African fintech giant Onafriq has appointed UK-based payments veteran Simon Black as the new Chair of its Board of Directors, signaling a pivot toward global scalability and strategic maturity at a time of growing caution in the continent’s fintech sector.

Black joins as an independent non-executive director of Onafriq UK Holdings Ltd, the holding company behind what has become Africa’s largest digital payments network. The appointment is effective immediately.

With a resume that includes scaling payments infrastructure provider PPRO into a global player and driving double-digit revenue growth at Sage Pay, Black is expected to bring a level of operational discipline and international know-how that Onafriq’s next chapter may require.

“Simon’s appointment comes at a transformative moment in Onafriq’s journey,” said Dare Okoudjou, Onafriq’s founder and CEO. “His strategic expertise will be instrumental as we strengthen our position as Africa’s payments infrastructure backbone and accelerate financial inclusion.”

Black will work closely with Okoudjou, the executive team, and shareholders to steer Onafriq’s growth strategy, with a particular focus on expanding cross-border capabilities and forging global partnerships.

“The company has built what is arguably the most extensive and sophisticated digital payments infrastructure on the continent,” Black said. “I’m excited to support the team in shaping the future of cross-border finance in Africa and enabling seamless commerce at a scale the world hasn’t seen before.”

Founded in 2021 and headquartered in London, Onafriq has stitched together a sprawling network that connects over 500 million mobile wallets and 200 million bank accounts across 42 African markets, linking more than 1,000 payment corridors. Its growth has been powered by a mix of acquisitions — including Nigerian agent network Baxi — and funding rounds from investors such as LUN Partners Group and AfricInvest FIVE.

But the company’s momentum now faces headwinds common across Africa’s fintech sector. In January 2025, Launch Base Africa reported that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) had put a planned $50m debt package for Onafriq on hold. Structured as a US dollar-denominated senior secured facility, the funding was intended to boost the company’s working capital.

Neither the IFC nor Onafriq have commented publicly on the stalled transaction. However, the development underscores a broader shift: while African fintechs once attracted global capital with promises of scale and inclusion, investor appetite is becoming more selective amid currency risk, regulatory uncertainties, and questions over profitability.

For Onafriq, Black’s appointment suggests a recalibration. The company is betting that seasoned leadership and strategic alignment with global partners can help it navigate both internal scaling challenges and external macroeconomic risks.

With an extensive cross-border platform and aspirations to become Africa’s “network of networks”, Onafriq is positioning itself to serve not just local transactions but global remittance flows, ecommerce integrations, and financial inclusion initiatives at scale.

But its ability to deliver on those ambitions may increasingly depend on how well it can hedge external risks while sustaining operational momentum — a balancing act that will now unfold under the guidance of its new UK-based Chair.