Félix Pago: WhatsApp, crypto and remittances
To power digital remittances, Félix Pago is taking a page out of WeChat's playbook.
Latest
Jia: blockchain-based lending for SMEs
Jia is connecting yield-seeking crypto to credit-starved SMEs.
Flow48: SME lending in the UAE & South Africa
Flow48 is building SME lending infrastructure from scratch.
Simma: B2C fintech in Iraq
Simma is building fintech in Iraq by prioritizing customer trust.
Abhi: earned wage access as a door to credit
Abhi is taking an alternative route towards becoming a neobank.
Konnect: Stripe for North Africa
Konnect is powering digital payments in North Africa.
Yaya: subscription for kids activities in Kazakhstan
Yaya is building an all-in-one subscription for kids activities in Kazakhstan.
Oraan: digitizing Pakistani credit unions
Oraan is extending credit to Pakistani women by digitizing credit unions.
Abwaab: democratizing learning in MENA
Abwaab is scaling up edtech in MENA.
Niko: scaling solar panels in Mexico
Shifting geopolitical currents play in solar's favor in Mexico.
Reviving the Syrian startup scene
The next steps for Syria's tech scene.
Adapting VC to emerging markets
Tailoring a venture capital fund to the market's statistical realities.
Asia
DealCart: social commerce in Pakistan
Ammar Naveed is pioneering social commerce in Pakistan.
Europe
Bibak: building the circular economy in France
Lucas Graffan is eliminating single-use plastic in Europe.
Opinion
The RO's 2024 debrief
The 5 major themes from The Realistic Optimist's 2024 coverage.
LATAM
Noh: banking couples in Brazil
Ana Zucato is building a modern banking experience for couples in Brazil.
LATAM
QuickCart: Jamaica's superapp
Monique Powell is building the "Rappi for the Caribbean".
FinTech
Nodem: liquidity for emerging market VCs
Alex Branton's new fund tackles EM VCs' liquidity clog.
Logistics
Cargon: Flexport for Central Asia
Niko Turabelidze is building the "Flexport for Central Asia".
MENA
Keyper: proptech in the UAE
You've heard of BNPL. Walid Shihabi is bringing that concept to the property rental space.
LATAM
Yummy: Venezuela's first superapp
Venezuela's economy has been isolated for a while. Vicente Zavarce is serving the resulting digitally-virgin verticals.
Asia
Veda: B2B edtech in Nepal
Nepalese parents complained about their communications with their kids' schools. Nirdesh Dwa built a solution.
Asia
BusCaro: reinventing commuting in Pakistan
Airlift and Swvl failed at bus-hailing in Pakistan. Maha Shahzad thinks she can make it work.
MENA
Little Thinking Minds: edtech in MENA
Faced with the lack of educational content for kids in Arabic, Rama Kayyali took matters into her own hands.