Builders in Fintech — Tuesday 13 October: OPay raises $200M, 2 more rounds
OPay's New York IPO filing, with Standard Bank committing up to $200 million alongside it, leads the edition: an incumbent African bank is buying into the continent's largest fintech before it lists. Acquisitions carried the rest of the day, as PayJoy took Finia AI's underwriting assets, Luno bought GTXN's payout rails and M-KOPA brought its phone-locking technology in-house. Kraken cleared Dubai's final licensing stage, and Qippay drew Australian capital for New Zealand open banking.
The editor
The lead
OPay files for a New York IPO as Standard Bank commits up to $200M in a private placement
OPay has filed to list American depositary shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol OPAY, and Standard Bank Group has signed a subscription…
A bank taking a capped stake inside the IPO gives OPay a regulated distribution partner across Africa and gives US investors an anchor shareholder that knows the market.
Rounds · last 7 days: 18 · Funding Index (2026-W41): 236
Our news
Image: eu-startups.com Monte Carlo Capital reaches a €13M ($15M) first close for Fund II, targeting €26MMonaco-based Monte Carlo Capital has announced a €13 million ($15 million) first close of its second fund, against a €26 million target.
Image: fintechnews.ae Kraken prepares to launch in the UAE after parent Payward wins full market approval from Dubai's VARAKraken plans to start serving clients in the UAE in the coming weeks after its parent company, Payward, received Full Market Approval from Dubai's Virtual…
Image: prnewswire.com PayJoy acquires Finia AI's strategic assets to add AI underwriting built for micro-businesses in MexicoPayJoy has acquired select strategic assets of Finia AI, a venture-backed fintech that built AI underwriting and financial products, including credit cards and…
Image: disruptafrica.com Luno acquires Kenyan cross-border payments startup GTXN to own licensed rails into emerging marketsLuno, the digital asset platform owned by Digital Currency Group, has acquired GTXN, a Kenyan startup that provides collection and payout infrastructure across…
Image: fintechnews.ae M-KOPA buys Finnish software maker KilpiTek for $8M to own the phone-locking technology behind its loansKenyan pay-as-you-go lender M-KOPA has acquired all of Finnish software company KilpiTek Oy for $8 million, according to Daba Finance.
The rounds
| Company | Round | Lead investor | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| OPay source | Private placement concurrent with IPO | Standard Bank Group | $200M |
| Praevidentia Group source | Fund final close (Gaius Nachfolgekapital I) | — | €50M |
| Qippay source | Strategic investment | All Roads Wholesale Fund | NZD 5M |
Quick hits
Payments
- TR Craftgate, a Turkish payment orchestration platform, has received an undisclosed investment from private equity firm Turkven, with its founding partners keeping a majority stake. — Egirisim
Other
- AE Oraseya Capital, the venture arm of Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority, has doubled its fund to AED1 billion (about $272 million) and raised its maximum cheque from $3 million to $6 million. — Fund Momentum
Regulation
- KE Central Bank of Kenya is seeking powers, in the draft National Payment System Bill 2026, to intervene in struggling payment providers, appoint statutory managers and sell their businesses. — TechCabal
Crypto
- US Blockchain.com has applied for two CFTC licences, as a designated contract market and a futures commission merchant, to offer event contracts and crypto derivatives to US customers. — CNBC
New on the podcast: AI Wealth Management for Everyone with André Silva (Episode 54)
Number of the day
236
34 rounds this week · baseline 14.42
How the Funding Index worksFrom the podcast
TBC Group is listed in London and is a member of the FTSE 250. — Banking in Central Asia with Nika Kurdiani (Episode 53)
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