We're making Africa the first cashless continent.
In 2017, nearly 60% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That's for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash.
We're solving this by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don't always work, you can still send money with Wave. In November 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. In 2019, we expanded to Cote D'Ivoire. Now, we have millions of users and are growing fast. Our goal is to drive financial inclusion and to make Africa the first cashless continent.
In 2017, nearly 60% of adults in sub-Saharan Africa had no bank account. That's for good reason—the fees are too high, the closest branch can be miles away, and nobody takes cards. Without access to financial institutions, people are forced to keep their savings under the mattress. Small business owners rely on lenders who charge extortionate rates. Parents spend hours waiting in line to pay school fees in cash.
We're solving this by building financial services that just work: no account fees, instantly available, and accepted everywhere. In places where electricity, water and roads don't always work, you can still send money with Wave. In November 2017, we launched a mobile app in Senegal for cash deposit, withdrawal, and peer-to-peer and business payments. In 2019, we expanded to Cote D'Ivoire. Now, we have millions of users and are growing fast. Our goal is to drive financial inclusion and to make Africa the first cashless continent.
Location: Senegal
Employees: 501-1000
Total raised: $147M
Founded date: 2017
Investors 7
Funding Rounds 2
| Date | Series | Amount | Investors |
| 09.07.2025 | - | $137M | Finnfund |
| 06.12.2022 | Private Eq... | $10M | Alameda Re... |
Mentions in press and media 34
| Date | Title | Description |
| 09.12.2025 | Senegal: The Country Accelerates The Digitalization Of its Health Insurance System to Ensure Universal Coverage | With more than 53% of the population now covered—compared to 10% ten years ago—and over 70% of insured persons being women, often in rural areas, Senegal is confirming its progress toward universal health coverage. The country now aims to r... |
| 01.09.2025 | Senegal Partners with West African Development Bank to Propel Digital Transformation | Senegal is advancing its digital transformation agenda through a strategic partnership with the West African Development Bank (BOAD). This collaboration aims to leverage the BOAD’s Digital Transformation Fund (FTD), backed by Germany’s KfW,... |
| 05.08.2025 | African Startups Raise $1.35 Billion in H1 2025 | African startups collectively secured $1.35 billion in funding during the first half of 2025, a 78% increase from the $800 million raised in the same period in 2024, according to data from Africa: The Big Deal. This surge indicates a reboun... |
| 09.07.2025 | Wave, a Senegal‑based fintech startup has secured a $137 million debt financing facility | Senegal‑based fintech startup Wave has secured a $137 million debt financing facility to accelerate the rollout of its mobile money platform across underserved communities in West and Central Africa. The debt deal was led by Rand Merchant B... |
| 10.05.2025 | PalmPay's Bold Leap: Expanding Horizons in Africa's Fintech Landscape | Nigerian fintech PalmPay is gearing up for a significant expansion. By the end of 2025, it will launch operations in South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda, and Tanzania. This move is not just a step; it’s a leap into the heart of Africa’s bur... |
| 08.05.2025 | Africa: PalmPay to Expand Into Four More African Markets By End-2025 | TLDR Nigerian fintech PalmPay will launch operations in South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda, and Tanzania before the end of 2025 The expansion follows sustained momentum in Nigeria, where the platform processed over 15 million daily transac... |
| 09.04.2025 | Mobile Money Surpasses Two Billion Registered Accounts and Over Half a Billion Monthly Active Users Globally | Share this: Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Op... |
| 12.11.2024 | Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed Bolsters Biotechnology Portfolio, Announces New Investments "KBW Ventures is primarily investing in technologies that lead the pack or somehow stand out in the field.&q... | KBW Ventures founder and CEO HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud announced new KBW Ventures' investments in bioscience and biotechnology during the four day investment summit Future Investment Initiative (FII) 2024 in Riyadh. &... |
| 13.09.2024 | The ‘Big Four’ fallacy: Rethinking African markets | This article was contributed to TechCabal by Dotun Olowoporoku. Here’s a thought experiment: What if your fundamental assumptions about investing in African startups were wrong? What if the Big Four markets—Nigeria, Egypt, Kenya, and South ... |
| 26.06.2024 | Rethinking fintech distribution in Africa: The role of ‘undiscovered founders’ | Flashy new tech companies and cutting-edge tech get a lot of buzz. But for investors, the real excitement lies in booming tech hubs, areas where new companies are constantly popping up, fueled by money from around the world. These up-and-co... |
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