2 S'pore Fintech Firms Have an Edge Amid Africa's Digital Payments Push

Having been in the continent for years, they stand to benefit as infrastructure takes shape

- Sheila Chiang

Driven by a mission to make cross-border trade more efficient, two Singapore-based fintech firms are making bold strides into Africa and are set to benefit as the continent's digital payments infrastructure takes shape.

They have been in Africa for some years, expanding from Ghana in the west to Rwanda in the east.

The African continent comprises 54 countries, with a total population of 1.4 billion.

Liquid Group, a fintech company specialising in global digital payment solutions, facilitates cross-border trade payments between Asia and Africa through partnerships with banks in Rwanda and Ghana.

It partners the banks to source for importers and exporters in Rwanda and Ghana, and helps them by facilitating payments and collections to and from their counterparts in Asia, said Mr Jeremy Tan, founder and chief executive of Liquid Group.

"We essentially use Rwanda to cover our East Africa outreach and Ghana to cover West Africa," Mr Tan told The Straits Times.

About 100 Singapore companies are present in 40 countries in Africa as at November 2024.

Proxtera, which operates an open network to make cross-border trade easier by connecting small and medium-sized enterprises to finance and other trade-related services, started venturing into Rwanda in 2023 after first entering Ghana in 2022.