Happy Pay wins at South African Startup Awards

Fintech company Happy Pay has won the People’s Choice award at the South African Startup Awards, hosted by Startup Club ZA in Cape Town.

Happy Pay is a South African BNPL provider that offers an interest-free and deposit-free credit solution to its users, and earned the Startup Awards accolade for “Empowering South African consumers with zero-cost credit”.

“At Happy Pay, our mission is to empower as many South Africans as possible with zero-cost credit, helping them thrive financially without the burden of high-interest debt,” said Happy Pay.

“That’s why winning the People’s Choice Award at the South African Startup Awards feels extra special.”

$1.8 million funding round

The award for Happy Pay follows the company recently securing $1.8 million (R32 million) in pre-seed funding.

The funding was secured from several notable venture capital investment firms, including co-lead investors E4E Africa and 4Di Capital, with participation from Launch Africa, Equitable Ventures, Felix Strategic Investment, and US-based Gaingels.

At the same time, Happy Pay revealed it had over 150,000 active users on its BNPL platform.

“Launched in 2023, Happy Pay has experienced rapid growth over the past year, attracting a 900% increase in user growth,” the company said in September.

“The surge in interest and growth of the platform is largely driven by Millennials and Gen Zs who are favouring BNPL options over traditional credit cards.”