Anchor, a Nigerian embedded finance platform, launches On Deck to educate Africans on fintech

As the drive to make financial services accessible, efficient, and integrated in Nigeria continues, traditional financial companies are launching digital propositions and more fintech companies are springing up. There are currently over 200 fintech companies in Nigeria, with more existing companies adding financial services capabilities.

But as the influx of fintech startups continues, Nigerian-embedded finance platform, Anchor, grapples with a crucial question: How can they best educate the market on the full potential of fintech solutions?

“It’s easy to assume that because of the buzz around fintech, everyone understands what it entails to build and run compliant financial products but that’s not true,” Anchor CEO, Segun Adeyemi tells Bendada.com over a call. “There are different configurations for something as simple as sending money from one place to another. Sometimes we just call it banking or payment but it’s more nuanced.”

Seven months after Anchor announced its $2.4 million seed round, the startup might have an answer to that question by launching two educational initiatives – Compass and On Deck – to foster its mission of being the default platform for building and launching financial products.

Earlier this year, the company launched Compass, a monthly newsletter that provides analysis of the fintech industry. On Deck with Anchor, builds upon this initiative, with its YouTube-based series of short explainer videos on the fundamentals of fintech. The easy format of the series – a casual sit down with real-life examples and references makes it a relatable watch.

For Anchor’s Growth and Marketing Lead, Omolara Dada, the thinking behind these two initiatives was to provide different content formats for its diverse audiences which includes entrepreneurs, operators, regulators, vendors and investors. Some people prefer reading to watching videos and vice versa. 

“The way we think about it is that On Deck videos are introductory explainers on fintech while Compass provides information to help people navigate the financial services space,” Omolara says.

The fundamental topics to be featured in On Deck cut across Banking as a service, embedded finance, regulations, compliance, different roles in fintech, and more. Over time, Omolara says they will expand to subjects that aren’t common but fundamental to understanding and participating in the fintech space. 

These initiatives are a step in the right direction for Anchor, which already powers over 70 companies including Bujeti, Waza, Spark, Cardtonic, Lifebank, Zit.ng and many more. 

Building on its outstanding performance in 2023 – processing over $450 million transaction volume – Anchor believes educating the public about financial literacy remains paramount to ensuring continued growth and financial inclusion.

“The big issue I’ve always seen is that people underestimate compliance and responsibility. We’ve had cases of people wanting to operate virtual accounts and not go through the necessary compliance hurdles,” Adeyemi explains. “My response is typically to remind them that this is a regulated industry that requires a deliberate approach because other people’s money is involved.”

Alongside educating its audience, the team at Anchor is neck-deep in building out its platform capabilities. Later this year, the company will be launching its local card issuance feature and credit infrastructure. In the near future, Adeyemi says people should watch out for its Global services offering, which gives African businesses access to USD rails.

"We want to empower individuals to build their confidence and expertise in fintech, by combining real-life examples and expert insights to make fintech more accessible and understandable for everyone,” Segun says.

Watch the first episode of "On Deck with Anchor" here and subscribe to the series on Anchor's YouTube channel.