Introducing Anchor— Platform for building financial products in Africa
TL;DR: Today, we are announcing Anchor, the go-to-platform for building financial products in Africa. We provide everything you need to offer accounts, money movement, savings and card products in Africa. We are live (in public beta) and you can start building with Anchor now!
The journey to Anchor began in 2015 when I co-founded Amplifypay, a company focused on recurring payments and direct debit. In 2019, one of the largest digital banks in Africa,Carbon acquired Amplifypay. Between 2019 and 2021, I worked at JUMO, the biggest credit infrastructure provider in Africa. During this period, I also advised some of the biggest fintechs and digital banks in Nigeria.
These experiences exposed me to the painful process of building core-banking systems; negotiating third-party contracts; closing bank partnerships; obtaining regulatory approval and licenses; amongst others.
My cofounders, Olamide Sobowale & Gbeke Olufotebi also have deep understanding and shared pain points of what it takes to build a fintech in Africa. This was from their experiences working at the likes of Kuda, Carbon, Appzone, & TeamApt. For example, Olamide worked as a full stack engineer in the team that built the first virtual payments product in Nigeria. He saw some of the heavy lifting required to bring such a product to life.
I had met Gbeke through MEST about 6 years ago and met Olamide much later through Carbon. Considering our backgrounds, complimentary skills, and passion for solving technical problems, it was natural for us to team up to build Anchor.
With Anchor, we are abstracting away all the complexities in building and launching financial products in Africa.
Across the continent, many businesses are thinking about how to leverage financial services to better serve, keep their customers, and drive more margin. Fintech startups are also coming up with unique and compelling value propositions that can drive financial inclusion. But today, these companies are underserved and stifled by inadequate infrastructure.
After months of intense work, we are introducing Anchor to provide API and tools for businesses to build, embed and launch banking products.
The API we provide can enable bank account creation, fund transfer, savings products, card issuance and many more.
Three months ago, we started testing in private beta. Since then, we have transacted several millions for a few companies and have over 40 businesses on our waitlist.
We have also been accepted into Y Combinator Summer 2022 batch as the first banking-as-a-service (BaaS) & embedded finance startup from Africa. Besides YC, we are backed by some early believers at Byld Ventures, Niche Capital, Mountain Peak Capital, Luno Expeditions, and many other angel investors and advisors.
I want to use this opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us on this journey so far.
Our progress shows that many businesses are looking for a partner to support them in delivering seamless financial products to their customers. Our goal is to be the BaaS partner of choice for African businesses.
At Anchor, we are on a mission to expand access to financial choices in Africa. We are building the best-in-class infrastructure to simplify banking. If our mission resonates with you, and you would like to build, work with us, or give feedback, please reach out at hello@getanchor.co
