Grace Ashiru
Waza, a Nigerian B2B payment and liquidity provider catering to businesses in emerging markets, has successfully raised $8 million in equity and debt funding. This funding will be utilized to develop new trade finance solutions and extend Waza’s reach beyond its existing operations in Ghana and Nigeria.
The capital infusion consists of a $3 million initial equity round, with participation from investors such as Y Combinator, Byld Ventures, Norrsken Africa, Heirloom VC, Plug and Play Tech Centre, and Olive Tree Capital. Additionally, $5 million in debt funding was secured from Timon Capital to initiate trade financing for large enterprise clients.
Waza was founded by Maxwell Obi, a serial entrepreneur, and Emmanuel Igbodudu, a senior software engineer. The company operates as a money services business registered in the United States and is also a licensed virtual asset service provider. Waza’s B2B payment and liquidity platform is designed to streamline the process for emerging market businesses to pay their suppliers globally.
Maxwell Obi, the CEO and co-founder of Waza, expressed that this advancement moves the startup closer to transforming B2B payments and enhancing liquidity access for businesses across the continent.
Obi further stated, “By offering a more efficient settlement infrastructure, we are bridging the gap in foreign exchange and liquidity, empowering African businesses to tap into more global trade opportunities, thereby driving economic growth and development in the markets we operate.”
The startup launched in stealth mode in January 2023 after being accepted into the Winter 23 cohort of Y Combinator. Since then, it claims to have served hundreds of businesses, enabling business payments across six continents and processing over $700 million in annualized payment volume. Furthermore, the company has experienced a 20% growth rate each month.
In January 2023, the startup secured $1.2 million in pre-seed funding aimed at developing payment infrastructure for emerging markets. By the fourth quarter of 2023, the company had reached profitability, and, according to the company, has successfully maintained this profitability into 2024.
