African fintech platform Mansa has secured new funding.
Mansa, founded in 2023 by Mouloukou Sanoh (CEO) and Nkiru Uwaje (COO), enables seamless cross-border payments and instant transactions for its customers. Its offerings include competitive exchange rates, virtual card processing to support cash flow management, and automated matching of financial transactions to bank statements. This is made possible by leveraging a stablecoin infrastructure, its website mentions.
“We’re starting by being the primary liquidity provider to the biggest payment companies across emerging markets,” Sanoh explained to TechCrunch. “From there, we can handle payouts and also offer additional services like foreign exchange. The goal is to create a one-stop payment platform where they can finance their payments, settle transactions instantly, and access foreign currency seamlessly — all in one place.”
The inception of Mansa, based in Dubai, UAE, originated from Sanoh experiencing issues receiving money from his parents while studying in Hong Kong.
“Whenever they would send me money it would take ages, and when I got the money it would be less than I expected because of all the fees and the FX struggles,” Sanoh said in an interview with Fintech Profile. “So my goal is to make transfers, especially payments and remittances in and out of Africa and other emerging markets, faster, cheaper, and more equitable.”
So far, Mansa has lived up to expectations. TechCrunch reports its clients have experienced a 30% uptick in transaction volumes and a 10% increase in revenue. Its client base spans B2B payment platforms, virtual card providers, forex platforms, and stablecoin providers. Mansa has also logged a 350% increase in its own revenue within the past six months.
Since its inception, the platform has allocated more than $18 million in payments financed to its clients, and it has processed almost $31 million in the past six months. Mansa expects its total payment volume to reach a run rate of $1 billion by the end of 2025, compared to its current $240 million run rate.
The platform now aspires to take its solutions to Latin America and Southeast Asia in light of receiving $10 million in a seed round led by Tether, TechCrunch notes.
“Payments are moving on chain, but in order for payments to move on chain you need to have the on-chain liquidity to be able to settle instantly,” Sanoh told the outlet. “That is why our partnership with Tether is so consequential and why we’re working very closely together to make it the primary stablecoin in emerging markets.”
