, marking the unicorn’s first direct investment in the region.
Over the last decade, the rapid growth of a wide range of digital payment channels across the continent has resulted in a disaggregated market. Customers in Sub-Saharan Africa account for two-thirds of global mobile money transactions, with 562 million registered accounts by the end of 2020, while the continent’s e-commerce users are predicted to double from 281 million in 2020 to 520 million by 2025.
This trend is continuing with public institutions, with more bodies now offering digital public services such as ID card, Visa, and COVID test payments, as well as school fees, which are frequently paid digitally. CinetPay is rapidly expanding its presence in the region, with a growing number of payments required across several verticals from an increasing number of sources.
“We’ve been tracking the Francophone Africa market for some time now, and have been impressed by Cinetpay’s ambitious goal to digitize payments across the region,” said Walter Baddoo, Co-Founder and General Partner at 4DX Ventures. “The company has demonstrated deep product knowledge with a differentiated offering and a strong brand with customers. We look forward to partnering with the Cinetpay team alongside our long-time portfolio company, Flutterwave, to help usher in the next phase of digital payments across the Francophone region.”
“We’re building the payments infrastructure for Africa, making it easier for businesses to grow and expand their customer base on the continent and worldwide,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and CEO at Flutterwave. “Having collaborated with the Cinetpay team for a number of years now, our shared vision to simplify payments on the continent further strengthens our commitments to working towards creating endless possibilities and experiences for all our customers. Cinetpay is well positioned for the next chapter of growth and we’re excited to work with the team to help scale the business to achieve maximum impact and value for its customers.”
CinetPay accepts Mastercard, Visa, and all major local mobile money in 9 markets, from MPESA to MTN mobile money and Orange Money, and is quick to set up and designed with a modular approach that integrates within a merchant website. CinetPay is available on desktop and mobile and accepts Mastercard, Visa, and all major local mobile money in 9 markets, from MPESA to MTN mobile money and Orange Money.