AlphaCode, a club for fintech start-up entrepreneurs backed by Rand Merchant Investment (RMI), has garnered 1 000 members in its first year of existence.
It has seen eight member-to-member deals; eight deals facilitated with RMI portfolio companies; invested R9 million into 11 different black-owned business through a partnership with Bank of America Merrill Lynch; and invested in Merchant Capital, a provider of alternative sources of working capital for small and medium enterprises in SA.
AlphaCode says the top tier members are building innovative fintech solutions that cut across the spectrum of financial service disciplines - from lending, payments and financial literacy, to blockchain, robo-advising and data analytics.
Many operate as successful financial technology businesses, while others are using the networking, sharing and mentoring offered at AlphaCode to launch, it adds.
AlphaCode was established to identify, partner and grow extraordinary entrepreneurs who are pioneering the next frontier of financial services.
With a network of members in the blockchain, data analytics, mobile, payments and other vertical spaces, AlphaCode says it unlocks growth by promoting access to resources and events to take businesses to the next level.
"Our co-working office and events space in Johannesburg has been carefully crafted to provide the ultimate working environment and has become a hub for fintech disruptors. It is also a meeting place where ideas are shared, connections are made and new projects emerge," it notes.
AlphaCode members enjoy access to industry thought leaders, insightful events, networking and investment opportunities. It actively promotes collaboration between members and assists them in growing their businesses.
"The Rand Merchant Group has a history of partnering extraordinary entrepreneurs who have built disruptive, successful businesses such as RMB, Discovery and OUTsurance," says Dominique Collett, senior investment executive at RMI.
"To accelerate the kind of financial innovation that we envisaged, we knew we needed two things. Firstly, to get the right people into the right room at the right time; and secondly, to apply growth capital to the best fintech ideas. AlphaCode has brought us in touch with SA's most promising fintech entrepreneurs. Our members have won South African and international awards, they have bravely launched new products and forged new partnerships," says Collett.
Among the notable fintech start-ups AlphaCode has backed are Bankymoon, which has started consulting to the SA Reserve Bank on blockchain technology. It focuses on providing blockchain solutions to the financial services industry and has its own wallet and payment products.
Another is SASA Solutions, a digital fintech company that is driving financial inclusion.
Isazi Consulting looks at machine learning and optimisation. Izasi, which means 'bearer of knowledge' or 'scientist' in isiZulu, has generated a 226% return on the BEE funds it received, and has secured a further R1.9 million in licence fees from the data visualisation tool it built.
Local payments start-up iKhokha recently partnered with MasterCard to roll out 700 new point-of-sale devices, while Mama Money has been partnering with traditional players to bring down the cost of remittances on the African continent.
Others are Peach Payments, Hello Paisa, Livestock Wealth, Bright OnCapital, Imafin, Merchant Capital and Entersekt.
AlphaCode has joined the Global Fintech Hubs Federation to unlock a worldwide network of fintech thought leaders and potential partners.
"AlphaCode aims to be the epicentre of the fintech ecosystem in South Africa and Africa and we are keen to learn from other emerging markets," says Collett.