Cameroonian neobank PaySika has been named Best Fintech Startup at the AfricArena Lagos Summit, marking a major milestone for the digital banking platform as it sets its sights on reshaping financial access in Central Africa.
The accolade was awarded during the Lagos leg of the AfricArena Tour 2025, a prominent startup showcase held in partnership with the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association (AVCA). The event featured a competitive pitch session where PaySika stood out among ten shortlisted fintechs, including Pika Insights, REasy, Adashi, Liquify, loop, myStash, XChange Box Solutions, and Northwave Ltd.
Founded to address widespread financial exclusion, PaySika is developing what it describes as Cameroon’s first fully digital microfinance bank. The neobank is focused on providing accessible banking services for consumers and small businesses in a region where fewer than one in four adults has a bank account.
“We aim to streamline the hardship in getting a bank account and bank card which takes a lot of time and paperwork to complete,” said CEO Roger Nengwe during his pitch. “Only 25% of the average Cameroonian adult has a bank account while most online banking apps are unreliable.”
To combat these challenges, PaySika has launched a prepaid Visa card that allows users to open accounts from home in under five minutes. While still in the process of acquiring a full banking license, the startup has implemented a hybrid onboarding system that manually validates Know-Your-Customer (KYC) compliance to ensure regulatory alignment.
“We have decided at the very beginning not to do everything automatic by validating KYC for our users and talking about licenses, we are currently looking forward to having a license,” Nengwe added.
The company has ambitious plans to expand its service offering over the next five years, with goals that include rolling out lending products and broader digital banking tools tailored to the region’s underserved population.
AfricArena CEO Christophe Viarnaud commended PaySika’s achievement; “PaySika’s win in a country of fintechs is no small achievement. The startup represents bold, scalable ideas that Africa requires to break down traditional barriers.”
As mobile-first financial services gain momentum across Africa, PaySika’s win highlights the growing role of localized, digital-native solutions in closing the continent’s financial inclusion gap.
