Wekeza

What Wekeza does

Wekeza is a Pan-African fintech platform that combines multilingual financial education with U.S. securities investing access through a mobile application, targeting the African diaspora and other historically excluded communities. The company was founded by Sabrina Lamb, who previously launched WorldofMoney in 2005 as a nonprofit youth financial education program graduating over 7,000 young people through 120 hours of immersive curriculum. The Wekeza commercial app launched in 2024 as the first Black woman-owned global investing app, offering access to 3,000+ U.S. stocks and ETFs through fractional shares at $1/month platform access plus $1 per trade. Financial education is delivered in 11 languages (English, French, Hausa, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, Wolof, Yoruba, Zulu, and Twi), with 17 lessons covering investing basics, stock analysis, portfolio building, and risk management.

The platform's technology stack includes a mobile-first investing application (iOS and Android), an AI-powered financial assistant (Ask Wekeza AI), a global financial news aggregator (Wekeza Global Financial News Pulse), a learning management system (Wekeza Learn), and a youth education suite (Young Moguls, Rising Moguls, Super Moguls, Moguls). Brokerage execution, custody, and regulatory compliance are handled through SEC/FINRA-registered broker-dealer partner ChoiceTrade with SIPC protection. Revenue is generated through subscription fees ($1/month adult, $2.99/month youth), per-trade transaction fees ($1/trade), and institutional licensing for schools, employers, and governments with custom curriculum and white-label options. The company is Techstars-backed, maintains partnerships with Mastercard, Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, and multiple school districts, and has plans to expand investment services into select African countries pending regulatory approval.

Name

Wekeza

Legal name

Wekeza Holdings, Inc.

Website

https://wekeza.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Wekeza is a Pan-African fintech platform founded by Sabrina Lamb that combines multilingual financial education (11 languages) with U.S. stock market access via a mobile app, targeting the African diaspora and other communities historically excluded from investing through fractional shares starting at $1.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Investment Platform

NAICS

Securities and Commodity Contracts Intermediation and Brokerage (5231), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940)

SIC

Security Brokers, Dealers & Flotation Companies (6211), Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Brokerage & Self-Directed Investing Platforms (FSAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Execution-Only / Self-Directed Investing Platforms (FSAAAAAI), FX Conversion, Pricing & Hedging Infrastructure (Treasury/Rate Engines) (FSAGAKAG)

Keywords

• Mobile investing platform
• Multilingual financial education
• Fractional share trading
• African diaspora fintech
• Youth financial literacy

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Platform Subscription: $1/month subscription for platform access including financial education, portfolio tracking, and AI assistant. Recurring monthly revenue model.
2. Per-Trade Transaction Fees: $1 per trade fee for stock and ETF transactions. Users can invest in 3,000+ U.S. stocks and 1,000+ ETFs with fractional share capability.
3. Youth Financial Education Programs: Youth programs for teens at $2.99/month, providing age-appropriate financial literacy education.
4. Institutional/Bulk Licensing: Schools, employers, and financial institutions receive customized curriculum programs with bulk pricing and white-label options.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Wekeza is a Pan-African fintech platform that provides multilingual financial education and access to U.S. stock and ETF investing through a mobile application. Consumers can invest in 3,000+ U.S. stocks and ETFs starting at $1/month with $1/trade commissions and fractional share capability, while accessing 17 financial lessons in up to 11 languages. The platform also serves schools, employers, and governments with custom curricula, bulk licensing, and white-label options, with brokerage services delivered through SEC/FINRA-registered partner ChoiceTrade.

Product overview

Wekeza is a Pan-African fintech platform offering a dual-component product: (1) Wekeza Invest, a mobile investing app providing access to 3,000+ U.S. stocks and ETFs starting at $1/month with fractional shares, and (2) Wekeza Learn, a multilingual financial education platform with 17 lessons in 8 languages. The ecosystem also includes Ask Wekeza AI (AI assistant), Planet Wekeza Podcast, Wekeza Global Financial News Pulse, and youth financial education programs (Young Moguls, Rising Moguls, Super Moguls, Moguls). The company originated from the World of Money youth education program. All investing services are provided through SEC/FINRA-registered broker-dealer partner ChoiceTrade.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Planet Wekeza: A financial literacy podcast hosted by Wekeza CEO Sabrina Lamb featuring conversations with financial experts and historians about generational wealth, saving, investing, entrepreneurship, and closing the racial wealth gap.
• World of Money
• Wekeza Global Financial News Pulse
• Ask Wekeza AI

Products and services

• Wekeza Invest (Mobile App) Mobile investing application enabling users to invest in 3,000+ U.S. stocks and 1,000+ ETFs starting at $1 per month with a $1 per-trade commission and fractional share capability. Available on iOS App Store and Google Play, with brokerage services routed through SEC/FINRA-registered partner ChoiceTrade and SIPC-protected custody.
• Wekeza Learn (Adult Financial Education) Multilingual financial education platform offering 17 self-paced lessons in 8 languages covering investing basics, stock analysis, portfolio building, budgeting, credit building, and risk management. Free to access with no credit card required, delivering culturally relevant lessons without financial jargon to diaspora adults.
• Youth Financial Education Programs (Young Moguls, Rising Moguls, Super Moguls, Moguls) Age-appropriate financial literacy curriculum for youth delivered in four age-tiered programs (Young Moguls, Rising Moguls, Super Moguls, and Moguls), each addressing financial skills appropriate for the developmental stage. Available at $2.99 per month for teens and grounded in the WorldofMoney program's culturally relevant curriculum aligned with ELA and Common Core standards.
• Institutional Financial Education Licensing (Schools, Employers, Governments) Customized financial literacy programs for schools, employers, financial institutions, and governments, available through multi-year contracts with bulk pricing and white-label options. Includes teacher curriculum plus parent workshops aligned with ELA and Common Core standards, financial wellness programs for employees, and city-wide financial empowerment initiatives for municipalities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 97.6% customer satisfaction rating
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ChoiceTradecoreTechnology or IntegrationSEC/FINRA-registered broker-dealer providing U.S. securities products and services. Member of SIPC, providing investor protection up to $500,000. Handles all brokerage services including trade execution, custody, and regulatory compliance.
• MastercardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal payments leader partnering with Wekeza for financial services and payment capabilities. Supports Wekeza's mission to expand financial access to underserved communities.
• Yale Black Venture SummitminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEntrepreneurship platform providing recognition and connections for Black founders through Yale's ecosystem.
• HBCU Founders InitiativeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporting HBCU entrepreneurs with resources and connections to help scale their ventures.
• Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHistorically Black sorority partnering to advance financial empowerment initiatives within the African diaspora community.
• World of MoneycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSister organization with 120 hours of immersive, culturally grounded financial education. Graduated over 7,000 young people since 2005. Natural pathway for youth graduating into Wekeza's investing platform.
• IQRA Bilingual Academy (Senegal)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDakar, Senegal school implementing Wekeza's World of Money curriculum district-wide across 31 nations with faith-based financial education aligned with 'Faith, Discipline, Excellence' principles.
• Harlem Community School District 5coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNYC district implementing Wekeza financial literacy programs district-wide with student engagement and pitch competition sponsorship.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Stash: Self-directed investing platform combining brokerage access with financial education content and subscription pricing tiers. Directly comparable hybrid education-plus-investing model aimed at retail investors who are new to markets — overlapping with Wekeza's mission of inclusive investing.
• Greenlight: Family fintech offering investing for kids and teens with a strong financial literacy curriculum. Comparable youth-first education and investing combination, although Greenlight is U.S.-only and English-centric versus Wekeza's multilingual, diaspora-focused approach.
• Acorns: Micro-investing app that rounds up purchases and invests spare change into diversified portfolios. Closely comparable consumer self-directed investing model with education and low minimums, although Wekeza differentiates on multilingual, diaspora-focused content and U.S. stock-level trading.
• Public.com: Self-directed investing platform offering fractional shares in U.S. stocks and ETFs with social/community features. Closely matches Wekeza's fractional-share investing product at low cost, and similarly emphasizes community engagement and accessible investing.

Emerging players

• Zogo Finance: Financial literacy app partnering with banks and credit unions to deliver gamified education. Adjacent to Wekeza's Wekeza Learn product and institutional partnerships, though Zogo is primarily an education provider rather than a brokerage.
• Tyke Invest: Early-stage investing app focused on Black and Latino investors with educational content. Closely comparable mission of building wealth in underserved communities, though smaller scale and less multilingual than Wekeza.

Regional players

• Bamboo: Nigerian-founded platform enabling Nigerians and the diaspora to invest in U.S. stocks starting from small amounts. Comparable fractional U.S. share investing + diaspora target, though currently focused on Nigeria rather than the multi-country Pan-African model Wekeza is pursuing.
• Chaka: Nigerian digital brokerage giving local investors access to U.S. and Nigerian equities. Directly comparable cross-border investing model but with a Nigeria-anchored customer base; overlaps with Wekeza's planned Pan-African expansion and shared diaspora use case.

Broad incumbents

• Robinhood: Mass-market self-directed brokerage offering commission-free U.S. stock and ETF trading with fractional shares. Overlaps with Wekeza's core product on price-sensitive U.S. retail investing, but does not specialize in multilingual, culturally tailored, or diaspora-focused experiences.
• Charles Schwab: Large incumbent brokerage and wealth manager with comprehensive U.S. equity trading and education resources. Provides the broader competitive backdrop against which niche self-directed platforms like Wekeza compete, but lacks diaspora specialization or fractional low-barrier onboarding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wekeza
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@Wekeza
• Facebookfacebook.com/WekezaInvest
• Instagraminstagram.com/wekezainc

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Wekeza