Renew Capital, the pan-African investment firm, has shortlisted 15 technology companies from an initial pool of more than 500 to take part in the final stage of its first dedicated embedded finance programme, the firm said on Wednesday.

The inaugural Renew Venture Lab: EmFi Series is designed to identify start-ups that can exploit existing customer relationships, transaction data and distribution networks to deliver credit and other financial services to small and medium-sized enterprises across the continent. All 15 finalists already operate digital platforms in sectors ranging from agriculture to logistics, giving them a direct view of the cash flows of businesses that traditional banks have long struggled to serve.

Africa’s SMEs account for roughly 90 per cent of private sector businesses but face an annual credit shortfall estimated at $330bn. While formal banks have made limited inroads, the combination of the world’s largest mobile money market, rising smartphone adoption and falling data costs is opening a new front: using non-financial technology platforms as a conduit for lending.

“The next generation of Africa’s small business banks won’t be banks,” said Matthew Davis, co-chief executive of Renew Capital. “They’ll be startups that already understand how SMEs operate, have their data and have earned their trust. These 15 companies are building from that advantage. That’s why we’re paying attention.”

The 15 companies, which hail from 10 countries including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Morocco and Senegal, were chosen after a pitch competition among 47 start-ups. The wider pool of applicants received mentoring sessions with founders of some of Africa’s fastest-growing technology companies and advice from specialists in embedded finance and Web3. The 47 contest finalists were also given a support package valued at more than $250,000, comprising services rather than cash.

The selected companies span agricultural marketplaces, pharmacy supply chains, B2B digital commerce and cross-border logistics — exactly the type of platforms that already capture the sales, inventory and payment data needed to build alternative credit models without relying on conventional collateral. They now enter a phase of deeper technical training on structuring credit products, managing lending portfolios and embedding financial services into their core operations.

The programme was launched at the GITEX Africa 2026 technology summit in Marrakech in April and is backed by a coalition of development finance institutions and state agencies: Tamwilcom, Morocco’s state guarantee institution, Global Affairs Canada and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. The reliance on public and donor capital to underwrite such ecosystem-building exercises highlights how Africa’s venture support structures remain heavily subsidised, even as private venture capital interest in fintech on the continent remains relatively robust.

Renew Capital, which operates in 13 African countries, said its investment team would monitor the cohort and use the programme as a direct pipeline for potential equity investments. The firm did not disclose the size of any capital pool reserved for follow-on deals but said the EmFi Series was part of a broader strategy to back founders using technology to close Africa’s most persistent structural gaps.

The push into embedded finance comes at a time when global investors are increasingly betting that the data trails left by millions of small businesses on digital platforms can unlock a new asset class. Yet significant obstacles remain, including fragmented regulation, currency volatility and the challenge of building credit models that work across dozens of distinct markets.