African remittance startup Nala has raised $40 million, making it one of the largest Series A rounds in Africa. This funding follows a $10 million seed round in 2022.
San Francisco-based Acrew Capital led the round. Other participants included DST Global, Norrsken22, HOF Capital, and existing investors like Amplo and NYCA Partners.
Angel investors, including fintech founders Ryan King of Chime and Vlad Tenev of Robinhood, also contributed.
Nala’s founder and CEO, Benjamin Fernandes, stated that the funds will support the company’s global expansion plans. They aim to scale their remittance business to reach the Asian and Latin American markets.
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Nala’s Expansion Plans
The company allows people in the EU, UK, and US to send money across 249 banks and 26 mobile money services in 11 African markets through the Nala app. Nala has integrated with services like Kenya’s M-Pesa, enabling users to pay bills directly into local mobile wallets.
While giving his remarks, Fernandes mentioned that the decision to add payment capabilities was based on user requests for complete control of their money. Nala plans to extend these services to new markets, starting with Asia.
“This $40 million funding round marks a pivotal moment for Nala. It will enable us to go beyond remittances and extend our reach beyond Africa, building a robust payments ecosystem.
“We’re also reinvesting this money to enhance our infrastructure, ensuring reliable, low-cost payments for all. With the launch of our own 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,” .
Nala began in 2017, initially offering local money transfers in Tanzania, but shifted to foreign remittances in 2021.