TANZANIA—Nala, a payments company, has raised US$40 million in Series A funding to expand globally and enhance its payment systems on the continent.

Headquartered in Kenya, Nala is a fintech startup that allows its users to transfer money from the UK, US, and EU to Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ghana.

Founded by CEO Benjamin Fernandes in 2017 to offer local money transfers in Tanzania, NALA pivoted in 2021 to enable foreign remittances. 

NALA’s consumer app allows individuals in the EU, UK, and US to transfer money to 249 banks and 26 mobile money services across 11 African markets. 

In regions where NALA has integrated with mobile money services, such as Kenya’s M-Pesa, users can directly pay bills into local mobile wallets.

Nala stated that it would bbuildRafiki to establish a reliable payment infrastructure for the following billion users. Launched in March 2024, Rafiki will manage treasury directly, improve error mapping, reduce costs, and streamline payouts and collections, similar to dLocal’s impact in Latin America and AirWallex’s in Asia.

The new capital injection follows a US$10 million seed round in 2022. The company said that laying down its payment rails will enhance the reliability of its payment systems in Africa.

Nala received funding from several global investment firms, such as San Francisco-based VC firms Acrew Capital, DST Global, and Amplo, as well as other angel investors.

In a post on X, Nala Founder and CEO Benjamin Fernandes said the new funding will accelerate the company’s global ambitions by focusing on expanding its Nala Money App and building its business-to-business (B2B) payment platform, Rafiki API.

It will enable us to go beyond remittances and extend our reach beyond Africa, building a robust payments ecosystem. We’re reinvesting this money to enhance our infrastructure, ensuring reliable, low-cost payments for all,” Fernandes said.

“With the launch of our payment rails and the expansion of our B2B platform Rafiki, we’re not just talking about change – we’re building it. We’ve got some bold, ambitious plans, give us a couple of years.” 

Fernandes said that the Series A funding came after the company’s revenue increased tenfold in the past 12 months.

For the first time, we became profitable and cash flow positive. Over the past 20 months, our transaction volume has increased 34 times,” he explained.

NALA has had many successes over the last couple of months, but not without some challenges. It currently serves nearly 500,000 customers worldwide and has increased its transaction volume by 34 times over the last 20 months. Revenue has grown tenfold in the last 12 months, and it just became profitable and cash flow positive.

In March 2023, the company, after being granted a Payment Service Provider (PSP) license, pledged a US$1 million investment to create new jobs in Tanzania and support product innovation.

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