- Nala: Remittance startup expanding to B2B payments.
- Series A Funding: Raised $40 million, one of the largest in Africa.
- Investors: Led by Acrew Capital; includes DST Global, Norrsken22, HOF Capital, Amplo, NYCA Partners, and angel investors Ryan King (Chime) and Vlad Tenev (Robinhood).
- CEO Benjamin Fernandes: Funds to scale remittance services and expand to Asia and Latin America.
- Current Operations: Allows money transfers from E.U., U.K., and U.S. to 249 banks and 26 mobile money services across 11 African markets.
- B2B Platform: Launched Rafiki to serve global businesses making payments in and out of Africa.
- User Requests: Prompted addition of payment capabilities for a complete control of money.
- Revenue: Consumer business accounts for over 90%; Nala is profitable and nearing 500,000 customers.
- Rafiki Clients: Early clients include TransferGo and global payroll providers like Cadana.
- Remittance Growth: World Bank predicts growth in remittance flows to sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
- Cost of Remittance: Average global cost is 6.4% for sending $200; digital remittances are cheaper at 5%.
- Acrew Capital’s View: Nala poised to lead in remittances for next-gen Africans, who will account for 35% of global youth by 2050.
