Egyptian firm Enza joins forces with Mastercard, aiming to link fintech businesses to their extensive network
The partnership between Egyptian startup **enza** and global payments giant **Mastercard** is set to revolutionize the African fintech landscape by connecting fintech companies across the continent to Mastercard's extensive global payments network.
Founded in 2023, enza has been active in Egypt, South Africa, and Nigeria, providing comprehensive payment solutions that include cards, wallets, and real-time payments. The collaboration with Mastercard will equip fintech innovators in Africa with embedded Mastercard payment solutions capabilities, enabling them to issue physical and virtual prepaid or postpaid Mastercard cards, manage consumer and merchant accounts, and accept payments securely across various channels.
The partnership will streamline the process for fintech startups, as enza will host consumer and merchant accounts, manage integration with Mastercard’s network, and ensure security and system availability. This will allow fintech players to configure payment accounts and cards without having to build payment infrastructure from scratch, significantly reducing complexity and accelerating their time to market.
This collaboration is significant for the growth of the fintech industry in Africa, as it simplifies access to embedded payment technologies. By doing so, it helps bring affordable, accessible financial services to underserved and underbanked populations, thereby accelerating financial inclusion.
The partnership also supports Africa’s rapidly growing fintech ecosystem, which has nearly tripled since 2020 according to the European Investment Bank. It aligns with Mastercard’s focus on empowering platform-driven innovation to enhance financial access and support the growth of African fintech startups, thus fostering a more inclusive digital economy.
Mete Guney, executive vice president of market development for EEMEA at Mastercard, stated that Mastercard is focused on powering the fintech ecosystem. The collaboration is intended to accelerate financial inclusion and the digital transformation of Africa, and to enable access to its trusted global network through its work with enza.
In March, enza raised US$6.75 million in seed funding, a testament to the potential of this partnership. The partnership between enza and Mastercard is significant for fintech innovators in Africa, as it will enable them to serve both consumers and businesses more efficiently, ultimately driving the continent's digital transformation.
Fintech innovators in Africa can now leverage technology to issue physical and virtual prepaid or postpaid Mastercard cards, thanks to the collaboration between enza and Mastercard. The partnership aims to reduce complexity and accelerate the time to market for fintech startups, providing them with embedded Mastercard payment solutions capabilities.
