Nairobi-based Web3 fintech platform hela.money has kicked off operations in Kenya, aiming to ease cross-border payments among merchants.

The platform plans to provide a unified trading platform across Africa and targets businesses and individuals who want to trade across multiple currencies, in different jurisdictions.

It offers a trading platform and an API that leverage blockchain technologies to power trade. It also has a mobile app that allows users to access cryptocurrency services such as money transfers, payments, credit and savings.

According to Kebaya Mwamba, co-founder of hela.money, the company has already entered into agreements with several Kenyan and Pan-African banks to provide on-ramp and off-ramp services to its customers.

3,000 Pre-Registered Customers

“We’ve integrated mobile money for those who want to fiat ramp into the platform. We have mobile money from Kenya, DRC and Zimbabwe integrated into the platform. We are also working on integrating banking APIs that are open in South Africa and Nigeria,” Mwamba told NODO News in an interview.

The firm already has 3,000 pre-registered customers on its waitlist as it targets about 1 billion users in the next five years. Mwamba said hela.money reached a partnership agreement with the Esports Federation of Kenya, which has 1.5 million gamers.

And hela.money’s use of blockchain to ease the pain points in cross-border transactions across Africa have a backing, according to a recent research paper by Cellulant. It states:

“Blockchain-based solutions, such as cross-border remittance platforms, provide cheaper and faster ways of sending money, which is particularly important for those who rely on international money transfers.”

Conquering Kenya and Eyeing the Continent

*(Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for ICT, Eliud Owalo awards Kebaya Mwamba, co-founder of hela.money)*

The 10-month-old platform just received an accolade as Kenya’s Fintech of the Year 2023 at the concluded Connected Kenya Summit 2023, a technology-based symposium hosted by the government of Kenya through the ICT ministry.

“The government of Kenya is very pro-blockchain and getting this recognition from the government is a validation of our idea and our innovation,” Mwamba said.

Mwamba is upbeat that the country is warming up to the idea of using blockchain and cryptocurrency to solve some of its challenges. New legislation seeks to tax cryptocurrency trades in Kenya, a sign that Kenya will recognize cryptocurrency use.

McKinsey states that with increased innovation in fintech and the payment demands in cross-border trade, Africa’s domestic e-payments market is expected to see a 20% annual growth in revenues and reach $40 billion by 2025.

-Edited by Faustine Ngila