Nigerian fintech company Nomba has secured a $3 million debt facility as it accelerates plans to build a larger cross-border payments network connecting African businesses with international markets.
The facility was structured through CardinalStone Finance Company Limited and will provide Nomba with additional US dollar liquidity as the company looks to grow its cross-border transaction volumes from more than $480 million per month to over $1 billion monthly.
DRC becomes a gateway for Nomba’s expansion
At the centre of Nomba’s strategy is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where the fintech is building infrastructure to facilitate trade settlements between Central Africa and Asia.
The new financing will allow Nomba to deploy additional dollar liquidity through banking relationships in Hong Kong and Singapore, with the company positioning its DRC operation as a settlement hub for businesses trading between the two regions.
Nomba currently processes more than $480 million in cross-border payments every month across its DRC operation and Canadian-licensed money service business.
The company is now targeting monthly cross-border payment volumes exceeding $1 billion.
Zambia and Uganda next on the expansion map
Nomba’s ambitions extend beyond the DRC, with Zambia and Uganda identified as its next expansion markets as it builds a wider footprint across Central and East Africa.
The expansion comes as African businesses continue to face challenges when moving money internationally, including limited access to foreign currency, fragmented payment infrastructure and lengthy settlement periods.
Nomba has spent the past 18 months developing infrastructure combining banking rails, international payment access and local market capabilities to address some of these challenges.
Nomba eyes faster Africa-Asia payments
Nomba CEO Yinka Adewale said growing international trade by African businesses was creating greater demand for financial infrastructure capable of supporting cross-border transactions.
“African businesses are trading more with the rest of the world every year, but the infrastructure to support that trade is still catching up,” Adewale said.
He added that the facility gives Nomba greater capacity to provide liquidity, open additional payment corridors and improve settlement speeds.
“We plan to keep scaling our cross-border infrastructure this year, expanding into new African markets and deepening the payment links between Africa and its trading partners in Asia.”
Another major capital raise could be coming
The $3 million facility could represent only the beginning of a significantly larger fundraising push.
Nomba is reportedly preparing to raise an additional $20 million to $50 million in the coming months to finance further expansion of its cross-border payment infrastructure. The company says its operations in both Nigeria and the DRC are profitable.
The latest financing also builds on Nomba’s previous fundraising. In 2023, the company secured $30 million in pre-Series B funding, in a round led by Base10 Partners with participation from investors including Helios Digital Ventures, Shopify, Partech and Khosla Ventures.
From Kudi to cross-border fintech player
Founded in 2017 by Yinka Adewale and Pelumi Aboluwarin, Nomba was previously known as Kudi before evolving from its earlier payments and agency banking model into a broader financial technology platform for businesses.
Today, the company provides businesses with services spanning payment collection, banking, money management and international transfers.
Its latest expansion signals an increasingly international focus for the Nigerian fintech as it looks to tackle one of Africa’s persistent financial challenges: making it easier and faster for businesses to move money across borders.
