Nairobi is the latest stop for Tanzanian fintech, NALA, which is leaning on Equity Bank and Pesalink to speed its entry into one of Africa’s most lucrative remittance corridors.
- •Instead of applying for direct approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), NALA will use Pesalink’s instant-payments network and Equity Bank’s settlement system to deliver transfers from abroad into Kenyan bank accounts and mobile wallets.
- •The move underscores how fintechs are leaning on local partners to accelerate their entry into tightly regulated markets like Kenya, where approvals may take too long.
- •Remittances to Kenya reached a record KSh 640 billion in 2024, according to the CBK, making them the country’s second-largest source of foreign exchange after exports.
“This partnership will give fintechs and remittance firms direct access to trusted local rails and provide merchants and SMEs with quicker, more predictable international transactions,” said Kenn Lisudza, Chief Product Officer at Pesalink.
Founded in 2017 by Benjamin Fernandes, NALA specializes in low-fee transfers and already serves markets in Nigeria, Tanzania and Ghana. The company said its focus in Kenya will be lowering costs for those sending money while maintaining real-time delivery speeds.
The remittance sector in Kenya is dominated by Safaricom’s M-Pesa, U.S. firms such as Western Union and MoneyGram, and domestic banks with entrenched diaspora links. NALA’s Chief Operating Officer Nicolai Eddy said partnerships with established players were essential to eliminating intermediaries and competing against such incumbents.
“Each year, Africa loses US$7.3 billion to remittance fees. That’s money that should be going directly into families’ pockets to fund education, healthcare, and small businesses,” Nicolai said.
NALA’s entry into Kenya comes on the heels of a US$40 million Series A round last year, led by San Francisco venture firm Acrew Capital with backing from DST Global, Norrsken22 and HOF Capital. The funding was earmarked for Rafiki, NALA’s new B2B platform designed to tackle gaps in Africa’s payments infrastructure.
