Johnstone Kpilaakaa
We asked ChatGPT about the fintech landscape in Nigeria and African unicorns.
Who will be the next African unicorn?
Over the weekend, my Twitter feed was buzzing with screenshots of people’s conversations with ChatGPT—a prototype dialogue-based AI chatbot capable of understanding natural human language and generating human-like written text.
The chatbot was launched last Wednesday by OpenAI, an American Artificial Intelligence (AI) research company. ChatGPT has crossed over one million users since its launch.
Although some experts have said AIs like ChatGPT can replace professionals who work in the content industry, we interacted with the chatbot and noticed that although it can carry out some tasks, these bots will still need human beings to fact-check their work, especially in journalism and other data research-related work.
According to the developers of the chatbot, “ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but incorrect or nonsensical answers,” they also recognised misinformation as one of the bot’s limitations.
Our Audience Research Lead asked ChatGPT to write an article about the top fintech companies in Nigeria, here is the result:
Nigeria’s fintech industry has been growing rapidly in recent years, with a number of innovative startups emerging to disrupt the traditional financial sector. Here are the top ten fintech startups in Nigeria that are leading the charge in this exciting space:
Paystack: Founded in 2015, Paystack is a payment gateway that enables businesses to accept online payments from customers. The company has raised over $20 million in funding from investors such as Visa and Tencent, and has over 60,000 active merchants using its platform.
Flutterwave: Founded in 2016, Flutterwave is a payments technology company that enables businesses to process payments across Africa. The company has raised over US$30 million in funding from investors such as Mastercard and Y Combinator, and has processed over US$8 billion in transactions on its platform.
Kuda: Founded in 2018, Kuda is a digital-only bank that offers customers a range of financial services, including savings, loans, and investments. The company has raised over US$10 million in funding from investors such as CRE Venture Capital and Target Global, and has over one million customers using its platform.
PiggyVest: Founded in 2016, PiggyVest is a savings and investment platform that enables customers to save and invest their money. The company has raised over US$7 million in funding from investors such as Ventures Platform and LeadPath Nigeria, and has over two million users on its platform.
Carbon: Founded in 2018, Carbon is a digital lending platform that provides small businesses and individuals with access to affordable loans. The company has raised over US$5 million in funding from investors such as Omidyar Network and Digital Frontiers Institute, and has disbursed over US$70 million in loans to over 60,000 customers.
Trove: Founded in 2019, Trove is a digital investment platform that enables customers to invest in a range of asset classes, including stocks, bonds, and ETFs. The company has raised over US$3 million in funding from investors such as Rise Capital and GreenTec Capital, and has over 20,000 users on its platform.
Cellulant: Founded in 2004, Cellulant is a payments technology company that provides businesses with a range of payment services, including mobile money, e-commerce, and mobile banking. The company has raised over US$47 million in funding from investors such as Helios Investment Partners and Satya Capital, and has over 60 million customers on its platform.
Cowrywise: Founded in 2016, Cowrywise is a savings and investment platform that enables customers to save and invest their money in a range of investment products. The company has raised over US$2 million in funding from investors such as EchoVC and Ventures Platform, and has over 200,000 users on its platform.
VertoFX: Founded in 2016, VertoFX is a foreign exchange platform that enables businesses to make and receive international payments. The company has raised over US$2 million in funding from investors such as Ventures Platform and CardinalStone Partners, and has processed over US$500 million in transactions on its platform.
Remita: Founded in 2010, Remita is a payment processing platform that enables businesses to make and receive payments online. The company has raised over US$5 million in funding from investors such as Suntory Holdings and Diamond Bank, and has processed over US$20 billion in transactions on its platform.
These top ten fintech startups in Nigeria are leading the way in the country’s rapidly growing fintech industry, providing innovative solutions to the financial challenges faced by businesses and individuals.
Who will be the next African unicorn?
We also asked ChatGPT about the next African unicorn. It said:
It is difficult to predict who the next African unicorn will be. However, some potential candidates could be companies such as Jumia, Interswitch, and Flutterwave, which are among the most valuable start-ups in Africa.
