Mastercard and Enza Join Forces to Power Africa’s Fintech Future

In a move poised to redefine digital financial services across Africa, Mastercard and payment solutions provider Enza have announced a strategic collaboration that will significantly empower fintech innovation across the continent. This partnership is designed to integrate Mastercard’s global payment network with Enza’s agile platform, enabling fintechs to deploy payment functionalities more efficiently and at scale. The initiative comes at a time when Africa’s fintech sector is witnessing rapid growth, with the number of companies tripling since 2020 (European Investment Bank, 2023). It signals a deep commitment to tackling financial exclusion by embedding secure, scalable payment solutions into broader service offerings.

Streamlining Access to Mastercard’s Ecosystem

This collaboration will allow African fintech companies to access Mastercard’s complete suite of services through Enza’s unified platform. Previously, many fintechs faced challenges related to the high cost of legacy systems and the technical complexity of integrating global payment networks. By serving as a middleware, Enza simplifies this process by hosting consumer and merchant accounts, handling integrations, and managing compliance and security standards. This means startups and growing fintechs can now issue physical or virtual Mastercard cards, configure prepaid or postpaid accounts, and support consumer and business payments across physical, digital, and in-app channels. According to Mete Guney, Mastercard’s Executive Vice President for Market Development in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EEMEA), the move represents Mastercard’s broader goal of enabling financial inclusion through trusted digital infrastructure. He noted, “Through our work with Enza, fintech innovators in Africa will be able to deploy embedded payment capabilities more efficiently – helping accelerate financial inclusion and the region’s digital transformation.”

Enabling Scalable Innovation for Africa’s Fintech Sector

Founded in 2023, Enza has quickly emerged as a key player in Africa’s digital payments ecosystem. With headquarters in Abu Dhabi and regional offices in Egypt, Nigeria, and South Africa, Enza’s infrastructure is designed with the flexibility and speed necessary to support a rapidly evolving market. Their platform allows fintech companies to focus on innovating around customer experience and product development without needing to build costly payment backends from scratch. Andrew Key, Executive Director at Enza, emphasized the importance of the partnership in democratizing access to financial tools. “Our collaboration with Mastercard leverages our existing relationship to more effectively serve the fintech community,” he stated. “Together, we will provide innovators with a platform capability that means they do not need to build this aspect of their proposition and can get to market with greater speed and security.” By making digital payments more accessible and affordable, Enza and Mastercard are not just supporting fintechs—they are helping lay the groundwork for a more inclusive financial future. The partnership also aligns with Africa’s broader digital transformation goals, offering scalable solutions that address both business needs and socioeconomic development.

The Mastercard-Enza collaboration represents a forward-thinking approach to fintech enablement in Africa. By reducing entry barriers for startups and enhancing the ability of existing players to innovate, this initiative has the potential to reshape the continent’s financial services landscape. It reinforces the message that strategic partnerships, coupled with cutting-edge technology, are essential to building a more inclusive and globally competitive Africa.