The round was co-led by Flourish Ventures and 1kx, with backing from White Star Capital and Fabric Ventures. With this, the company’s total funding now stands at $9.2 million.

Kulipa builds payment infrastructure that allows fintech companies to issue cards funded directly from stablecoin balances. These cards can be used anywhere card networks are accepted, including for everyday purchases and ATM withdrawals.

Stablecoins already handle more than $300 billion in daily settlements, but their use in everyday payments is still limited. The systems that connect blockchain-based transactions to traditional card networks are still fragmented and usually require large upfront capital.

Kulipa says its platform removes some of these limitations. It verifies balances and settles transactions onchain, reducing the need for prefunding.

At the same time, it takes on fraud liability for issued cards, which lowers operational pressure for its partners.

“Stablecoins have proven their value as a settlement layer, but using them in everyday financial products is still early,” said Axel Cateland, Founder and CEO of Kulipa.

“Card issuance is the bridge between onchain balances and real-world payments. We built Kulipa to give regulated fintech platforms the compliant, capital-efficient infrastructure they need to operate at global scale.”

The company operates what it describes as a local-first model, with regulatory coverage across the European Union, Argentina and Nigeria. It is also working on expansion into the United States through BIN sponsorship.

Kulipa launched its infrastructure in February 2025 and since then, it has issued more than 120,000 cards and signed 20 customers. These include Flutterwave, Solflare, nSave and Ready.

The company also reports a 70% month-on-month increase in transaction volume.

“At Flutterwave, we’re focused on building payment infrastructure that works across markets at scale. As stablecoins become a more practical settlement option, it’s important that businesses can turn those balances into real-world spending,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Founder & CEO of Flutterwave.

“Partnering with Kulipa allows us to extend stablecoin value into globally accepted payments in a compliant, scalable way.”

“Kulipa has enabled Ready to become an onchain alternative to banks,” said Itamar Lesuisse, CEO of Ready. “With their infrastructure, we can issue globally accepted cards directly from stablecoin balances, giving our users seamless access to everyday spending in a compliant and scalable way.”

Kulipa was founded in 2023 by a team with experience across payments, compliance and technology. Cateland previously worked on Apple Pay and Google Pay deployments at Mastercard.

Co-founder and CTO Michael Shynar has worked at WhatsApp and Google, while Head of Compliance Benoit Roger brings experience from Binance and Nickel Bank.

Investors say the company is addressing a key gap in the market.

“We’re seeing stablecoins moving beyond cross-border settlement and becoming part of real financial infrastructure,” said Ameya Upadhyay, General Partner, Flourish Ventures.

“The missing piece has been compliant, scalable card issuance. Kulipa fills that gap by combining capital efficiency with multi-region regulatory coverage, enabling fintech platforms to bring stablecoin settlement into everyday payments.”

1kx Founding Partner Christopher Heymann added, “Stablecoins are reshaping how money moves globally, but for mainstream adoption, people need to spend them as easily as they spend fiat. 

“Kulipa meets users where they already are, starting with the card in their wallet, and gives businesses a turnkey way to offer that experience. We believe this payments layer is critical infrastructure for the next phase of crypto adoption.”

Kulipa says it will use the new funding to strengthen its infrastructure and support more fintech platforms looking to offer stablecoin-based payments at scale.

The event took place on Friday at the company’s headquarters in Victoria Island where senior executives, brand leads and agency partners attended, alongside journalists and content creators.

The advert premiere also outlined a wider marketing drive across television, radio, digital and outdoor platforms. Cherry Eromosele, executive vice-president for Marketing and Communications at Interswitch, said the campaign reiterates the company’s belief that payments should work seamlessly in the background of daily life.

“At Interswitch, we have always believed that payment should be a seamless part of everyday life, and therefore our brands Verve and Quickteller reflect this philosophy every day,” she said.

She described Quickteller as a platform built for people who take action. “The mindset of the Quickteller customer is that of a go-getter. The typical Quickteller customer doesn’t sit and wait for things to happen to them. They run it.”

The new Quickteller commercial centres on that message. It shows everyday situations where people move quickly, solve problems and keep going. Bills get paid, transfers go through, and opportunities are taken without delay. The campaign theme is “Run It!”.

Eromosele said the advert salutes what she called the “can do spirit” of African consumers and shows how the platform supports transactions “at the speed of topped for our users across multiple transaction channel touch points.”

Alongside Quickteller, Interswitch also introduced a new brand commercial for Verve, its card scheme with more than 100 million cards in circulation across Africa.

“We couldn’t be prouder of how far we’ve come with Verve as a brand,” she said, describing it as “African most successful indigenous Payment Card Scheme.”

The Verve advert focuses on what executives repeatedly called the African spirit.

“So what’s the African spirit? The African spirit is vibrant. It’s beautiful. Is undaunted and focused on enjoying the good life,” she said.

The commercial carries the line, “Verve makes infinite red seamless, because when we show up for each other, that’s when we truly live this is the good life.”

The event stressed that Verve goes beyond payments, pointing to VerveLife, its fitness and wellness platform, which has run for eight years and engages consumers around healthy living.

Chidi Okpala, who leads growth marketing for payment tokens under the Verve brand, said the business has grown by staying close to users.

“In fact, as we speak, we’re looking at about 115 million, and still counting, we have over 80 million active cards as we speak today,” he said, adding that Verve holds between 75 and 80% of Nigeria’s card market.

He linked that growth to feedback from customers. According to him, requests to use Verve cards on platforms such as Google Play and Netflix pushed the company into new partnerships.

“We got feedback like that, I want to be able to transact on Netflix with my record. That feedback we took seriously,” he said.

The event also addressed the creative process behind the campaigns. Tomi Ogunlesi, divisional head for Brands, Communications, Content and CSR, said the adverts were produced locally.

“For us, this was a deliberate creative decision underscoring Interswitch’s belief that African stories are best told by African voices,” he said.

“In an era where artificial intelligence is increasingly used to simulate storytelling, the team chose a different path, eschewing artificial intelligence (AI) in favour of organic, emotionally driven filmmaking that captures real faces, real places, and real emotions!”

The company confirmed that the Verve campaign will run across multiple African markets, while the Quickteller rollout will focus mainly on Nigeria.

Executives noted that Quickteller’s services differ by country, with Nigeria offering a bigger ecosystem that now includes transport bookings, flights, and property listings under Quickteller Homes.

They explained that users can rent apartments, book short lets and even buy land through the platform, adding that properties listed there are verified to reduce fraud.

The Interswitch management said the Quickteller and Verve TV commercials would begin airing in the coming days, stressing that payments should not interrupt life, but should simply work.

When Musa needed a loan to expand his small electronics shop, he easily applied online and received the funds within hours. His access to financial services has allowed him to grow his business, support his family, and plan for the future.

In contrast, Amina lives in a rural village in northern Ghana. Her daily life is far more constrained.

When she sells her goods at the local market, her earnings are stored in cash, leaving her vulnerable to theft or loss. She has no formal safety net if her child gets sick or her crops fail.

Amina cannot save effectively or borrow to invest in her farm without access to a bank or mobile money services.

Her financial world is limited by geography and the lack of infrastructure that connects her to the wider economy.

These two lives, separated by a few hundred kilometers, illustrate Africa’s stark financial access divide. While city dwellers like Musa benefit from modern financial services, millions of rural Africans like Amina remain excluded from the formal financial system.

This gap in access is a barrier not only to individual prosperity but also to the overall economic development of the continent.

Globally, about 1.4 billion adults remain unbanked, with Africa home to a significant portion of this population.

Financial exclusion is even more pronounced in Africa, where over 60% of the adult population cannot access basic financial services such as savings, credit, or insurance.

The unbanked are often cut off from participating in the formal economy, unable to build wealth or fully engage in economic activities.

The exclusion stems from a lack of accessible financial infrastructure, insufficient literacy, and geographical barriers. For instance, in many rural parts of Africa, bank branches are scarce or non-existent, making it nearly impossible for individuals to open accounts, apply for loans, or even make basic transactions.

How Mobile Technology is Closing the Gap

In recent years, mobile technology has dramatically changed the financial landscape in Africa. Mobile money platforms like M-Pesa in Kenya and MTN Mobile Money in West Africa have made it possible for millions to transfer money, save, and even access loans and insurance services without needing a traditional bank account.

As of 2022, over 350 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were using mobile money services, representing more than 60% of the world’s mobile money transactions.

These platforms have effectively extended the reach of financial services to the previously unbanked, particularly in rural and underserved areas.

With mobile money, people can receive remittances from family members abroad, pay school fees, start small businesses, and gain access to basic health insurance.

This innovation has allowed for a more inclusive financial system, reducing barriers for those traditionally marginalized by banks.

However, while mobile players have made significant strides, the cost of infrastructure and regulatory limitations still pose challenges.

Despite the advances in mobile financial inclusion, the cost of building and maintaining infrastructure continues to leave millions excluded. In countries with vast rural populations and weak infrastructure, setting up physical banking services or even mobile money networks can be prohibitively expensive.

Network providers face high costs to extend their reach into remote areas where populations are sparse and incomes are low.

Without government subsidies or incentives, there is little business case for expanding financial services into these regions. Consequently, many are left reliant on informal financial systems, which are often insecure and inefficient.

Additionally, the digital divide exacerbates financial exclusion. Even though mobile technology is widely adopted, there is still a gap in smartphone ownership and internet access, further limiting access to more advanced financial services that require smartphones or mobile apps.

A Path Toward Broader Financial Inclusion

One potential solution to these challenges lies in white labeling. White labeling is when a product or service is created by one company but rebranded and distributed by another.

In the context of financial inclusion, white-label banking solutions can allow local trusted entities—such as cooperatives, community groups, or even telecom companies—to offer financial services without having to build the technology or infrastructure themselves.

Leveraging existing trust networks in local communities is far more effective than relying solely on large financial institutions or fintech companies to close the gap.

Instead of creating a few large companies that dominate the financial landscape, white-label services can be distributed more broadly, allowing smaller entities to reach deeper into rural areas and marginalized populations.

For example, community-based savings groups in rural areas could use a white-label mobile banking platform to offer their members savings accounts, loans, and insurance, tapping into a network that already has the trust and engagement of the local population.

This type of solution would drastically reduce the cost and complexity of providing financial services to the underserved.

Greater Access Benefits All

The economic benefits of financial inclusion are significant, both for individuals and for the economy as a whole.

For individuals, access to financial services enables savings, investment, and risk management. With the ability to save, people can build up capital over time, which they can then invest in starting businesses, buying property, or funding education.

Access to credit allows individuals and small businesses to smooth cash flow and seize growth opportunities, while insurance helps people manage risks and recover from financial shocks.

At a macroeconomic level, financial inclusion stimulates economic growth. By bringing more people into the formal economy, financial inclusion increases the flow of capital, boosts consumption, and creates jobs.

According to research by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), countries with higher levels of financial inclusion tend to have higher GDP growth rates.

A World Bank report noted that countries with broad financial inclusion enjoy lower poverty rates and less income inequality.

For Africa, where small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute up to 90% of all businesses and more than 50% of employment, access to finance is essential for unlocking growth potential and driving economic development.

Furthermore, financial inclusion enhances financial stability by spreading financial risk across a broader section of the population and economy.

When more people and businesses are included in the formal financial system, the economy becomes more resilient to shocks like natural disasters or financial crises.

This is because formal financial institutions are better equipped to manage risk than informal lenders or unregulated markets.

Financial inclusion is not just a moral imperative; it’s an economic necessity. By ensuring that everyone, regardless of income or geography, has access to financial services, we can create wealth at the individual level and stimulate economic growth at the national level.

While mobile technology has made significant progress in closing the financial inclusion gap, there is still much work to be done.

High infrastructure costs and the digital divide continue to leave many excluded, but innovative solutions like white labeling offer a promising path forward.

By leveraging existing trust networks and local institutions, we can bring financial services to even the most remote corners of Africa and unlock the continent’s full economic potential.

Ultimately, greater financial inclusion will benefit not just individuals but also the broader economy, creating a virtuous cycle of growth, wealth creation, and prosperity.

*Ajibola Awojobi is the founder of BorderPal