Afriex Secures $1.2M Seed Funding to Scales its Payments Service Across Africa

Afriex, a Y Combinator-backed fintech company, has raised US$1.2 million in seed funding to expand its payments and remittances network across Africa.

Founded in late 2019, Afriex offers Africans at home and abroad instant, zero-fee transfers. Users can deposit cash in the app, transfer money to a bank account or another user, and withdraw money from a linked bank or debit card using the startup’s platform.

Sending money internationally is also time-consuming and costly. Afriex solves this problem by purchasing cryptocurrency in one country and selling it in another, resulting in better exchange rates and quicker transactions than banks or other payment services.

The network, which is based in the United States and Nigeria, is currently processing millions of dollars in payments each month for thousands of Africans in the diaspora and on the continent, and is expected to grow 20-fold by 2020. Following its participation in Y Combinator’s Summer 2020 Cohort, it was able to secure a US$1.2 million seed funding round, paving the way for even faster growth.

https://atomic-temporary-203083154.wpcomstaging.com/2021/03/19/kwik-delivery-raises-1-7-million-in-series-a-funding-round/

The round was led by Launch Africa and includes Y Combinator, Future Africa, Brightstone VC, Russell Smith, Mandela Dixon, Processus Capital, Uncommon Ventures, A$AP Capital, Furquan Rydhan, Precursor Ventures, Ivernet Holdings, and Andrea Vaccari, as well as the SoftBank Opportunity Fund, Future Africa, Brightstone VC, Russell Smith, Mandela Dixon, Processus Capital, Uncommon Ventures, A$AP Capital, Furquan Ry

Afriex, which was previously only operated in the United States and Nigeria, has now grown into three new countries, namely Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, and will use the investment to grow its team and enter new markets, accelerating its vision of being the easiest and cheapest way to send money to everyone in the world.

The company’s founder and CEO, Temitope Alabi, said it had always been his dream as an immigrant child growing up in the United States to be able to make a large-scale impact.

“We would go back home every two years and even then I would always take note of what was missing and what could be improved,” he said.