Pan-African payments company awarded for its role in driving financial inclusion at the Annual Excellence in Fintech awards in Washington DC
NAIROBI, Kenya, May 13, 2022/ — Cellulant (www.Cellulant.io), Africa’s leading payments company, won the Award for Excellence in Embedded Fintech at the 7th edition of the Africa Fintech Summit in Washington, D.C., alongside the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank last month.
The Africa Fintech Summit brings together diverse stakeholders in the fintech space, offering an avenue for exploration of ideas, mobilisation of investments, and collaborations across sectors and geographies. The summit highlights the issues and opportunities in African finance and the entrepreneurs driving the revolution on the world’s stage.
The awards ceremony dubbed the Annual Excellence in Fintech Awards recognises African fintech stakeholders to enable Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and drive financial inclusion and literacy through innovation.
Cellulant was recognised for building payment rails that enable access to financial services for both businesses and individuals, thereby offering a seamless payment experience.
Embedded finance is posited to accelerate growth and drive innovation across Africa. According to a report by Research and Markets, the embedded finance industry in Africa and the Middle East is forecasted to grow by 45.3% annually, leveraging on strategic partnerships to drive financial inclusion. By integrating financial products tailored to a user’s need within a business infrastructure, customers can access financial services faster and seamlessly. Users gain access to money-related services when they need them.
Commenting on the recognition for its embedded fintech solutions, Cellulant’s Chief Executive Officer Akshay Grover stated, “The payments market in Africa is growing rapidly, ranking second globally with digital financial services as a key driver. Consequently, this raised the level of financial inclusion to 43% in 2017 from 23% in 2011. For Cellulant, by providing the rails for global, regional and local businesses to own their financial journey, we’re unlocking opportunities for the people to become financially independent and empowered. We’re proud of this award as it is a testament to the excellent work our teams are doing across the continent in enabling the rails that power online and offline payments for all businesses and their customers.”
Cellulant powers collections and payouts for thousands of businesses in various sectors across 35 countries in Africa. The company provides their customers with more than 280 locally relevant payment methods, including mobile money, cards & banks. Key among these customers include Emirates, Bolt, Citibank and Booking.com.
Cellulant’s single API payments gateway, Tingg (http://tingg.africa/), enables global, regional and local businesses to collect payments online and offline while allowing anyone to pay from their mobile money, local and international cards or directly from their bank. Tingg powers payments for 220 million consumers on a single inclusive network, allowing interoperability across Africa.
On the panel ‘Embedded Everything’ discussing the impact of embedded finance, Milkah Wachiuri, Cellulant Group’s Chief of Growth, stated, “Whereas access to financial services is still a distant reality for many on the African continent, the strides made towards financial inclusivity in recent years have been significant. Embedded finance drastically reduces the adoption friction of financial products, shifting the payment experience for customers, and enabling realisation of financial and economic inclusion goals for more Africans.”
The Africa Fintech Summit (AFTS) honoured 14 standout African ecosystem stakeholders. AFTS’s US Partnerships & Sales Director, Sarah Chepkoech, revealed and awarded the prizes during the Networking Lunch Reception on Thursday, April 21st.
This timely Forum comes on the heels of commitments announced by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, deepening Canada–Africa commercial ties and expanding investment partnerships
TORONTO, Canada, April 29, 2026/APO Group/ –The Canada–Africa Chamber of Business (https://CanadaAfrica.ca) will convene investors, financiers, policymakers, and industry leaders in Cape Town on May 14, 2026 for the Canada–Africa Financing Forum—a high-level platform focused on unlocking capital and accelerating deal flow across African markets.
This timely Forum comes on the heels of commitments announced by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, deepening Canada–Africa commercial ties and expanding investment partnerships. The program connects leaders from venture capital, private equity, and institutional investors to examine where capital is moving—and where the next opportunities lie—supported by Canadian project partners with proven capacity to deliver on-the-ground.
Delegates will engage directly with finance and investment decision-makers, following the program opening, featuring messages from President Cyril Ramaphosa and Prime Minister Mark Carney, in addition to high-level Ministerial representation.
This Forum is about capital deployment, not just conversation
“This Forum is about capital deployment, not just conversation,” said Garreth Bloor, President of the Canada–Africa Chamber of Business. “We are convening investors, institutions, and project leaders who are actively shaping transactions across Africa—and connecting them directly with Canadian partners who are ready to work together.”
The Canada–Africa Financing Forum reflects the Chamber’s role as a privately financed, market-led platform advancing Canada-Africa trade and investment through world-class networking and information-sharing events.
Why Attend
Direct access to active dealmakers and capital allocators
Insights into where capital is being deployed and key players delivering major projects
Opportunities to build partnerships across Canada and African markets
Participation in a curated, high-level environment focused on execution
During the MASA 2026 edition, held from April 11 to 18, 2026, ORUN and 1xBET implemented the We Champion Talent program, an initiative aimed at promoting African talent and advancing the development of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs)
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, April 28, 2026/APO Group/ –As part of the Innovation Village co-organized with MASA at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan from April 14 to 18, ORUN (https://ORUN.Africa) announces the rollout of its partnership with 1xBET to support a creative Africa that is structuring itself, professionalizing, and scaling across the continent.
We aim to demonstrate that it is possible to support African talent, narratives, and creative ecosystems over the long term, with ambition and consistency
Designed as a space of convergence between heritage, innovation, and knowledge transmission, the Innovation Village features scenography crafted by Ivorian artisans, a program of panels and masterclasses on creative industries, an immersive experience produced by Orun Studios, and a major institutional highlight on April 17. Its narrative platform is built around three pillars: memory, structure, and transmission. The initiative aims to position cultural and creative industries as an economic driver for the continent.
“The Innovation Village was conceived as an act of construction. By partnering with organizations such as 1xBET, we aim to demonstrate that it is possible to support African talent, narratives, and creative ecosystems over the long term, with ambition and consistency,” said Habyba Thiero, CEO of Africa Currency Network and President of ORUN.
This vision aligns with ORUN’s broader ambition to produce, structure, and internationalize African creative industries through events, content, and strategic partnerships.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of ORUN, part of African Currency Network (ACN).
More than event support, this partnership reflects a commitment to backing platforms capable of structuring value chains, increasing the visibility of talent, and fostering the emergence of strong African creative infrastructures
ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, April 28, 2026/APO Group/ –On the occasion of MASA 2026, held from April 11 to 18 in Abidjan, MIR Holding (https://MIRHolding.odoo.com) reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the growth of African creative industries by partnering with ORUN as part of the Innovation Village, hosted at the Palais de la Culture in Abidjan. This presence reflects a clear intention to support the scaling of cultural and creative industries so they can fully contribute to job creation and value generation across the continent.
Co-organized by ORUN and MASA, the Innovation Village brought together over several days scenography designed by Ivorian artisans, a program of panels and masterclasses dedicated to creative industries, an immersive experience produced by Orun Studios, and a key institutional highlight on April 17.
At MIR Holding, we believe that Africa’s future will also be shaped by its ability to structure its narratives, its talent, and its creative value chains
Built around three pillars — memory, structure, and transmission — the initiative carried a renewed ambition for culture: positioning it as a concrete lever for economic structuring and African projection.
By supporting this initiative, MIR Holding aligns with a broader dynamic aimed at strengthening connections between creation, entrepreneurship, content, youth, and growth ecosystems. More than event support, this partnership reflects a commitment to backing platforms capable of structuring value chains, increasing the visibility of talent, and fostering the emergence of strong African creative infrastructures. MIR Holding stands among the main partners of the Village, alongside Africa Currency Network and other stakeholders engaged in this vision.
“With ORUN, we are not only seeking to make culture visible. We aim to help provide it with a framework, a reach, and a trajectory. What is at stake here is the continent’s ability to better transform its creative energy into sustainable value, real opportunities, and influence,” said Habyba Thiero, CEO of Africa Currency Network and President of ORUN.
Mouhamed Dieng, President of MIR Holding, added: “Supporting Africa’s creative industries is not about backing a secondary sector. It is about investing in one of the continent’s most powerful spaces for storytelling, youth, innovation, and competitiveness. At MIR Holding, we believe that Africa’s future will also be shaped by its ability to structure its narratives, its talent, and its creative value chains.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of MIR Holding.
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