Canza Finance, a Nigerian Web3 Neobank that facilitates cross-border payments for African startups, has announced the raise of $2.3 million in funding round, to expand Baki, its African DeFi Platform for Foreign Exchange.
The funding round was led by Polychain, with participation from other investors which include protocol labs, AvaLabs, 99 Capital, Bitscale Capital, Stratified Cap, Contango Capital, Kairon Labs, hypericum, StatelessVC, Mapleblock, ytwovc, and HASHCIB.
Canza Finance says the funding round will empower the company to further develop innovative tools and services, dedicated to easing the expense of conducting business across the African continent.
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The startup further stated that the proceeds from the funding round will be utilized by the company to obtain licenses from various financial regulators across Africa and establish the groundwork for its innovative decentralized finance (DeFi) platform for foreign exchange known as Baki.
With Baki, Canza leverages stablecoins digital currencies pegged to the dollar to facilitate currency swapping for businesses without incurring significant forex fees.
By adopting stablecoins and decentralized finance tools like Baki, Canza assists businesses in achieving dollar stability and overcoming traditional forex challenges thereby reducing transaction costs to just 1%.
Speaking on the funding round, the Co-founder and CEO of Canza Finance, Pascal Ntsama said,
“We aim to secure a Money Services Business (MSB) license in the United States, obtain a Foreign Exchange (FX) license in Nigeria, and acquire three crucial Virtual Asset Licenses from the Financial Service Commission of Mauritius.”
Founded in 2020 by Telecom experts Pascal Ntsama and Oyedeji Oluwoye to address a critical financial need for SMEs seeking foreign currency for transaction settlements and cross-border business, the startup has amassed a total of $5.5 million in funding after concluding a previous seed round of $3.27 million in 2022.
Canza’s seamless crypto on/off-ramp services enable a wide range of DeFi services including staking, P2P, and cross-border settlements aiming to contribute to the creation of an innovative and fully decentralized financial system.
The startup collaborates with foreign exchange (FX) agents in African countries that are prone to slow and costly cross-border payments, offering a swifter and more cost-effective method for businesses to send and receive money.
Canza generates revenue by charging a 1% fee on the processed transactions. The startup envisions lowering its transaction fees to 0.2% with the introduction of Baku.
The startup is building the world’s largest non-institutional-based financial system, utilizing Web 3.0 and decentralized finance (DeFi) along with a robust network of experienced local money market players to distribute financial data and transaction-based services to the masses with its wide suite of products.
Nigerian Fintech Startup Fagopay Acquires Microfinance License to Foster Inclusive Financial Environment
Meanwhile, Fagopay, a Nigerian fintech startup that provides comprehensive financial services for both individuals and business owners all-in-one app, has recently acquired a Microfinance license to foster an inclusive financial environment in Nigeria.
With a large percentage of Nigerians in the Northern part of Nigeria financially excluded, FagoPay was launched by Yusuf Salisu Daddy (CEO) and Abubakar Nasir (COO) to address this issue, by seeking to improve financial inclusion in the region and increase access to formal financial services.
Launched in October 2023, the platform is an all-in-one banking solution for both personal and business needs. The fintech provides access to seamless and reliable banking services with its user-friendly products. FagoPay is not just a financial service provider.
According to the company, it aspires to be an ally in the growth and success of local businesses. The acquisition of a microfinance license is a further step towards its goal of empowering individuals and their businesses financially.
With access to formal financial services, Northerners and Nigerians as a whole, will have access to credit and opportunities to grow financially. They will also have opportunities to start businesses, employ labor and create jobs, get a formal education, and ultimately escape poverty.
Fagopay is a dynamic fintech company poised to revolutionize the way businesses and individuals manage their finances. The startup offers innovative solutions that provide businesses with the tools they need to streamline operations, manage payments, and drive growth.
Also, FagoPay is paving the way for improved intra-continental business operations and a brighter financial future for Africa. With its user-friendly payment products, businesses and individuals alike can enjoy seamless financial management and secure transactions across Africa like never before.
Some of the platform products include Personal Wallet and Business Suite. With the FargoPay personal wallet, the platform is building the future of Africa’s financial services, not only for businesses but also for individuals, to enable them to make payments and manage their finances easily.
On FargoPay Business suite, it enables users to manage their customers and service providers easily. They can Create a directory with the information of their customers, vendors, and suppliers to allow smooth and easy transactions.
Customized invoices made-easy
Users get to create customized invoices for their clients and customers directly on their Fagopay Business Suite’s dashboard.
Create and manage sub-accounts
Users can manage multiple sub-accounts for their business branches and subsidiaries and assign managers to the sub-accounts, all from their dashboard.
Set up a business account in minutes
FargoPay eliminates the pain of users going through bank stress, to create a functional business account within a few minutes on FagoPay.
Receive payment in multiple ways
Users can take advantage of the company’s numerous payment options, such as QR codes, USSD, payment links, and transfers, for convenient customer transactions.
FargoPay vision is to enable businesses and organizations across Africa to become more profitable, productive, and able to accommodate scale.