#79: Cellulant - How the FinTech payments platform is providing financial services across Africa

Afrobility: Africa Tech and Business

Overview: Today, we’re going to talk about Cellulant, the African payments infrastructure company. We’ll explore the story across the following areas

1. African financial sector context

2. Cellulant’s early history

3. Product & monetization strategy

4. Competitive positioning & potential exit options

5. Outlook

This episode was recorded on Jan 20, 2025

Companies discussed: Cellulant, Flutterwave, Interswitch, DPO Group (Network International), Paystack, Stripe, Moniepoint, MTN & Airtel.

Business concepts discussed: Payments platforms, payments partnerships strategy, card networks, payments infrastructure, low-end disruption, banking regulation & payments M&A strategy

Conversation highlights:

• (01:00) - What is Cellulant and why we’re talking about them

• (07:25) - Context of African Banking Opportunity and Neobanks

• (15:07) - Cellulant founding and early history

• (36:16) - Fundraising

• (41:17) - Growth and Geographical Expansion

• (58:12) - Product and Monetization Strategy

• (01:15:12) - Competition and Options for Exit

• (1:21:26) - Bankole’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:28:18) - Olumide’s overall thoughts and outlook

• (1:32:45) - Recommendations and small wins

Olumide’s recommendations & small wins:

• Interested in investing in Africa Tech with Olumide: Read about Adamantium fund & contact me at [e-mail]. Founders looking for funding: If you're a B2B founder working on Education, Health, Finance or food, please contact me for funding at [e-mail]

• Checkout my FIREDOM book = FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) + Freedom = personal finance and financial independence book. Website, Read: Substack Newsletter & Buy: Print, eBook or Audiobook)

• Recommendation: Titan - Rockefeller's autobiography. Solid and thorough look at the fascinating life of an incredible person. Incredible read.

• Recommendation: Areté: Activate Your Heroic Potential. Personal development book filled with ideas, as it compiles insights from other renowned books.

• Recommendation: The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to his son: Letters from Rochaleller to his son with timeless stories and life principles

• Recommendation: Google Notebook LM. Game changer for researchers, Incredible resource to research information when you have sources.

• Small win: Stretching and yoga in the mornings before weight lifting workouts

• Small win: Went to south pointe picnic with friends

Bankole’s recommendations & small wins:

• Recommendation: Podcast: Francois Chollet, Mike Knoop - LLMs won’t lead to AGI - $1,000,000 Prize to find true solution & Video: 20 Mechanical Principles in One Lego Machine

• Small win: Early in the year, but working out everyday

• Other content: Ken Njoroge's Entrepreneurship Journey: Overcoming Tragedy and Building Success

Listeners: We’d love to hear from you. Email [e-mail] with feedback!

Founders & Operators: We'd love to hear about what you're working on, email us at [e-mail]

Investors: It would be great to link up with you. Contact us at [e-mail]

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