DeFi in Africa doesn’t only take power away from traditional governmental institutions and corporations, it also may provide an opportunity for underrepresented groups to break away from the restrictions placed on them by the world’s traditional trade and power systems.

Unlike traditional banking, DeFi in Africa provides people with the freedom to decide where their money is, trade it, and access it when they need it. Setting up and maintaining bank branches is expensive, so many African banks do not set up branches in rural areas. This means people in remote villages must travel long distances to get to a banking hall. Unbanked people in Africa have very low-interest rates, and DeFi bridges this gap.
Xend Finance

The Xend Finance in Africa platform offers users a wide range of financial services. The platform is a mobile application that allows users to manage their accounts and transfer money to other people, even if they do not have a bank account. The app is available to more than five thousand credit union members in Africa. This is an incredible achievement for a fintech company, which has historically had trouble in attracting customers and funding.

Xend Finance was founded in Enugu, Nigeria, and has received funding from the Binance Incubator Program and Google Launchpad. The company has successfully raised US$2.2 million from a number of investors and executed a testnet that involved more than one thousand participants from over 75 countries. It has also successfully beta-launched the mainnet, resulting in a substantial amount of deposits from credit union members. The company recently signed a partnership with TechFusion Africa, a global banking consortium in Nigeria.
Y Combinator

Y Combinator has recently announced its selection of 24 startups from Africa as part of the latest batch of awardees. The W22 batch of awardees includes 414 companies from 80 sectors. Nigeria, ranked third, received funding in the Y Combinator Africa program. Y Combinator in Africa is a hub for technology companies, which will help them grow their businesses. The incubator is currently open for applications and accepts companies from all over the world.

Since its founding in Silicon Valley, Y Combinator has invested in more than 3,000 startups. It has expanded to include startups outside of the United States, including African startups. Its first batch of startups included Reddit, an online community site for Internet users in 2005. The program has also accepted UK startups Infogami and A Thinking Ape, and has recently accepted Wave, a fintech startup based in Senegal.
YFinance

A Nigerian startup, Xend Finance, has taken the approach of decentralized finance to address currency devaluation in the region. The startup, founded by Aronu Ugochukwu, is well aware of the issues associated with currency devaluation. In most African countries, and many others as well, credit unions are required to hedge against the depreciation of the local currency. Xend Finance has recently announced the mainnet launch of the DeFi project, which will allow these institutions to use decentralized stablecoins.
YFinance Demo Day

YFinance’s Demo Day in Africa will bring together more than two hundred African startups to showcase their innovations and showcase the potential of a region. YC is a global accelerator that helps entrepreneurs start their businesses.

This year’s Demo Day in Africa featured seven Africa-focused YC companies, five from Nigeria and one from Tanzania. These startups range from fintech businesses to agriculture to healthcare and education. One such African startup, Nala, provides internet-free mobile payments for Tanzanians. Its app is currently one of the top free finance apps in Tanzania’s Google PlayStore. YC Demo Day in Africa featured a diverse mix of startups, from financial institutions to start-ups.