In a bid to stay ahead of emerging risks, the apex bank has launched a pilot supervisory programme focused on selected Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs).

Behind this move lies a deeper concern: safeguarding the financial system from the shadows of money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation threats. With the digital asset space evolving at a rapid pace, the CBN’s initiative signals a proactive effort to understand and manage the risks shaping this new financial frontier.

The initiative, anchored on existing legal frameworks including the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 and the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act 2020, signals a more structured regulatory engagement with operators in the virtual asset ecosystem.

CBN in a statement said the pilot forms part of its broader risk-based supervisory strategy designed to “strengthen financial system stability and market integrity oversight of virtual asset-related activities within the Bank’s mandate.”

It noted that the exercise is not a shift in policy direction regarding digital assets but rather a supervisory engagement to deepen its understanding of emerging risks and operational models.

“This pilot does not alter, replace or supersede the existing regulatory framework governing virtual assets in Nigeria or the mandates of other competent authorities,” the CBN stated.

Consequently, it selected industry players for the initial phase which include Flutterwave, Paystack, KuCoin, alongside cNGN, Juicyway and KoinKoin.

The central bank noted that the programme is designed to build “a structured understanding of AML/CFT/CPF risks, business models, and operational practices across participating entities,” while also supporting firms to strengthen compliance frameworks in line with global standards.

In particular, the pilot aligns with recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force, especially around the implementation of the Travel Rule, which mandates transparency in cross-border digital asset transactions.

Participants in the pilot are expected to submit monthly compliance reports and key performance indicators, undergo detailed reviews spanning governance, customer onboarding and transaction monitoring, and demonstrate readiness to implement global compliance standards.

The apex bank further stressed that “participation in the pilot is strictly supervisory and does not confer any regulatory status, approval, licensing right, or authorisation on participating entities,” underscoring its cautious approach to the still-evolving sector.

The pilot will run in phases, with subsequent cohorts already scheduled, as the central bank intensifies efforts to close regulatory gaps and align Nigeria’s financial system with international best practices.

But then here we are in 2026, with global cross-border payments now worth well over $190 trillion a year, and the average transfer still slower and more expensive than it has any right to be.

The irony is hard to miss. You can hire a developer in Nairobi before lunch, ship goods from Shenzhen by evening, and sign a contract over WhatsApp. 

But paying that same developer, supplier, or student on time can still take days, sometimes weeks, with fees stacked along the way.

We’ve seen founders plan cash flow around bank delays, and freelancers price in losses before the money even moves. That issue shows up in rent, inventory, and missed deadlines.

What is changing is not the need to move money, but who is fixing the situation. Banks are still arguing about processes built in the 1970s. The fintechs that are indispensable in 2026 are not arguing, they are rerouting, cutting out steps, locking rates upfront, settling in minutes instead of days, and building for people whose lives already cross borders, even when their banks do not.

This is a list of fintechs that are measurably reducing expenses, time, and uncertainty in how money moves across countries.

Some do it at scale, others do it with focus, but all of them are changing outcomes.

These are the fintechs making cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and harder to ignore in 2026.

1. Grey Finance

Grey Finance earns its place on this list because it understands that the future of work is borderless, but money movement is not. 

In 2026, that gap is where we find value. Grey has built itself directly inside it. By expanding beyond Africa into Latin America and Southeast Asia, and wiring itself into local payment ecosystems through partners like dLocal, Grey is going beyond adding countries to a map. 

It is redesigning how emerging-market talent gets paid, spends, and plans across borders, without losing value to intermediaries.

What makes Grey unique is not speed alone, but its vision. The platform is built for people whose income and lives span currencies, including freelancers, remote workers, founders, and SMEs earning globally but spending locally. 

Multi-currency accounts, wallet-to-bank transfers, and transparent FX pricing are the foundation here. In markets where traditional remittance fees are still between 7 and 10%, Grey’s model materially changes results. 

Faster settlement means better cash flow. Lower fees mean real income retained. For millions of users, that difference is economic.

By the end of 2025, Grey had done the hard work, regulatory coverage across key corridors, compliance with FinCEN and FINTRAC, and infrastructure capable of supporting payments to more than 170 countries via ACH and SWIFT. 

Add a growing SME product, Grey Business, and ecosystem initiatives like its support for women-led companies, and the reason it’s among game-changing fintechs in 2026 becomes more obvious. 

Grey is building the default financial layer for a generation that no longer thinks in national terms. In 2026, that focus makes it unavoidable.

2. Oneremit

Oneremit is a game-changer precisely because it refuses to dramatise payments. In an industry obsessed with speed brags and attractive dashboards, Oneremit chose certainty. 

For African businesses trying to operate globally, that choice is more important than anything else. By 2025, the platform had already processed over $60 million in transactions, enabling SMEs in Nigeria to send money to more than 100 countries with clarity on cost, timing, and compliance. 

With long delays and guesswork known as a challenge within this market, that reliability is disruptive.

Under the leadership of Hammed Afenifere, Oneremit has focused on infrastructure rather than spectacle. The concierge model shows a deep understanding of its users, businesses that care less about interfaces and more about knowing their payments will land, cleanly and compliantly. 

In reducing multi-step banking chains into a single, controlled process, Oneremit has cut settlement times from days to minutes. Fees drop. Planning becomes possible. Growth stops being hostage to payment friction.

Looking into 2026, Oneremit’s positioning becomes even more interesting. Its investments in smart routing, compliance-first operations, and selective use of blockchain rails put it in prime position for the next phase of cross-border payments, hybrid systems where automation, stable liquidity, and regulatory confidence coexist. 

While others go after novelty, Oneremit is building products that scale quietly. In payments, quiet is not a weakness, it’s how trust compounds. And trust, in 2026, is the real currency.

3. Pay4Me (Radius)

Pay4Me is among game-changing fintechs making cross-border payments faster and cheaper in 2026 because it focuses on a category most fintechs underestimate, and that is payments that cannot afford to fail. 

Tuition deadlines, visa fees, immigration charges, these are not flexible transactions. A delay does not mean inconvenience but can mean lost admission, expired status, or derailed plans. 

Built from the lived experience of its founder, Pay4Me addresses a problem traditional banks and generic remittance apps were never designed to solve, and that’s fast, compliant, cross-border payments for global mobility.

Through specialisation in education and immigration workflows, Pay4Me has achieved what broad platforms struggle with, same-day or near-instant settlement for highly regulated, consumer-to-institution payments. 

Allowing users to pay in local currencies removes a major limitation for students across Africa, where access to foreign exchange is still constrained. The result goes beyond speed to dignity, users meet deadlines without begging banks or agents for exceptions.

By late 2025, Pay4Me had onboarded over 100,000 users, processed more than $11 million in volume, and supported payments to over 1,000 institutions worldwide. 

Backing from programmes like Techstars and Village Capital helped strengthen its infrastructure, but the main focus is its evolution into Radius, a broader financial mobility platform offering accounts, cards, and credit-building tools. 

In 2026, cross-border movement will continually increase and Pay4Me is going beyond just helping people pay fees, to becoming the financial starting point for citizens globally.

4. Juicyway

Juicyway is attacking the limitations in African cross-border payments, especially in terms of liquidity. Foreign exchange scarcity, opaque pricing, and slow settlement are not edge cases, they are the system. 

Juicyway’s liquidity-first marketplace directly matches FX demand and supply in real time, reducing dependence on correspondent banks and compressing settlement cycles that typically stretch two to five days down to minutes.

The scale it achieved is what makes it impossible to ignore in 2026. Operating largely in stealth until late 2024, Juicyway had already processed over $1.3 billion in FX volume across more than 25,000 transactions, without a public app or aggressive marketing. 

By late 2025, monthly transaction volumes were reported to be over $300 million, with a client base of 12,000+ businesses spanning importers, exporters, logistics firms, and FMCG operators. Retention above 85% points to the fact that users are not just testing the platform, but building around it.

What strengthens Juicyway’s long-term position is discipline. The company has maintained reported profitability, secured a Canadian MSB licence, and partnered with regulated banks and stablecoin infrastructure providers to support USD, CAD, GBP, and EUR corridors. 

With $3 million in pre-seed funding earmarked for API expansion and geographic growth into Francophone and Southern Africa, Juicyway is building itself into a core FX infrastructure layer. In 2026, with African trade straining under currency volatility, that build becomes essential.

5. Kuda

Kuda makes this list because of scale, and what it is now doing with it. Few African fintechs move as much money as Kuda does. 

In Q1 2025 alone, the digital bank processed ₦14.3 trillion (approximately $9.3 billion) in transaction volume and handled over 300 million transactions across its platform. 

That level of throughput changes the conversation. Cross-border payments are now a natural extension of daily banking behaviour.

After years of prioritising user growth, Kuda’s pivot towards sustainability has enhanced its international play. In rebuilding its remittance stack in-house and relaunching its multi-currency wallet in 2025, the company reduced third-party dependency and improved margins. 

With over 7 million users, Kuda is now converting scale into revenue, recording more paid transfers than free ones and projecting 40% revenue growth driven largely by cross-border and high-engagement services.

Looking to 2026, Kuda’s advantage is control. Licences secured in markets such as Canada and Tanzania prepare it for deeper diaspora corridors, while products like overdrafts, which saw ₦16.4 billion issued in Q1 2025, strengthen customer stickiness. 

In combining everyday banking, lending, and international transfers under one roof, Kuda is collapsing what used to be separate financial journeys. That convergence is exactly how cross-border payments become cheaper, faster, and habitual.

6. Cashwise Finance

Cashwise Finance is earlier-stage, but its numbers already show vision backed by execution. In its first year of operation, the platform processed over 80,000 transactions, moving more than $3 million and ₦15 billion across borders. 

For a newly launched product focused on testing, feedback, and infrastructure hardening, those figures reveal early trust, the most difficult currency to earn in payments.

Cashwise spent 2025 tightening the engine. Real-time iteration, edge-case handling, and compliance workflows took precedence over aggressive expansion. That focus shows in its product direction, with multi-currency wallets, faster settlement outside SWIFT rails, and partnerships aimed at ensuring last-mile delivery rather than just outbound transfers. 

For freelancers and SMEs who rely on predictable cash flow, minutes are important, and Cashwise is building for that.

What makes Cashwise one to watch in 2026 is direction. The company is moving from proof to scale with a clear philosophy, and that is, people should stay connected to their money wherever life takes them. 

With foundations laid and volumes already validating demand, the next phase is expansion, into new corridors, deeper SME tooling, and a broader payments ecosystem. In cross-border finance, that sequence, trust first, growth second, is often what separates survivors from leaders.

7. Verto

Among the game-changing fintechs making cross-border payments faster and cheaper in 2026 is Vert, a Fintech that operates where cross-border payments are hardest and most valuable; high-value, time-sensitive trade flows in emerging markets. 

In 2025, the company made a transition from being a specialist FX provider to becoming infrastructure.

It opened a Lagos office to anchor West African operations, expanded its B2B FX marketplace to cover over 190 countries and nearly 50 currencies, and doubled down on regulatory engagement. 

These were more about owning liquidity and trust in markets where both are scarce.

Looking at the economics, connecting directly to local payment rails, Verto dramatically undercuts legacy banking expenses. A frequently noted comparison shows a 2 million ZAR transaction costing roughly R10,000 via Verto versus over R76,000 through traditional banks, a difference that materially changes margins for importers and exporters. 

Near-instant, 24/7 settlement replaces the multi-day delays of SWIFT, while rate locks help businesses manage volatility in currencies like NGN, KES, ZAR, and XOF. For companies operating on thin margins, this is way beyond optimisation.

What makes Verto especially relevant in 2026 is scale plus embed-ability. In 2025, it launched the Verto Atlas Suite, an API-first embedded finance product that allows other platforms to plug directly into its rails. 

Expansion into the UAE, licensed under the Dubai Financial Services Authority, strengthened trade corridors linking Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, regions that collectively process tens of billions of dollars in annual trade flows. 

With a growing team of 200+ staff, on-the-ground presence in Lagos, and hybrid infrastructure spanning fiat and emerging rails, Verto is moving money and becoming part of how emerging-market trade works.

8. FlashChange

FlashChange is one of the game-changing fintechs making cross-border payments faster and cheaper in 2026 because it is silently aligning with how cross-border payments are actually evolving. 

In 2025, the platform moved beyond being a niche digital asset trader and launched FlashChange V2, consolidating crypto transactions, gift cards, bill payments, airtime, and data into a single system. 

The strategic focus is that users do not want separate tools for value storage, spending, and cross-border movement. They want speed, clarity, and reliability, instantly.

What differentiates FlashChange in 2026 is its focus on real-world utility rather than speculation. By leveraging blockchain rails for settlement, the platform avoids the multi-hop delays and high fees associated with traditional banking. 

Transactions clear near-instantly, and costs are materially lower because intermediaries are stripped out. In regions where inflation, FX scarcity, and payment friction are daily occurrences, that speed is more important than ideology. This is crypto used as infrastructure, not stories.

Trust and compliance are where FlashChange has been careful. In September 2025, the company joined the Stakeholders in Blockchain Technology Association of Nigeria (SIBAN), revealing alignment with emerging regulatory and security standards. 

With cross-border payments across Africa edge toward a trillion-dollar opportunity, platforms that can safely bridge digital assets and everyday payments will be essential. 

FlashChange’s hybrid positioning, between traditional finance and blockchain-enabled settlement, places it squarely in the flow of where payments are heading in 2026.

9. LemFi

LemFi stands out here because it has moved faster than most, and stayed licensed while doing so. By 2025, the company had evolved from a focused remittance app into a multi-product financial platform serving diaspora communities across Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia. 

Backed by a $53 million Series B, LemFi expanded to 27+ send-from markets, added Asian corridors including India, Pakistan, and China, and built infrastructure capable of handling over $1 billion in monthly transaction volume.

The platform’s differentiation is not just low or zero fees, but velocity and control. A large share of transfers settle instantly or within minutes, supported by partnerships with local banks and mobile money operators. 

LemFi’s acquisition of Pillar in mid-2025 brought about credit products for immigrants, a segment usually excluded from traditional financial systems, while new services like LemFi Credit reportedly attracted over 50,000 applications in early rollout. This is remittance evolving into financial inclusion at scale.

What places LemFi strongly for 2026 is independence. In securing its own European licences, including in Ireland, the company reduced reliance on third-party sponsors for operations in the UK and Germany. 

New partnerships, such as enabling instant transfers to tens of millions of mobile wallet users in recipient markets, deepen last-mile delivery. With active user rates reported around 70% among early adopters, LemFi has proven that speed, pricing, and trust can coexist. In a sector still taken over by slow incumbents, that combination is what turns growth into leadership.

10. Comviva

Comviva earns its place on this list not because it is new, but because of the scale it operates at, and what it proved in 2025. 

By October 2025, Comviva’s mobiquity Pay platform was processing over $400 billion in transactions annually, spanning 55+ countries and supporting billions of transactions each year across digital wallets, remittances, and merchant payments. 

The company’s defining moment came in 2025 when it won the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award for “Best-in-Class Cross-Border Payments” for its deployment with Global Money Exchange Company (GMEC) in Oman. 

The Global Pay Oman app, powered by mobiquity Pay, transformed a traditional remittance service into a full digital wallet and payments platform, combining international transfers, local payments, bill pay, and FX services in one interface. 

This “super app” approach reduced settlement times, cut operational costs, and materially improved transaction success rates through AI-led payment orchestration.

Why Comviva becomes especially important in 2026 is replication. With an estimated 24% share of the global mobile money market, its technology already underpins financial services for millions of users in emerging markets. 

The Oman deployment now serves as a blueprint for rolling out similar cross-border wallet ecosystems across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. With regulators pushing for faster, cheaper, and more inclusive payment systems, Comviva’s ability to deliver real-time, 24/7 cross-border payments at scale positions it more as infrastructure.

11. Clea

Clea targets one of Africa’s most painful and under-served problems, which is paying international suppliers reliably as an importer. 

In late 2025, the company officially launched from stealth after a pilot phase that processed over $4 million in cross-border transactions, validating demand for a faster, more transparent alternative to traditional bank wires and informal FX channels.

Unlike consumer remittance apps, Clea is built for trade. It uses blockchain-based settlement rails to allow African businesses to convert local currency, including naira, into USD and pay suppliers directly, usually clearing transactions same day or next day, rather than waiting several days through SWIFT. 

Payments are executed in the importer’s own name, reducing compliance red flags and trust gaps that frequently delay shipments or trigger reversals in international trade.

What makes Clea one to watch in 2026 is focus and timing. Africa faces an estimated $120 billion trade finance gap, with SMEs locked out of FX access by slow banks, high spreads, and opaque processes. In 2025, Clea established active corridors to key import hubs, the United States, China, and the UAE, and launched iOS and Android apps designed specifically for traceable, business-grade payments. 

The company has grown in a bootstrapped, capital-efficient way, prioritising unit economics and real usage over hype.

Clea is scaling across Nigeria’s 36 states and expanding payout routes beyond West Africa in 2026, it is not building itself as a wallet, but as a payments layer embedded directly into supply chains.

There have been loads of launches and sky-high valuations, some startups are quietly impacting industries and improving lives. Nigeria and other African nations are innovating commendably, building solutions across the climate, AI, fintech and other sectors.

In 2024 alone, African startups attracted over $2 billion in funding. Although this was lower than the previous year, the continent gained even more global competitiveness and recognition, revealing that Africa is no longer ‘just catching up’.

Startups like Flutterwave, Opay, Moove and others have not stopped keeping us in awe, but there are even more startups emerging to disrupt the problem-solving determination and we must keep an eye on them in 2025.

Here are the top 15 startups to watch in 2025:

1. Moniepoint (Nigeria)

Moniepoint reached unicorn status in 2024 after a $110 million Series C funding round led by Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, and Lightrock. This funding pushed the fintech company’s valuation to over $1 billion.

Moniepoint specialises in banking-as-a-service solutions, providing digital payments, banking, foreign exchange, credit, and business management tools. This integrated platform aims to serve African businesses of all sizes, processing over 800 million transactions monthly valued at over $17 billion, while maintaining profitability.

Tosin Eniolorunda, founder and group CEO, recently reiterated the company’s focus on driving financial inclusion and empowering Africa’s informal economy, which employs 83% of the continent’s workforce. Moniepoint has even been recognised by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s National Inclusive Payment Initiative Award in 2022.

In October 2024, the company’s $110 million funding made up 43% of total African startup investments that month. During a courtesy visit to the Presidential Villa, Vice President Kashim Shettima commended Moniepoint’s contributions to financial inclusion, SME empowerment, and anti-fraud initiatives in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

Moniepoint’s mission is to create “financial happiness” by expanding its footprint across Africa and offering seamless business solutions to ensure NJ economic growth and stability.

2. Vesti (Nigeria)

Among the top startups to watch in 2025, Vesti is a migration fintech company simplifying the complex processes of migration and cross-border financial services. In 2024, Vesti celebrated the opening of its state-of-the-art software engineering office in Lagos, a ₦1 billion investment in Nigeria’s tech sector.

This Centre of Excellence in Software Engineering and Financial Technology is designed to enable collaboration and innovation. The facility included themed meeting rooms, collaborative workspaces, a lounge, cafeteria, swimming pool, and gym, as Vesti’s focused on employee satisfaction and talent development.

Co-founders Olusola and Abimbola Amusan revealed plans to create over 600 engineering jobs in Lagos within two years and 1,500 by 2027. Vesti is also working to connect Africans to global markets.

The company’s platform provides comprehensive legal and financial services for immigrants, including AI-powered support, remittances, and foreign exchange. Following successful expansions to Ghana, Zambia, and the UK, Vesti now plans to enter Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan in 2025.

With cash-positive operations in H1 2024, Vesti is targeting a Series A funding round to further scale its global footprint. The company’s mission is to empower one billion immigrants worldwide.

3. NeuRaL AI (Nigeria)

NeuRaL AI is bolstering artificial intelligence adoption in Nigeria. In 2024, the company launched REACTOR, an AI platform enabling businesses to integrate Generative AI into their operations. 

This solution, priced at ₦99,000 per month, offers end-to-end support, from setup to maintenance and training, for organisations aiming to deploy custom AI models.

NeuRaL AI’s mission aligns with Nigeria’s AI-focused initiatives. The government recently introduced a National AI Strategy, supported by $3.5 million in seed funding, to strengthen the country’s pace in AI innovation. By 2030, Nigeria’s AI market is projected to reach $8.75 billion, providing fertile ground for NeuRaL AI’s growth.

The company’s innovative services and collaborative approach make it a strategic partner for businesses looking to stay competitive in the AI industry. With the Nigerian government investing heavily in AI infrastructure, NeuRaL AI is well-placed to capitalise on this growing market.

4. PBR Life Sciences (Nigeria)

In 2024, the company raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to support its expansion across Africa. The round saw contributions from investors such as Launch Africa, Microtraction, Kaleo Ventures, Octerra Capital, and ARM Labs. 

This funding will enable PBR Life Sciences to broaden its reach, expanding into Ghana and Kenya, alongside its ongoing operations in Nigeria.

Founded in 2015 by Ayodeji Alaran, a pharmacist with experience at pharmaceutical giants like GSK, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca, PBR Life Sciences pivoted in 2021 to focus on leveraging big data for healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

The company’s flagship solution, “Versus,” uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze healthcare data from retail pharmacies, offering pharmaceutical companies required insights into product performance, market share, and competitor activity. 

This platform is very important in enhancing the operational efficiencies of healthcare providers while promoting inclusivity in clinical trials, ensuring underrepresented patient populations are included in research.

PBR Life Sciences is already doing great in healthcare analytics across Nigeria and aims to replicate its success across Africa. The startup’s growth has been further enhanced by its participation in the Techstars Lagos accelerator program, where it received $120,000 in funding and access to a network of mentors and investors. 

With Africa facing increasing health challenges, PBR Life Sciences is working to impact healthcare delivery with its scalable, data-driven solutions.

5. NALA (Tanzania/Nigeria)

NALA, a Tanzanian-founded fintech startup, addressing the high cost and inefficiency of international money transfers into Africa, was named in CB Insights’ Fintech 100 list. 

In 2024, the company raised $40 million in a Series A funding round to extend its consumer business beyond Africa and to enhance its B2B payments platform, Rafiki, which facilitates payments into Africa for global businesses. 

The funding round was led by Acrew Capital, with participation from investors such as DST Global Partners, Norrsken22, and HOF Capital.

NALA aims to serve the 1.3 billion people across Africa and also the emerging markets in Asia and Latin America.

Since its inception in 2017, NALA has expanded its services from local money transfers in Tanzania to offering international remittance services in 11 African countries, enabling users in the UK, US, and the EU to send money to Africa with lower fees compared to traditional services. 

NALA has already seen commendable growth, with revenue increasing tenfold over the past year and achieving profitability for the first time.

The company’s focus on reducing the high costs associated with cross-border payments addresses a big challenge for Africans, who lose an estimated $8 billion annually in remittance fees.

In 2025, NALA plans to continue improving its platform and expand into new markets, with the goal of transforming the global remittance sector while making cross-border payments more accessible and cost-effective for businesses and individuals alike.

6. Appmint (Nigeria)

Appmint is an innovative platform designed to bridge the gap for startups and small businesses across Africa. The startup addresses several challenges faced by the African digital marketplace, including high costs, a lack of technical expertise, and infrastructure barriers. 

Appmint offers a no-code, AI-powered platform that integrates business functions, allowing entrepreneurs to build websites, automate processes, manage customer relationships, and access data-driven insights—all within one affordable solution.

The platform was developed by Durubata Limited to make sophisticated digital tools more accessible to African entrepreneurs. CEO Jacob Ajiboye explained during the launch that Appmint’s mission is to reduce costs of operations and provide an affordable, user-friendly platform that enables business growth for startups. 

This initiative is particularly important in a region where many businesses find it hard to access the technology necessary to scale their operations effectively. 

Appmint’s to bolster its scalable tech infrastructure that can drive growth across Africa’s diverse markets, placing it among the top startups to watch in 2025.

7. Juicyway (Nigeria)

Juicyway is a fintech startup enhancing cross-border payments by leveraging stablecoin technology. Founded in 2021 by Ife Johnson and Justin Ziegler, Juicyway facilitates global remittances, enabling individuals and businesses to send and receive money in fiat currencies and cryptocurrencies. 

The startup made headlines in 2024 when it raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by P1 Ventures, with participation from investors such as Ventures Platform, Future Africa, and Microtraction.

Juicyway is addressing a big issue in Africa’s remittance market, where transaction fees are often really high. With an average remittance fee of 13% on $200 transfers in Q4 2023, there is a pressing need for more cost-effective solutions. 

Juicyway’s platform leverages stablecoins to enable faster, cheaper, and more efficient global money transfers, with 24/7 execution and settlement. The company’s focus on creating a liquid ecosystem for currency exchanges allows users to trade at market-driven rates, reducing remittance costs and promoting greater financial inclusion.

Since its launch, Juicyway has processed over $1.3 billion in 25,000 transactions across 4,000 customers, including partnerships with companies like Bolt, IHS, and Piggyvest. With the new funding, Juicyway plans to expand its team, enhance its technology, and enter new markets.

In 2025, the company will continue to scale its operations, providing faster, cheaper, and more secure remittance solutions that enhance financial inclusion for Africans and people in other emerging markets.

8. Hermplify (Nigeria)

Hermplify, one of the top startups to watch in 2025, is an AI-powered platform with a mission to support women entrepreneurs and young girls in Africa, providing them with the tools to grow their businesses and gain tech skills. 

Officially launched in 2024, Hermplify targets the challenges that women in Africa face, particularly in accessing technology and funding. With over 100 million female entrepreneurs across the continent, many of whom are limited by these barriers, Hermplify aims to be the solution that allows women to thrive in Africa’s digital economy. 

The platform offers a range of tools such as automated invoicing, payment processing, and online storefronts, helping women manage their businesses with ease. 

Added to these, Hermplify provides educational resources, including courses in digital marketing, web design, and data analysis, giving women a competitive edge in the digital space. Again, the platform also provides access to financial services, including soft loans, to support business growth. In its first month alone, the platform attracted over 1,700 registered users. 

The African digital economy is expected to grow to $300 billion by 2025, CEO Anthony Olanrewaju describes Hermplify as a movement aimed at amplifying women’s voices and talents across Africa, with plans to expand the platform to other countries on the continent.

9. JADA (Nigeria)

JADA, a Lagos-based talent hub specializing in data and AI staff augmentation, has already done great in its mission to transform Africa’s AI talent industry. 

The company raised $1 million in 2024 to support its goal of training Africa’s next generation of AI professionals. Founded by Massimiliano Spalazzi and Olumide Soyombo, JADA addresses the global shortage of skilled data and AI professionals, especially in light of the increasing demand for such expertise. 

The company provides a proprietary four-month training program aimed at experienced professionals in data analytics, machine learning, and generative AI, combining both technical and soft skills. 

In addition, JADA uses an AI-powered algorithm to select candidates based on assessments of their technical skills, case studies, and cultural fit. The business model provides a solution for companies looking to integrate AI into their operations by giving them access to highly trained professionals from Africa, where they can benefit from a cost-effective yet high-quality workforce. 

The company has been focusing on clients in Europe and the Middle East, leveraging Africa’s favourable time zones and English proficiency. With plans for further geographical expansion, JADA is aiming to compete globally in the AI talent market. This places the company among the top startups to watch in 2025.

10. PaidHR (Nigeria)

In 2024, PaidHR, a Nigerian startup focused on HR functions, attracted attention for its innovative solutions in payroll management. Founded in 2020, PaidHR has processed billions of naira in salaries and is now looking to expand its services with the launch of a cross-border payroll solution. 

This feature allows businesses to pay employees in multiple currencies, offering flexibility for companies with international teams. In addition to this, the startup has introduced a wallet feature that allows employees to convert their salaries into any preferred currency, helping them hedge against the devaluation of the naira. 

The cross-border payroll feature supports 49 currencies and is designed to ensure regulatory compliance while simplifying financial transactions for businesses. PaidHR also provides a range of HR services, including employee onboarding, performance management, and compliance. 

The company’s success in processing salaries across Africa has already seen it serve over 200 businesses, with plans for further growth in the coming years. 

PaidHR’s innovative HR solutions, one that places it among the top startups to watch in 2025, provide a much-needed service for companies looking to optimize their payroll systems and offer employees greater control over their earnings, tackling business challenges related to currency instability.

11. Aya Data (Ghana/Nigeria)

Aya Data, a Ghana-based AI consultancy, is growing fast in the data annotation and AI solutions space. In 2024, the company raised $900,000 in a seed round to scale its operations and expand its AI product offerings. 

Aya Data’s services focus on collecting and labelling data necessary for the development of large language models like ChatGPT, serving as an essential partner for global tech companies like Meta and OpenAI. 

Beyond data annotation, Aya Data offers two key products: AyaGrow, an AI-powered solution for precision agriculture, and AyaSpeech, a tool that allows businesses and governments to interact in local African languages via speech-to-speech technology. 

These solutions have already attracted global clients like MIT, Seedtag, and Unilever. The company’s focus on building local expertise and training individuals for technical roles such as data engineering and data science reiterates its focus on strengthening Africa’s place in the global AI space. 

Justifying its being among the top startups to watch in 2025, Aya Data plans to scale its team and expand its offerings to support African businesses in leveraging AI for increased competitiveness. With a revenue of $500,000 in 2023, Aya Data seeks to continue its growth and contribute further to the AI sector.

12. Octavia Carbon (Kenya)

Climate change continues to threaten life on Earth, but Octavia Carbon, a Kenyan-based company, is determined to tackle this issue leveraging climate tech with its innovative direct air capture (DAC) technology. 

The startup focuses on filtering CO2 from the atmosphere and turning it into rock, a process that helps mitigate the growing levels of carbon emissions. Octavia Carbon’s solution is part of a global movement to combat climate change, with increasing urgency as the UN reports a significant rise in atmospheric CO2 levels. 

This innovative technology offers a promising avenue for reducing the carbon footprint and addressing one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Octavia Carbon’s work reveals the role of technology in developing sustainable solutions for environmental issues, and its growth is closely tied to the global push for climate action. 

With the climate tech sector growing fast, Octavia Carbon’s success in advancing DAC technology places it among the top startups to watch in 2025.

13. Waste2Light (Nigeria)

Another company among the top startups to watch in 2025 is Waste2Light which has made great achievements in the renewable energy sector by developing a technology that converts plastic waste into components for 3D-printed turbines. 

These turbines leverage both wind and hydro energy, offering a sustainable alternative to traditional energy sources. In recognition of its innovation, Waste2Light was awarded N8 million in the TotalEnergies Startupper Challenge 2024, providing the company with the resources to scale its operations.

Led by Emmanuel Abah, Waste2Light has been recognised for its dual focus on addressing energy shortages and environmental issues. Abah’s leadership helped in securing the top prize in the Power Up category of the TotalEnergies Startupper Challenge 2024. 

One of Waste2Light’s key initiatives is the proposed hydro-turbine project for the Gurara community in Niger State. This project, which aims to provide 500 kW of electricity to five communities, will impact approximately 25,000 residents. The project is in its proposal stage, pending approval, but it reflects the company’s focus on solving electricity shortages in rural Nigeria.

Looking towards 2025, Waste2Light aims to electrify 100 communities, providing 1 million people with access to clean energy, creating 500 jobs in the clean energy sector, and securing funding for the Gurara hydro-turbine project. The company is also focused on forming partnerships with local governments and stakeholders to drive sustainable energy development.

Waste2Light is working to close the electricity gap, especially in underserved rural areas.

14. CDIAL.AI (Nigeria)

In 2024, CDIAL.AI received recognition when it was selected as one of the top beneficiaries of the N100 million AI Fund, a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy and Google. 

The company’s mission is to make technology accessible to everyone, regardless of their language, technological expertise, or economic status. In focusing on breaking down technological limitations, CDIAL.AI is creating innovative solutions for underserved regions, with a special emphasis on local languages.

Its flagship offering, Indigenius, a cutting-edge language diversity tool, helped in securing CDIAL.AI a top spot at the “Innovation to Transform Education” event in Lagos, hosted by Future Perspectives, an initiative led by former Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo. 

The event saw the company’s solution take the top prize for its impactful potential in education. CDIAL.AI’s services include hardware, mobile applications, chatbots, and enterprise software, making it one of the startups to watch in 2025. 

Supporting over 180 languages for typing and 13 languages for generative AI, the company is tackling the challenge of digital inclusion for over a billion Africans. As CDIAL.AI moves into 2025, its solutions promise to bridge the digital divide, creating a more inclusive technological future for people across Africa and beyond.

15. Flowmono (Nigeria)

Another Nigerian startup that is doing great is Flowmono, a platform focused on workflow automation and e-signature solutions. In 2024, Flowmono gained significant recognition, winning multiple “Best Of” badges from Gartner Digital Markets brands, including Capterra and GetApp. 

These awards validate Flowmono’s focus on innovation, customer satisfaction, and delivering cutting-edge solutions that simplify business operations. With a platform that combines secure e-signature technology, real-time data integration, and workflow automation, Flowmono has become a preferred choice for businesses looking to improve productivity.

Under the leadership of CEO Babatola Awe and CFO Akintayo Okekunle, Flowmono has experienced great market growth in 2024. Customers have commended its seamless integration into existing workflows, its user-friendly interface, and its ability to simplify document signing processes. 

Flowmono has received glowing reviews for its ability to save businesses time and enhance efficiency, all while ensuring the security and confidentiality of their data.

Flowmono is aiming for an even bigger 2025. The company plans to introduce advanced AI-powered automation tools, enhanced analytics for deeper insights, and expanded integrations with popular business platforms to create a more seamless user experience. 

Flowmono is ready to meet the demand for smarter, more efficient tools for businesses to gain higher efficiency. The company’s focus on data security, adherence to industry standards such as GDPR, NDPR SOC 2, ISO 27001, and ICO, and customer satisfaction make it a startup to watch as it grows in the coming year.

Founded in 2021 by Ife Johnson and Justin Ziegler, Juicyway enables individuals and businesses to send, receive, and process payments globally.

The platform supports fiat currencies like the Nigerian Naira (NGN), US Dollar (USD), and Canadian Dollar (CAD), as well as cryptocurrency transactions.

As the creators of Nigeria’s largest price discovery engine, Naira Rates, Juicyway facilitates remittances and provides access to FX through various payment channels. It offers multicurrency accounts and access to a liquidity pool for local and international payments at competitive rates.

Licensed in Nigeria, Canada, the USA, and the UK, Juicyway has processed $1.3 billion across 25,000 transactions, and 4,000 customers, Juicyway has proven its value and efficiency.

Trusted by prominent brands like Bolt, IHS, Piggyvest, Mocoh SA, Bamboo, and Afriex, the company also partners with Access Bank for remittance services.

With remittance fees in Africa averaging 13% on $200 transfers in Q4 2023, there is a clear need for cost-effective solutions.

Juicyway addresses this need by leveraging stablecoin technology to enable fast, affordable global money transfers with 24/7 execution and settlement.

Through its web and mobile apps and APIs, Juicyway simplifies money movement while ensuring market-driven pricing.

By displaying real-time rates based on what other users are willing to pay, the platform creates a liquid ecosystem, lowers remittance costs, and empowers users to trade confidently, allowing greater financial inclusion.

Speaking on the round, Ife Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Juicyway says,

“Africa contributes less than 1% to the $5 trillion global currency market, partly because there’s no liquidity for intra-African currency pairs. The old systems weren’t built to support this. Over the next three years, we want to be the platform where Nigerians and eventually the whole of Africa, and those doing business on the continent can easily convert African currencies to local ones and back. Our ultimate goal is to unlock liquidity for African currency pairs that currently have none. Stablecoin technology and our network model make this vision achievable by enabling fast and efficient money movement. Without it, we’d still be in pursuit of this goal, but it would be far harder to achieve.”

Dedicated to building a technology-first platform, operating at both the source and destination of remittances, some of Juicyway’s payment platform features include:

• Cross-border payments
• Funds repatriation
• Treasury management
• Payment processing
• Spend management

Commenting on the fundraise, Justin Ziegler, co-founder and COO of Juicyway stated,

“Juicyway’s goal is to build uninterrupted, cost-effective cross-border infrastructure that enables Africa to participate in the global economy on equal footing. Our growth in a short period of time reflects the underlying demand for better global payments. We’re proud to offer a solution that eliminates the need for businesses and individuals to juggle multiple platforms to manage their financial needs. This investment represents a milestone for our company, and we are grateful for the trust and commitment from our investors”.

The funding will drive Juicyway’s growth by supporting team expansion, technological advancements, and entry into new markets. The round includes the addition of Joshua Wasserman, a compliance and regulatory expert with experience at the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and a key leader in building compliance for Cash App.

Juicyway also welcomes Idris Ibrahim, CRO of Juicyway, Ridwan Otun, formerly with Bamboo and Smart Pension, and Ukeoma Chukundah, ex-Klarna and Deimos, as key members of its engineering team.

Hisham Halbouny, co-Founder and managing partner at P1 Ventures who is leading the round said:

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Ife, Justin and Idris as they tackle one of the most critical challenges in finance. By leveraging innovative stablecoin technology, they’re leapfrogging outdated infrastructure to create a seamless, efficient, and inclusive cross-border payment system that reshapes how Africans connect with the global economy. At P1 Ventures, we seek audacious and exceptional founders like them—visionaries who aim to redefine industries and empower emerging markets. We couldn’t be more excited to support their journey!

Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku, managing partner at Ventures Platform:

“Juicyway’s innovative and forward-thinking approach to cross-border payments strategically positions it as a transformative force in Africa’s rapidly evolving financial landscape. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and deep market knowledge, Ife, Justin and the team exemplify our investment thesis of democratizing prosperity in Africa through innovation. This is achieved through significantly reduced transaction costs, enhanced accessibility to crucial financial services, and seamless cross-border transfer of value on the continent.”

In 2023, Africa received an estimated $90.2 billion in remittances, accounting for 5.2% of GDP and nearly double the amount of overseas aid. These funds are a vital lifeline for millions of families and businesses.

Juicyway is dedicated to making money transfers easier, faster, and more affordable.