The Ghana-based digital bank Affinity has secured a $8 million seed round co-led by European VC firms Grazia Equity (Germany) and BACKED VC (London). Other investors that participated in the round include Enza Capital, Launch Africa, Renew Capital, FINCA Ventures, Attijariwafa Ventures, Impact Assets and Eldon Capital, an early backer.
What does the company do?
Established by Tarek Mouganie, Affinity was established with a bold vision to provide banking services to 350 million unbanked adults in Africa. Operating as a digital bank, it offers a full suite of banking services, including current savings and investment accounts, transfers, payments, and loans, focusing on financially excluded African populations.
In an interview with TechCrunch, Affinity founder and CEO Tarek Mouganie highlighted the company’s strong lending performance and hybrid approach to digital banking. He revealed that the fintech had disbursed over $15 million in loans across various products, with instant loans growing 30% month-over-month and a non-performing loan rate of just 3%. Affinity generates most of its revenue—over 90%—from loans, while the remaining 10% comes from fees and commissions on services such as utility bills and internet payments made through USSD and its mobile app.
Mouganie also noted that Affinity’s combination of digital banking and offline agent networks has played a crucial role in customer adoption. Of its 50,000 customers, 26,000 joined through agents, and 55% have since transitioned to the mobile app. “This shift has led us to rethink our agency strategy—focusing on using agents for onboarding, initial education, and driving digital literacy to encourage app adoption,” he told TechCrunch.
