Remittances are a lifeline for millions of African families, funding education, supporting households, and fueling business growth. In 2024, Africans abroad sent $56 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa. With migration on the rise, the demand for quick, transparent, and cost-efficient remittance platforms has intensified, creating a competitive landscape for fintech innovators.
Here are seven remittance startups showing strong momentum heading into 2026.
1. LemFi
LemFi processes over $1 billion in monthly payment volume following its $53 million Series B round in January 2025. The platform handled $2 billion in total transactions in 2023, making it a standout fintech player in Nigeria.
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, fast settlements, and robust compliance infrastructure.
2. NALA
Founded by Benjamin Fernandes in Tanzania, NALA raised $40 million in Series A funding in July 2024 and has moved more than $1 billion across Africa and Asia.
Operating in 11 African countries and recently expanding to the Philippines and Pakistan, NALA also offers Rafiki, a B2B payments platform used by TransferGo for African payouts. Transfers are completed in minutes to mobile wallets or bank accounts, with clear fees and exchange rates.
Backed by DST Global Partners, NALA is a promising growth-focused player in cross-border payments.
3. Africhange
Founded in 2020 by Canadian entrepreneur David Ajala, Africhange is a bootstrapped 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, partnered with Griffin for GBP accounts, and is registered under Canada’s Retail Payment Activities Act. Africhange supports USD, CAD, CNY, NGN, KES, GHS, INR, AUD, and GBP, with features like USD virtual accounts, crypto-to-fiat transfers, and stablecoin options. It also secured an International Money Transfer Operator licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, enabling direct remittances.
4. Pesa
Launched in 2021, Pesa has processed over $380 million in transactions by mid-2025, serving diaspora users from Canada, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
Pesa acquired UK-based Authoripay Emoney in June 2025, rebranding as Pesapeer Payments, gaining full UK and EU e-money licenses and the ability to issue multi-currency debit and prepaid cards. It also holds an International Money Transfer Operator licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria, allowing direct remittance rails into Nigeria and Ghana.
5. TapTap Send
TapTap Send is a widely used app for Africans in Europe, supporting corridors such as France to Senegal, Belgium to Côte d’Ivoire, and UK to Nigeria.
Its growth is driven by low fees, competitive exchange rates, and reliable mobile money delivery. The platform expanded to Spain, Italy, and Germany, strengthening coverage in West and Central Africa through partnerships with major mobile money operators. TapTap S
6. Afriex
Afriex leverages stablecoins to simplify cross-border payments and reduce currency volatility. The startup raised $10 million in Series A funding in 2022 from Sequoia Capital China and Dragonfly Capital.
The platform supports USD, GBP, and EUR transfers, offering a crypto-powered infrastructure for remittances and positioning itself for growth if regulatory frameworks evolve favorably.
7. Mukuru
Mukuru, a veteran in Southern Africa, serves over 17 million customers globally. Partnering with MoneyGram, the company has expanded its payout network and recently launched a mobile wallet in Zimbabwe.
With hundreds of remittance corridors and tens of millions of transactions processed, Mukuru blends the scale of an established operator with the flexibility to innovate digitally.
These seven startups represent the fastest-growing, most innovative players in Africa’s remittance sector, well-positioned to capitalize on rising diaspora transfers and the demand for affordable, transparent, and reliable cross-border payment solutions in 2026.
