Francophone region-focused neobank PaySika has completed a fundraising round. The funding will allow the fintech to deploy online payment services to Cameroon, Benin, and Gabon.

These funds are from British, French, and Nigerian investors. The company is soon gearing for an official launch in the first quarter of 2022. The investment roundtable was led by top fintech investors Benjamin Chemla (Shares and Stuart), Damien Guermonprez (Lemonway), Charles-Édouard Bouée (Roland Berger), Didier Valet (Société Générale), and  Olivier Tilloy (Techmind). Benjamin Chemla and Damien Guermonprez will join its strategic committee.

The startup claims to have reached 20,000 pre-registrations at the pre-launch phase, and still targets the underbanked and underserved populations with traditional banking services. Less than 20 percent of the underbanked in Africa have access to banking services. However, there has been an astronomical adoption of mobile money and the use of smartphones in the region.

PaySika is a fintech startup developing mobile and web-based banking solutions for Africans. The company stands out among other services in existence by providing its payment solutions over the web, mobile applications, and messaging services apps like Messenger, WhatsApp, and Telegram. Of the number of pre-subscribers, over 90% are young people aged 18 to 35.

The funds will be channeled towards hiring new staff and expanding its digital solutions. It was just a short while ago when Nigeria’s digital bank Sparkle completed a $3.1 million raise to strengthen businesses.