Visa has partnered with Nest, early-stage venture capital firm and global innovation accelerator to launch the Visa Bootcamp, an intensive 4-day FinTech bootcamp. The first-of-its-kind programme in Africa is designed to accelerate innovation from across Africa and the world shaping the future of finance for consumers and businesses across the continent.

The Visa Bootcamp will power collaboration opportunities between early stage technology companies, Visa and financial institutions from across Africa for potential integration.

Nest’s mentors will join mentors from Visa’s teams in Kenya, South Africa, the UAE and across the world to coach and share insights with selected participants will have the opportunity to work alongside leaders in the financial services industry, integrate with Visa APIs, access tools and Nest’s resources to scale their startup through Africa and beyond.

The Visa Bootcamp’s intensive content is designed to fuel all early-stage FinTech companies with a vision to revolutionise financial services for Africans with financial inclusion and peer-to-peer or merchant payments being of specific focus to this programme.

Aaron Fu, Nest’s Managing Partner for Africa said, “We are very excited to be working with Visa to deliver this bootcamp in Nairobi. Our partnership with Visa signals Nest’s continued commitment to give African startups access to funding, mentorship and its global network. Through this partnership with Visa we will together be equipped to offer stronger tangible tools to entrepreneurs, both from Africa and around the world, who want to make a difference to banking and payments for people and businesses across the continent. We will also be leveraging Nest’s global capabilities to elevate Visa Bootcamp participants start-ups and give them further opportunity to grow and scale.

While commenting on the partnership with Nest, Jabu Basopo, Visa’s General Manager for Southern and East Africa, said, “At its core, Visa is a technology company and we are constantly evolving to provide immersive, collaborative and localized experiences for our clients and partners in this region. We think the partnership with NEST is an ideal one that brings our collaborative approach to life through the FinTech bootcamp.”

Applications open on 5th December 2016 and close at midnight on 10th February 2017. The 4-day programme commences on 24th March 2017 in Nairobi at Mettā, and concludes with a Demo Day, scheduled for 27th March 2017.