Three African Fintech Companies Secure Coveted Positions on Forbes Fintech 50 List for 2026
Three prominent African-linked fintech companies—Esusu, NALA, and Tala—have achieved a significant milestone by being named to the prestigious Forbes Fintech 50 list for 2026. This annual compilation highlights the world's most innovative private fintech firms that are revolutionizing digital payments, remittances, lending, embedded finance, and financial inclusion.
Esusu: Transforming Rent Payments into Credit Building Opportunities
Co-founded by Nigerian-American entrepreneur Abbey Wemimo, Esusu addresses a critical gap in the financial system. The company observed that millions of tenants consistently pay rent on time, yet these payments rarely contribute to their credit scores. In the United States, credit scores are essential for accessing mortgages, car loans, and affordable financing, leaving many without credit history excluded from mainstream financial services.
Esusu developed a platform that reports on-time rent payments to major credit bureaus, enabling renters to build credit without incurring additional debt. By partnering directly with property managers, the company integrated its services into thousands of residential buildings across the country, scaling rapidly.
Key achievements of Esusu include:
- Serving more than 2.5 million renters
- Generating billions of dollars in rental data reporting
- Contributing to measurable increases in users' credit scores
- Raising over $130 million in venture funding
- Achieving unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion
These accomplishments translate into tangible benefits for users, such as lower interest rates, mortgage approvals, and access to affordable financing, demonstrating how routine payments can create long-term financial leverage.
NALA: Profitable Remittance Platform Connecting Africa to Global Markets
Founded by Tanzanian entrepreneur Benjamin Fernandes, NALA began as a domestic payments application in Tanzania before pivoting to cross-border remittances. Recognizing the substantial annual remittance flows into African countries—amounting to tens of billions of pounds—NALA focused on reducing transaction fees and increasing transparency for diaspora communities in the United Kingdom and the United States.
NALA's strategic shift has yielded impressive results:
- Serving over 500,000 customers globally
- Processing hundreds of millions of dollars in annual transaction volume
- Raising more than $50 million in funding
- Achieving profitability, a notable feat in the fintech sector
The practical impact is substantial: customers sending regular remittances save significant amounts on fees, with cumulative economic benefits across hundreds of thousands of users. NALA's combination of growth, operational discipline, and sustainable revenue generation made it a strong candidate for the Forbes Fintech 50 list.
Tala: Expanding Credit Access Through Innovative Digital Lending
Tala, founded by Shivani Siroya, focuses on providing credit access in emerging markets where traditional banking infrastructure is limited. The company entered Kenya during a period of rising smartphone adoption and developed alternative credit scoring models using mobile data and behavioral signals to assess risk, enabling quick disbursement of small loans through a mobile application.
Tala's global expansion and impact include:
- Serving more than 8 million customers across Kenya, India, Mexico, and the Philippines
- Disbursing over $4 billion in loans
- Raising more than $350 million in venture capital
This scale represents millions of transactions supporting small traders, micro-entrepreneurs, and households managing financial gaps. Tala's longevity, capital efficiency, and operational resilience—demonstrated through robust underwriting systems and sustained international growth—positioned it favorably for Forbes recognition.
Criteria for Forbes Fintech 50 Selection
To qualify for the Forbes Fintech 50 list, companies must demonstrate:
- Substantial revenue growth
- Strong customer adoption
- Market influence
- Clear competitive differentiation
- Sustainable financial models
Collectively, Esusu, NALA, and Tala serve more than 11 million customers, have processed or disbursed billions in financial transactions, and have raised nearly half a billion dollars in combined capital. Beyond these impressive statistics, their real-world impact—enabling renters to qualify for mortgages, families to receive more remittance funds, and small traders to secure working capital—underscores the blend of scale, sustainability, and social contribution that earned them a place on this prestigious list.
