Tanzanian Fintech Nala Secures $40M for Global Expansion and Strengthens African Payment Systems

Tanzanian payments company Nala has raised $40 million in Series A funding to fuel its global expansion and enhance its payment systems across Africa. The Kenya-based fintech, which facilitates money transfers from the UK, US, and EU to countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ghana, will use the funds to build its own payment infrastructure, improving reliability across the continent.

This latest investment follows a $10 million seed round in 2022 and was led by global firms such as Acrew Capital, DST Global, and Amplo, along with several angel investors. Nala’s Founder and CEO, Benjamin Fernandes, emphasized how the capital will fast-track the company’s expansion efforts, focusing on its Nala Money App and its B2B platform, Rafiki API.

“The funding allows us to move beyond remittances, scaling globally while strengthening our payment ecosystem in Africa,” said Fernandes. “With our own payment rails and the growth of Rafiki, we’re not just talking about change – we’re building it.”

Nala’s rapid growth has seen its revenue increase tenfold over the past year, making the company profitable for the first time. Serving nearly 500,000 customers worldwide, Nala has expanded its team from seven to almost 100 employees. The company also committed $1 million to job creation and product innovation in Tanzania after securing a Payment Service Provider (PSP) license earlier this year.