Grace Ashiru
There’s a running joke that if you shake any tree, an Africa-focused remittance startup will fall out. The sector is brimming with recognisable names like Lemfi, NALA, Raenest, and Grey. However, these prominent players often rely on the backbone provided by lesser-known payment businesses to thrive.
One such company is Fincra, a B2B startup that powers payment infrastructure for remittance firms, enabling seamless cross-border transactions. Since 2023, Fincra has processed over $10 billion in transactions, serving notable clients like Lemfi, OneLiquidity, and Cleva. The company has achieved profitability but opted not to disclose specific figures.
Despite its success, Fincra has remained largely bootstrapped, having secured only a modest $120,000 investment from Techstars in 2020. This minimalist funding approach reflects Ayodele’s strong belief in organic growth over dependency on external financing.
“I don’t believe in funding as a growth strategy; I believe in adding value to people. If you add value, people will give you money,” Ayodele explained.
As African businesses continue to expand globally and more Africans take on remote roles with international companies, Fincra is leading a new wave of startups revolutionising cross-border payments. Competing with firms like Kora and Verto, Fincra sets itself apart with a distinctive payment infrastructure designed to simplify the challenges of international transactions.
In addition to facilitating cross-border trade, Fincra provides an API that supports Nigerian businesses in collecting local payments, whether through bank transfers or card transactions. Prominent businesses such as Jiji and BetKing already rely on Fincra for this service.
However, Fincra doesn’t approach competition in the traditional sense. “In fact, the companies you might think of as our competitors are more likely to be our customers,” explains Ayodele. This perspective is rooted in Fincra’s strategy of enabling other businesses through its infrastructure, rather than engaging in direct competition for market dominance.
Building a cross-border payment rail from scratch has been an immense challenge. Beyond the task of sourcing the right talent to design such a complex system, the company has also had to contend with navigating the diverse and often stringent regulations across multiple countries—a significant obstacle to progress.
“In some countries, it can take up to 48 hours to transfer local currency from one bank to another. You can’t innovate out of that,” Ayodele explains.
He believes that more cross-border solutions are essential to facilitate the seamless movement of money within Africa. “We always seek complementary solutions. One company alone cannot resolve all the cross-border challenges across the continent. This means we need more people building the kinds of solutions we are developing. We firmly believe that Africa’s prosperity depends on the easy flow of money,” Ayodele shared with TechCabal.
The company currently operates across Ghana, Kenya, Uganda, the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America, with plans to expand into the Francophone region.
“These markets are highly sought after by our customers, so it’s an obvious choice for us to establish a presence there. Ultimately, our goal is to operate in all 54 African countries. Next year, we’re setting our sights on regions like Egypt and Ethiopia,” Ayodele stated.
Fincra has also encountered its share of security challenges, particularly in light of the fraud issues that have troubled Nigeria’s financial sector.
“The only way to combat fraud as a fintech provider is by developing better technology,” Ayodele remarked. “We are all learning tough lessons. If you don’t implement the right safeguards, you’ll get exposed, and you’ll get hacked.”
Ayodele emphasises the importance of ecosystem collaboration and raising user awareness as key measures to combat fraud effectively.
Fincra has decided to deprioritise issuing virtual cards, aligning with a broader industry shift. Ayodele believes that the current workaround employed by Nigerian fintechs—partnering with U.S. or UK banks to issue dollar cards to Africans—is unsustainable. He argues that this method is fundamentally flawed, as it increases fraud risks when a growing number of non-U.S. residents are issued such cards.
“The issue with virtual card issuance is that once one fintech introduces a solution, everyone tries to build on top of it. It’s only a matter of time before the system hits a fraud threshold, especially as the number of non-U.S. residents being issued cards rises,” Ayodele explained.
He believes the ultimate solution lies in targeting specific countries for issuance and securing a payment sponsor from within those countries. “But, of course, people often avoid doing the hard things. Yet, it’s the hard things that stand the test of time,” Ayodele concluded.
The company has also revealed that it deprioritised issuing dollar cards following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) introduction of the Investors’ & Exporters’ FX Window (I&E FX Window).
“There’s no value in solving a problem that’s already been addressed. Ideally, every Nigerian bank should be capable of enabling naira cards for international payments. The fact that many naira cards still don’t work online is simply a result of laziness,” Ayodele remarked.
While Fincra has no plans to launch a consumer-facing product, the company is preparing to introduce multi-currency accounts designed specifically for small businesses.
“We believe the fastest way to achieve our vision is by building infrastructure for others rather than trying to engage directly with all the customers in Africa,” Ayodele explained.
In October 2024, Fincra secured a Third Party Payment Provider (TPPP) licence in South Africa. This licence allows the company to offer Pay-In and Pay-Out services, including card payments, to registered and pre-approved businesses within the country. Fincra is set to commence its operations in South Africa within the next month.
