ROSEBANK , JOHANNESBURG , GAUTENG , SOUTH AFRICA

TECHNOLOGY

JOHANNESBURG , SOUTH AFRICA

Number of fintechs : 46 South Africa is not the world ’ s biggest fintech hub but with an emerging market for financial technology , it is soon becoming a rising star . However , the right to be called South Africa ’ s fintech capital is hotly contested between Cape Town , which has 45 fintechs , and Johannesburg with 46 . There are a number of signs that suggest Johannesburg could nurture the bigger fintech ecosystem in the long term – and it ’ s not just that one extra fintech .

For a start , Johannesburg is much betterplaced for the main regulators , including the Financial Sector Conduct Authority ( FSCA ) and the Prudential Authority of South Africa ( PA ), both of which are located in Pretoria . It is also home to some of the country ’ s biggest homegrown fintechs including technology company Prosperian Capital and SaaS solutions provider MIP Holdings . Insurtech startup Pineapple , which last year raised $ 5mn in Series A funding , are also based in the city .

With more than 5.5mn people , Johannesburg is South Africa ’ s largest city . This is underscored by the city ’ s position as the economic and financial hub of South Africa : the Johannesburg Stock Exchange is the largest in the country and the city is home to many of South Africa ’ s largest banks . Between them , the city ’ s two universities – the University of Witwatersrand and University of Johannesburg – have more than 90,000 students enrolled .

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