FINTECH | South Africa’s Moya Money is the Latest Fintech to Offer Payment Solutions for Africa’s Freelancers

South African fintech startup, Moya Money, has relaunched with a new website and an updated product offering targeting freelancers and small businesses.

Founded in March 2021 by Thulani Masebenza and Sabica Pardesi, both 25 at the time, Moya Money brings a modern sensibility to financial software. As former freelancers themselves, the co-founders, based in South Africa and the UK, designed Moya Money specifically to cater to the needs of independent workers.

The startup has already gained recognition in the fintech sphere. Shortly after its launch, Moya Money secured its first angel investor and was selected for the Tenity global fintech incubator program in Spain, marking it as the first South African startup to be admitted.

Moya Money stands out in its focus on empowering freelancer independence while fostering collaboration between workers and businesses. The app aims to streamline invoicing and payouts, enabling users to track income more effectively and make informed financial decisions.

“We wanted to solve a problem we had experienced ourselves,” said COO Sabica Pardesi.

“Our ambition is to impact a million people by leading and influencing our community.”

Moya is just the latest entrant to this sector that is drawing fintech interest across the continent. African workers have often raised concerns when using Paypal, one of the dominant platforms for international payments, with some saying the American fintech makes it difficult for Africans to withdraw their funds.

In January 2024, Nigerian fintech startup, Cleva, secured $1.5 million in pre-seed funding to enhance international payments infrastructure across Africa. Also backed by Y-Combinator, the startup was founded in 2023 by Tolu Alabi (CEO) and Philip Abel (CTO) to provide individuals and companies in Africa with US-based accounts, facilitating the receipt of U.S. dollars.

In the east, Kenya’s Payd launched in 2023 to enhance capacity to streamline payment procedures, improve financial management, and empower freelancers to manage their earnings effectively. Their solution stood out during the Mozilla Africa Innovation Challenge where they secured a grant of KES 4 million ($27,529.25).

As Moya Money remains dedicated to revolutionizing financial management for freelancers and businesses, it welcomes interested users to join the waitlist for its upcoming app release.