A Valu-ed listing

Swedish buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) giant Klarna has dominated news headlines after it filed its prospectus on March 14 to go public on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). But Valu, an Egyptian fintech startup, is not willing to let Klarna have all that shine. It has announced plans to list 20.5% of its shares—based on its book value—on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) in 2026, as the country's second-ever fintech IPO after Fawry.

Valu, which rebranded from a BNPL startup in 2023 to offer broader consumer finance products, will be a marquee listing on the EGX. The startup was last publicly valued at $247 million in 2022 after securing a $12.4 million equity funding from Saudi investor Alhokair family.

The EGX, which has struggled with liquidity challenges in recent years, is in a much stronger position to handle a fintech IPO like Valu. The exchange has been pushing for more listings to deepen the market and the Egyptian government has introduced policies to attract foreign investors. 

The listing will likely be good timing. In 2024, the EGX experienced a dry spell in 2024 with only two IPOs, owing to retail investors temporarily turning away their interest amid the harsh market. Since Q4 2024, the floated Egyptian Pound and the easing inflation have reduced economic pressure in the country.

The listing of another familiar fintech on the exchange will also be a breath of fresh air for the bourse which has relied on real estate listings in the past. If investor appetite holds steady, Valu’s IPO could not only succeed but also set a precedent for more fintechs to go public in Egypt.

Other African countries can borrow from Egypt’s playbook. A combination of clear regulatory frameworks, government-backed digital transformation programmes, and dedicated tech hubs have created an environment where startups see public listings as a viable growth strategy.

If you've been dilly-dallying about whether to buy the cNGN, the Naira-backed stablecoin which launched on February 3, this may be a sign for you to lock in—not a financial advice. Quidax, another Nigerian provisionally-licenced crypto startup, has listed the stablecoin on its platform.

The blockchain payments space is evolving quickly. At a glance, the payment volume for stablecoins is already reaching $2.5 billion, with the velocity of money—which shows how much the global economy is driven by these digital currencies—peaking at $622 million. There's much hype around stablecoins because there's real substance to it.

First, stablecoins are cheap due to their operations on multiple blockchain networks. Second, in remittances, stablecoins are emerging as a cheaper alternative to sending money across Africa; we could soon see this utility apply to intra-continental payments.

This is the argument that applies to cNGN. Imagine traveling from Nigeria to Kenya on a business trip. Instead of dealing with currency exchanges, you could use cNGN to buy cKES, the stablecoin pegged to the country's local currency Kenyan Shilling (KES). You could then convert cKES to KES and withdraw it to your bank account. 

For this to work, there are two theories here: African local currencies need more stablecoin versions, and operators and regulators need to be more receptive to the technology, finding ways to work with it. The cNGN will likely see more utility with the listings on crypto exchanges that operate in multiple African markets, opening a gateway to remittance. However, for it to scale, there must be stronger collaboration between operators, regulators, and project developers.

South Africa’s annual inflation rate remained unchanged at 3.2% in February, defying expectations of a slight uptick to 3.3%. This stability keeps inflation comfortably below the South African Reserve Bank’s (SARB) mid-point target of 4.5%.

A continued decline in food inflation contributed significantly to the latest inflation reading. In January, food prices rose by 2.3% year-on-year, marking a decrease from previous months and reaching levels not seen since December 2010. Per local media, staples such as bread, maize meal, rice, and pasta have seen notable price reductions, providing relief to consumers.

The SARB, known for its cautious monetary stance, is expected to maintain the interest rate at 7.50% in its upcoming meeting. While some analysts anticipate a 25 basis point (bp) cut, the prevailing sentiment leans towards a pause, especially given external uncertainties like global trade tensions and domestic fiscal challenges.

The MPC will be concerned that inflation expectations for the next two years have risen slightly to 4.7% from 4.6% in the first quarter. Since it uses this measure to guide its decisions, the panel prefers to keep expectations closer to the midpoint of its 3% to 6% target range.

“Transfers will always be the future of the continent, and we’re looking at different ways of making transfer payments feel more like card payments.”

That’s how Eduofon Japhet, CEO of HabariPay, the fintech subsidiary of one of Nigeria’s biggest banks, frames the company’s vision for digital payments.

Launched in 2018, HabariPay’s first iteration as a super-app struggled to gain traction in Nigeria’s crowded fintech space. By 2022, the fintech ditched the super app model and solely focused on payments and digital financial services. Since then, it has obtained a raft of payments and switching licences as it aims to take its place in Nigeria’s competitive digital payment space. 

While fintechs like Opay and Moniepoint may have cornered the market with a massive distribution network (of Point-Of-Sale terminals), HabariPay is taking a different route—building the rails and switches that power these transactions. Instead of competing directly for merchants, it wants to be the backend that enables digital payments for banks and fintechs alike. HabariPay believes this infrastructure play is not only a long-term bet but also a cheaper and potentially more scalable approach.

The company has already integrated with 13 banks and several major fintechs that rely on its payment rails. It has also quietly entered the POS space, providing payment processing capabilities. But for Japhet, the real ambition lies in making transfers more accessible and frictionless, to the point where they could replace agent networks entirely.