Egyptian startup ParlexAI, which specializes in AI-powered solutions for financial institutions, has officially joined the sixth cohort of the Visa Africa FinTech Accelerator. The latest cohort kicked off in Accra, Ghana, bringing together 21 fintech companies from nine African countries operating across 24 markets.
The sixth cohort features fintech startups working across a diverse range of areas, including stablecoins, agentic commerce, sustainable finance, payments solutions, and financial infrastructure.
For the first time, the new cohort includes startups from Niger, Togo, and Seychelles, alongside companies from other African markets. The launch activities also provided participating startups with opportunities to connect with prominent players across Ghana’s and Africa’s fintech ecosystem.
The organizations taking part in the programme’s launch activities included Onafriq, EY Ghana, Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement Systems Limited, GCB Bank PLC, Societe Generale Ghana, and MEST Africa. These engagements gave participating founders the opportunity to connect with financial institutions, technology companies, and entrepreneurship support communities across the continent.
ParlexAI develops AI-powered solutions designed to help financial institutions and businesses improve customer engagement. Through its participation in the programme, the company aims to benefit from specialized expertise, mentorship, and opportunities to connect with founders and leaders across Africa’s fintech ecosystem.
Commenting on the selection, Mohamed Mohsen, Co-Founder and CEO of ParlexAI, said: “Being selected to join the sixth cohort of the Visa Africa FinTech Accelerator is an important milestone for us and a strong validation of the progress we have made as an Egyptian company operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence and fintech. This is particularly significant given the programme’s highly selective nature and the limited number of companies selected from each African market.”
He added: “We see ParlexAI’s inclusion among this group of promising African companies as a strong indicator of the competitiveness of the technology we are building, as well as the ability of Egyptian companies to develop solutions that can compete and scale beyond the local market. Our ambition is not only to build a successful product in Egypt, but to establish ParlexAI as one of Africa’s leading companies in AI applications for the financial sector.”
Mohsen continued: “The African market represents a significant opportunity for AI-powered solutions in financial services, whether in customer service, collections, fraud prevention, or process automation. Through the programme, we look forward to building partnerships with banks, financial institutions, and fintech companies across multiple African markets, while leveraging Visa’s network and expertise to accelerate our expansion across the continent.”
The Visa Africa FinTech Accelerator provides participating startups with access to specialized training, expert guidance, and one-on-one mentorship, as well as opportunities to connect with investors, financial institutions, and potential partners. The programme is designed to help startups refine their products and scale their businesses across African markets.
The three-month hybrid programme includes an introductory week, 10 weeks of specialized online sessions, an Investor Week, and a Demo Day that brings participating startups together with investors and venture capital funds.
The programme targets startups at the Seed to Series A stage that have a viable minimum product, with a focus on areas including emerging payment flows, embedded finance, merchant and SME enablement, payments infrastructure, the future of financial services, and sustainable and inclusive finance.
Participating startups may also have access to potential funding from Visa, Plug and Play, and investors participating in the Demo Day, in addition to training in areas such as product design, marketing, finance, and sales, as well as access to a network of experts, partners, and service providers.
ParlexAI’s participation in the sixth cohort comes as part of the company’s efforts to expand the presence of AI-powered solutions across Africa’s financial sector, leverage the programme’s network to develop products for financial institutions, and strengthen their ability to deliver more efficient and engaging customer experiences.
