Tanzania's Nala Secures $40M to Revolutionize African Payments Infrastructure 🇹🇿
#fintech
#payments
#b2b
#remittances
Nala, the Tanzanian fintech startup, has secured $40 million in Series A funding led by Acrew Capital, marking a significant milestone in its mission to transform the African payments landscape. As Nala expands its B2B payments platform, Rafiki, it aims to tackle long-standing remittance challenges, ensuring seamless and cost-effective cross-border transactions. This funding surge positions Nala as a key player in Africa’s burgeoning fintech sector.
Nala, a Tanzanian fintech startup renowned for its affordable money transfer services, has raised $40 million in a Series A round led by Acrew Capital, with contributions from DST Global, Norrsken22, and notable angel investors Ryan King and Vlad Tenev. This oversubscribed funding round highlights investor confidence in Nala’s vision and growth potential.
- Expanding Footprints: Initially focused on remittance services, Nala’s consumer app enables money transfers across 249 banks and 26 mobile money services in 11 African markets. The integration with Kenya's M-Pesa allows users to pay local bills directly into mobile wallets, leveraging legacy mobile money infrastructure.
- B2B Payments Platform - Rafiki: In March 2024, Nala launched Rafiki, integrating directly with banks and mobile money providers to address remittance challenges. Rafiki aims to empower global businesses to trade more effectively with Africa by facilitating seamless cross-border payments.
- Growth Projections: The World Bank projects a 1.5% growth in remittance flows to sub-Saharan Africa in 2024, reaching $54 billion. Nala plans to expand Rafiki to emerging markets in East Asia, the Pacific, South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, aligning with these growth trends.
- Reducing Costs: The global average cost of sending $200 is 6.4%, while digital remittances are comparatively cheaper at 5%. Nala focuses on reducing transaction costs and enhancing reliability to attract a larger user base and gain a competitive edge over traditional platforms.
- Scaling Operations: Founder and CEO Benjamin Fernandes emphasizes reinvesting the new funds to enhance infrastructure and ensure reliable, low-cost payments. Recent strategic hires from Wise and Currency Cloud bring valuable expertise to support Nala’s expansion.
- Industry Impact: Nala’s success underscores the potential of African fintechs to innovate and address market challenges. By building its payment rails and integrating directly with financial institutions, Nala sets a new standard for reliability and cost efficiency in digital payments, inspiring similar strategies across the fintech industry.
Nala’s innovative approach and robust funding position it as a front-runner in Africa’s fintech landscape, poised to revolutionize cross-border payments and foster economic growth across the continent.
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