Visa, a digital payments business, announced yesterday strategic investments in four start-ups that graduated from the first cohort of its Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program.

According to Visa, these investments reflect the company's desire to encourage fintech growth across the continent while enhancing financial inclusion and access.

The four start-ups operating across the continent are: Oze, located in Ghana; Workpay, human resources tech firm headquartered in Kenya; OkHi, based in Nigeria; and ORDA, a cloud-based restaurant software company operating in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa.

Visa said graduates of the second cohort of the program will have the opportunity to present their innovative capabilities during a Demo Day set to take place on December 2nd in Cape Town, South Africa, to an audience of venture capitalists, angel investors, ecosystem enablers and business partners.

The Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program – is a three-month intensive program that supports Seed to Series A start-ups by offering 1:1 mentorship, training, and exclusive opportunities for funding and partnership.

Godfrey Sullivan, senior vice president of products, partnerships and digital solutions for Visa CEMEA, said “Visa sees each investment as a unique opportunity to drive financial access and inclusion, and we are proud to support these start-ups as they realise their vision for a more connected Africa.”

Additional investments and business partnerships with program graduates are being finalised and will be announced soon, according to Visa.

Amazon Web Services supports the Visa Africa Fintech Accelerator program, providing cohort participants with complimentary cloud services.

Visa said companies interested in Africa are invited to join and contribute to developing the next generation of fintech innovators, experiencing the transformative power of these partnerships.