Kenyan Fintech Start-up Patika Backed By Y Combinator

Kenyan fintech start-up, Patika has been accepted into the Y Combinator S22 batch. The Y Combinator is the most prestigious start-up accelerator in the world and has backed some of the most impactful companies like Airbnb, Coinbase and Dropbox.

Co-founded by Phelix Juma and Sidney Rema, Patika was set up to help small businesses in Africa to track customer debt, facilitate repayments, and manage their cash flow. Without this kind of technology, small businesses in the continent result to using pen and paper to record and track customer data which is ineffective and time-consuming.

Lacking a platform to record and be on track with their financial transactions can cost these businesses a lot over time. For instance, Patika reports that up to 60 per cent of debts in small businesses is paid late and these businesses lose as much as $2,000 a year to non-payments.

Patika is automating the previously manual processes like phone call-based repayment reminders, billing, payments, and reconciliations with a vision to grow into a full-stack neo-bank for Africa’s small businesses.

Given that it is in its early stages, Patika currently has a small-sized staff but they are tipped to grow in the future, especially after being backed by Y Combinator.

Phelix Juma is a co-founder at Patika and also serves as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO). He trained as an Information Engineer but also has a background in banking, payments integration, and data science.

According to Phelix, Patika is on a journey to build the next Neo-bank for small businesses in Africa.

The start-up’s CEO and co-founder Rema, on the other hand, trained as a Medical Doctor. However, Sidney has a background in banking and software development. Both founders believe in the mission which is building the next neo-bank for small businesses in Africa.

For more information on what is happening in the African Fintech space, join us for the dx5 Africa Fintech Summit 2022.