7 African Remittance Startups to Watch in 2026
Remittances are a vital lifeline for families, education, and businesses across Africa. In 2024, Africans abroad sent $56 billion home to Sub-Saharan Africa. With growing migration, demand for fast, reliable, and cost-effective remittance solutions is rising, creating fierce competition among fintech startups.
Here are seven remittance startups showing strong momentum heading into 2026.
1. LemFi
LemFi now handles over $1 billion in monthly payment volume, following its $53 million Series B funding in January 2025. The company processed more than $2 billion in total transactions in 2023, making it one of Nigeria’s largest publicly reported fintech raises in early 2025.
Operating across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America, LemFi supports multiple African receiving countries, with Nigeria as its largest market. Users in Canada, the UK, and the U.S. benefit from competitive rates and fast settlement times.
The startup has invested heavily in compliance and licensing, ensuring smooth operations across all jurisdictions.
2. NALA
Founded by Benjamin Fernandes in Tanzania, NALA raised $40 million in Series A funding in July 2024 and has moved over $1 billion across Asia and Africa.
Operating in 11 African countries and recently expanding to the Philippines and Pakistan, NALA also develops Rafiki, a B2B payments infrastructure used by companies like UK-based TransferGo. Transfers complete within minutes to mobile money or bank accounts, with transparent fees and exchange rates.
Backed by investors like DST Global Partners, NALA is seen as a high-growth player in cross-border payments.
3. Africhange
Founded in 2020 by Canadian immigrant David Ajala, Africhange has built a bootstrapped remittance platform serving Canada, the UK, Nigeria, and Australia, processing 3 million transactions to date.
The company holds an Authorised Payment Institution Licence in the UK and recently partnered with Griffin to offer GBP bank and savings accounts. Africhange also became one of the first 300 entities registered under Canada’s Retail Payment Activities Act.
It supports major currencies, including USD, CAD, CNY, NGN, KES, GHS, INR, AUD, and GBP, offering USD virtual accounts, stablecoin options (USDT/USDC), and crypto-to-fiat remittance services. Africhange also obtained an International Money Transfer Operator licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, enabling direct remittance rails into Nigeria.
4. Pesa
Launched in 2021, Pesa has processed over $380 million in transaction volume as of mid-2025. It serves diaspora users from Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
In June 2025, Pesa acquired UK-based Authoripay Emoney, rebranded as Pesapeer Payments, gaining full UK and EU e-money licences and the ability to issue multi-currency debit and prepaid cards.
The company also secured an International Money Transfer Operator licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, enabling direct remittance rails to Nigeria and Ghana with faster settlement.
5. TapTap Send
TapTap Send is a popular remittance app for Africans living in Europe. It supports major corridors such as France to Senegal, Belgium to Côte d’Ivoire, and the UK to Nigeria.
Its growth is fueled by low fees, competitive FX rates, and reliable mobile money delivery. The platform expanded in Spain, Italy, and Germany and strengthened West and Central African coverage by partnering with major mobile money operators.
TapTap Send focuses on smaller, frequent transfers, building a loyal customer base in francophone African communities.
6. Afriex
Afriex leverages stablecoins to simplify cross-border transfers and reduce currency volatility. The startup raised $10 million in Series A funding in 2022 from Sequoia Capital China and Dragonfly Capital.
Its platform allows transfers in USD, GBP, and EUR, and represents a forward-looking approach to crypto-powered remittance infrastructure, positioning Afriex for future growth if regulatory frameworks evolve favourably.
7. Mukuru
Mukuru, a long-standing player in Southern Africa, serves over 17 million customers globally. The company partners with MoneyGram to expand its payout network and recently launched a mobile wallet in Zimbabwe.
With hundreds of remittance corridors and tens of millions of transactions processed, Mukuru combines the scale of an established remittance provider with the flexibility to innovate digitally.
These seven remittance startups exemplify the fastest-growing, most innovative players in Africa’s cross-border payments space, poised to benefit from the continued growth of diaspora transfers heading into 2026.
