The payment processor, which handles over R100bn annually and was acquired by Lesaka Technologies in 2024, has seen its internal code offered for sale on a dark web forum.
“Local entrepreneurs are deeply embedded in the markets they serve. But too often they encounter financing models that are not designed around their growth realities.”
While African startups are navigating a tightening global venture capital climate, early-stage funding — particularly at the pre-seed level — remains highly fragmented.
A decisive policy shift in Accra is forcing domestic pension schemes to look past government securities, creating a sudden liquidity pool for private market intermediaries.
Optasia, which made history in November 2025 as the largest fintech IPO on the JSE, uses proprietary AI to provide credit scoring and micro-lending to unbanked populations.
Founded in 2023 by CEO Sahil Affriya, Shiprazor operates as an infrastructure layer connecting online merchants with a disparate network of delivery providers.
The fundraising effort marks a notable development in an African venture ecosystem that has historically directed the vast majority of its capital toward financial technology
