Renew Capital has launched a new initiative, Renew Venture Lab: The EmFi Series, aimed at supporting African technology founders building embedded finance solutions, the company said on Thursday.
The programme was unveiled at GITEX Africa 2026 in Marrakech during an investor event hosted alongside AfricaNext BPI. Applications opened on April 9 and will run through April 30, with founders able to apply online.
The EmFi Series targets startups developing financial products that integrate directly into non-financial platforms, a model seen as key to expanding credit access across the continent.
Africa’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which account for roughly 90% of private sector businesses, face a significant financing gap. The continent represents an estimated $330 billion untapped credit opportunity, yet fewer than 20% of SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa can access loans from traditional financial institutions.
Renew Capital said advances in artificial intelligence and data analytics are enabling startups to leverage customer data to assess creditworthiness, positioning them to offer lending solutions where banks have struggled.
“Africa’s most important financial story is not being written by banks,” said Matthew Davis, co-CEO of Renew Capital. “It’s being written by tech founders who understand their small business customers better than traditional lenders.”
The firm added that the programme will support selected startups in building or refining credit products, with the potential for investment in top-performing companies.
Renew Capital is an Africa-focused investment firm backing early-stage startups across the continent.