Andreessen-Backed Upstart Aims to Build Pan-African Digital Bank

San Francisco-based Branch International plans to become a pan-African digital bank as it sees a growth opportunity in online financial services on the continent.

The company, with operations in India, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana, will build its new business by acquiring microfinance lenders, founder and Chief Executive Officer Matt Flannery said in an interview. New deals, including potentially in Tanzania, will cement Branch’s position as the first fintech to buy banks in Sub-Sahara Africa, he said.

“The establishment of a true pan-African digital bank is long overdue,” Flannery said in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi. “There’s a real need for a …