Unlocking Africa Building a Fintech for Africa’s Street Vendors, Informal Traders and Low Income Workers with Kosta Scholiadis
Episode 199 with Kosta Scholiadis, Founder and CEO of Street Wallet, a South African fintech company empowering informal traders and street vendors to access the digital economy.
Kosta brings a wealth of entrepreneurial insight and purpose driven innovation to this conversation about financial inclusion and the digital transformation of Africa’s informal economy. Founded in Cape Town, Street Wallet emerged from the recognition that South Africa’s one million street vendors have been largely excluded from the rapidly expanding cashless ecosystem.
Kosta shares how Street Wallet’s simple yet powerful technology allows vendors to accept digital payments without needing a bank account or smartphone. He explains how the company’s interoperable platform, QR based payment system, and strategic partnerships with leading NGOs are improving financial access, increasing incomes, and building economic resilience among underserved communities.
Fresh from securing R6.2 million in funding and acquiring Digitip, a platform that enables informal workers to receive digital tips, Kosta discusses how these developments are accelerating Street Wallet’s mission to create an inclusive and accessible digital economy.
What We Discuss With Kosta
- Kosta’s journey to founding Street Wallet and the inspiration behind creating a fintech platform for South Africa’s one million informal traders.
- How Street Wallet’s low tech, high trust digital payment system is helping unbanked street vendors join the digital economy.
- The impact of Street Wallet’s R6.2 million funding round, the acquisition of Digitip.
- How partnerships with NGOs, retailers, and service providers like Plush Car Wash are scaling financial access and resilience for informal workers.
- Street Wallet’s vision for expanding across Africa and shaping the future of cashless payments and financial inclusion in the informal economy.
Did you miss my previous episode where I discuss How Climate-Resilient Greenhouses and Digital Tools Are Transforming African Farming? Make sure to check it out!
Connect with Terser:
LinkedIn - Terser Adamu
Instagram - unlockingafrica
Twitter (X) - @TerserAdamu
Connect with Kosta:
LinkedIn - Kosta Scholiadis and Street Wallet
Many of the businesses unlocking opportunities in Africa don’t do it alone. If you’d like strategic support on entering or expanding across African markets, reach out to our partners ETK Group: