Visa the world leader in digital payments, has today opened a new Innovation Studio in Nairobi, its first dedicated innovation site in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
In a statement, Visa said the new facility supports Visa’s commitment to promoting innovation and creating opportunities for clients and fintech partners to co-create market-relevant payment and commerce solutions throughout the region.
This facility will serve the sub-Saharan Africa region and joins a network of innovation centers operated by Visa since 2016, in cities including Dubai, Singapore and San Francisco.
The facility is designed to replicate the success of Visa’s flagship innovation center, One Market in San Francisco and provide Visa’s partners with access to tools that strengthen their capabilities in developing new solutions.
“Sub-Saharan Africa is a fast-growing region with a tech-savvy population. As we continue to grow digital payments adoption in the region, our aspiration is to deepen our collaboration with clients and partners in developing solutions that are designed around the unique needs of Africa,” said Aida Diarra, Senior Vice President & Head of Visa in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The studio is envisaged to help Visa clients and partners from across the continent extend their service offerings. Through a human-centered approach, the studio’s immersive environment will also provide clients and partners with tools overcome some of their biggest business challenges while uncovering new commercial avenues of opportunity
“As a brand built on technology, Visa has driven the major technology advancements that make electronic payments what they are today. We are confident that the innovation studio will continue that legacy and cement Sub-Saharan Africa’s position as a leader in creating out of the box solutions to deal with our most pressing challenges as a region,” added Diarra.