Kenyan fintech company HoneyCoin has raised $4.9 million in seed funding to bolster its expansion into new markets across Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
The funding round was led by Flourish Ventures, with participation from Visa Ventures, TLCom Capital, Stellar Development Foundation, Lava, Musha Ventures, 4DX Ventures, Antler, and individual investors.
Founded in 2020, HoneyCoin has built a stablecoin-powered payment platform that enables businesses and individuals to move money across borders in hours rather than days.
The company connects directly with banks, mobile money networks, and global payment partners, aiming to lower settlement costs while improving transaction speed.
The Nairobi-based startup processes over $150 million in monthly transactions and serves millions of end users across 45+ countries. Its infrastructure supports payment collection, real-time money transfers via stablecoins and traditional rails, and issuance of bank accounts, debit cards, and wallets. Clients include high-growth businesses and fintechs such as Cedar Money, TerraPay, and Jiji.
“HoneyCoin is tackling real-world challenges in cross-border payments and financial access across Africa,” said Cuy Sheffield, head of Crypto at Visa. “It’s a strong example of how stablecoins can unlock more efficient and inclusive payment solutions in emerging markets.”
Founder and CEO David Nandwa said the company has been profitable for two years and intends to use the new capital to secure additional licences, expand into Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda, and Francophone Africa, and launch new products.
These will include a Visa-backed stablecoin debit card, a cross-border liquidity solution for corporates in partnership with Interswitch, and a banking-as-a-service platform in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania.
Efayomi Carr, principal at Flourish Ventures, noted: “We first backed HoneyCoin in 2021 based on David’s technical expertise and regulatory vision. Since then, he’s built a licensed, profitable, and high-growth infrastructure platform powering nearly 300 financial institutions and processing billions in transactions annually.
“This follow-on investment reflects our deep confidence in HoneyCoin’s results to date and potential to lead the next generation of compliant, blockchain-enabled finance across Africa.”
HoneyCoin holds multiple licences, including in Canada, the US, Europe, and key African jurisdictions, with direct partnerships with banks, mobile operators, and payment providers. The company claims its B2B settlement volumes are growing 16% month-on-month, while consumer activity through its Peer app is rising by 5% monthly.
According to Nandwa, “Our mission is to build the operating system for money; how it’s moved, held, and collected, regardless of medium or geography—just like Apple redefined computing. This raise enables us to lead that transformation, across Africa and other global markets.”
