Nala Raises $40 Million in Series A Funding for Global Expansion

Money transfer fintech Nala has secured $40 million in Series A funding to support its global expansion and enhance payment reliability to Africa by developing its own payment infrastructure.

The funding round was led by Lauren Kolodny of Acrew Capital, with participation from DST Global, Amplo, and previous investors. Notable fintech founders such as Ryan King (Chime), Vlad Tenev (Robinhood), and the founder of Klarna also supported the raise.

This funding follows a transformative year for Nala, which saw a 10x increase in revenue and a 34x rise in transaction value, reaching profitability. The company now serves 500,000 customers and has expanded its team from seven to over 100 members.

Nala’s consumer money transfer app enables secure, reliable payments from Europe, the UK, and the US to 11 African countries in seconds. The firm is also developing a B2B platform for fast payments to individuals and businesses across Africa, aiming to replicate the success of dLocal in Latin America and Airwallex in Asia.

This is Nala’s second fundraising round in 20 months, following a $10 million raise from Accel, Amplo, and Bessemer Partners in 2022.

Benjamin Fernandes, founder & CEO of Nala, stated, “This $40 million funding round marks a pivotal moment for Nala. It will enable us to go beyond remittances and extend our reach beyond Africa, building a robust payments ecosystem. We’re reinvesting this money to enhance our infrastructure, ensuring reliable, low-cost payments for all. With the launch of our own payment rails and the expansion of our B2B platform Rafiki, we’re not just talking about change – we’re building it. We’ve got some bold, ambitious plans, give us a couple of years.”