Kenyan fintech startup, Kwara, has won the best pitch at the just concluded Norrsken Impact Accelerator program. Kwara emerged top at the eight-week program that was held in Stockholm, Sweden, ahead of nineteen other startups that participated.
Speaking on their win, Kwara’s CEO Cynthia Wandia said, “This was a truly transformative experience. We received unique insights from unicorn founders and top investors and applied them to our own growth trajectory. The sincerity, deep industry knowledge and vast network of the Norrsken Accelerator stands out. We are certain the program and its startups will rise to redefine what impact startups can achieve.”
Kihlmark Oskar, the Head of Startup and Growth at Nordea said, “Combined with a good business idea, Kwara delivered a pitch with both high energy and clear message.”
Norrsken VC is a Ksh. 16 billion (€125 million) impact VC fund investing in the best entrepreneurs that solve societal issues using technology. The vision for the Norrsken Impact Accelerator is to create change through investing in the next generation business models where the impact is a result of the core operations and impact and profit are simultaneous.
Kwara offers a secure, simple and affordable digital banking platform for savings and credit cooperatives. Backed by investors across Africa, Asia, Europe and the US, today Kwara serves over 50,000 members in Kenya, South-Africa and The Philippines and with over Ksh. 4.4 billion ($40 million) in monthly transactions on the platform.