Cisco Foundation and FINCA Ventures collaborate with Affinity Africa to drive financial inclusion and literacy in Ghana
Accra, Ghana – 16 February 2026. Affinity Africa, Ghana’s leading digital banking platform, has joined forces, for the second time, with the Cisco Foundation and FINCA Ventures through a program aimed at advancing financial resilience across Africa. This funding is designed to support the acceleration of financial resilience across Africa by expanding Affinity’s financial education initiatives and increasing access to fair, digital financial services for underserved communities.
The collaboration focuses on empowering women, informal workers, and those previously excluded from the formal financial system. By leveraging targeted funding and technical assistance, the program enables social enterprises like Affinity to scale sustainable, community-focused solutions that bridge critical gaps in finance and technology.
Affinity is one of Ghana’s fastest-growing digital banking platforms, now serving more than 125,000 customers nationwide — 65% of whom were previously unbanked and 60% are women. After pioneering Ghana’s first fully digital onboarding (eKYC) and developing proprietary underwriting technology, Affinity is enabling fair, data-driven lending for informal workers who have long been excluded from the formal financial system, while deepening financial literacy and inclusion across the country.
The grant will support Affinity’s capacity to scale its impact, providing more individuals and small businesses with the tools to build credit and plan for their financial future. This initiative reinforces a shared commitment to sustainable growth and the expansion of formal banking to those in the informal sector.
Charu Adesnik, Executive Director, Cisco Foundation said, “The Cisco Foundation is dedicated to investing in social enterprises that drive tangible progress and close critical gaps in opportunity. Affinity Africa’s success in reaching the unbanked—particularly women and informal workers—demonstrates the transformative power of inclusive technology. We are proud to support their mission to deepen financial literacy and build a more equitable financial ecosystem in Ghana.”
“This recognition represents a strong vote of confidence in Affinity’s model and impact to date, and in our role in reshaping how financial services reach those historically excluded. With the support of the Cisco Foundation and FINCA Ventures, we’ll continue strengthening our impact in Ghana, expanding access to fair, transparent, and digitally enabled financial solutions for all,” said Tarek Mouganie, Founder and Group CEO of Affinity Africa.
Since its launch, Affinity has raised a total of US$13 million in funding to bridge the financial services gap in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its branchless, low-cost model offers 24/7 banking services, including savings, payments, and loans, specifically tailored to users with varying levels of digital literacy.
About Affinity Africa
Affinity Africa is a digital banking platform founded by Tarek Mouganie and headquartered in Ghana, dedicated to providing affordable and accessible financial services to underserved and unbanked individuals, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Powered by a proprietary technology platform, a branchless business model, and robust credit underwriting capabilities, Affinity offers 24/7 banking services tailored to both digital natives and users with limited digital literacy, driving financial inclusion at a low cost. With no monthly fees or transaction charges, Affinity is among the most affordable and cost-effective players in the region.
The company was founded in 2022, when it received a Savings and Loans license from the Bank of Ghana, the first of its kind granted in over 10 years, and officially launched operations in October 2024, following the regulatory approval of its mobile app. Today, it offers a comprehensive suite of products, including personal and SME accounts, savings, payments, transfers to banks and mobile money wallets, investments, and loans.
Affinity has made a profound impact in the region. It has empowered a large underserved population with easy-to-use affordable banking services, and it has financially included thousands of Africans into the system, who had been previously neglected by traditional banks: 65% of Affinity’s customers never had access to formal banking products and 60% are women operating in the informal sector.
To date, Affinity has raised US$13 million in total funding, including an US$8 million Seed Round, to support its mission to bridge the financial services gap across Sub-Saharan Africa.
More information at: https://www.affinityafrica.com
About Cisco Foundation
Cisco Foundation envisions a world of equitable, resilient and empowered communities where everyone can reach their full potential and thrive. Its mission is to partner with organizations to create and scale innovative digital solutions that promote a healthy planet and advance the wellbeing and self-reliance of underserved communities globally. Since 1997, it has harnessed the breadth of offerings from Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO), the worldwide technology leader helping revolutionize the way organizations connect and protect in the AI era, for strategic guidance, catalytic funding, technology donations and support.Discover more about Cisco Foundation on its website and follow us on X at @Cisco.
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