Y Combinator selects only three African startups for its 2024 winter batch, including Cleva and Miden, alongside an undisclosed Kenyan traveltech firm.
KEYPOINTS
- YC’s decision to limit African investments to three startups reflects a change from previous batches, possibly influenced by market conditions, with the current cohort being the smallest since 2017.
- Cleva focuses on international payments, processing over $1 million monthly, while Miden, by Nigerian fintech Tyrus Technologies, offers a versatile virtual card program, showcasing Africa’s fintech innovation on a global scale.
Y Combinator (YC), a prestigious global accelerator, has chosen only three African startups for its 2024 winter batch. While Cleva and Miden (by Tyrus Technologies) have been publicly disclosed, an undisclosed Kenyan traveltech startup is also part of the batch. Cleva specializes in cross-border payment services and recently secured a $1.5 million pre-seed funding, while Miden offers businesses APIs to issue virtual MasterCard and Visa payment cards.
YC’s decision to limit its investment to a maximum of three startups on the continent marks a change from previous batches, possibly implemented since the 2023 winter batch. This reduction in cohort size aligns with reports from 2022 indicating a 40% decrease in cohort size due to market conditions. The current W24 cohort is notably the smallest since the winter batch of 2017, reflecting YC’s continuous evaluation of batch size and operating environment, according to Lindsay Amos, head of communication at YC.
Cleva, founded in August 2023 by Tolu Alabi and Philip Abel, focuses on facilitating international payments and has experienced rapid growth, processing over $1 million in monthly payments. On the other hand, Miden, a card API-issuing product of Nigerian fintech Tyrus Technologies, boasts a robust virtual card program that caters to various use cases, including payment collections and cross-border transactions. With both startups showing promising growth and innovation, they represent Africa’s burgeoning fintech landscape in the global arena.
