London-based NALA, a fintech company, announced on Tuesday that it has raised $40M (approximately €37M) in Series A funding led by Lauren Kolodny of Acrew Capital, with participation from DST Global and Amplo, represented by Sheel Tyle.
The majority of previous investors increased their stakes by taking super pro-rata investments in this round
New investors include Norrsken22, HOF Capital, and notable fintech founders such as Ryan King, co-founder of Chime, Vlad Tenev, the co-founder of Robinhood, and the founder of Klarna.
The UK company will use the funds to support its global expansion and enhance the reliability of payments to Africa by developing its payment rails.
Benjamin Fernandes, Founder & CEO of NALA, says, “This $40M 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.”
The announcement comes 20 months after raising $10M (approximately €9.2M) through Accel, Amplo, and Bessemer Partners in 2022.
NALA: Consumer money transfer app
Founded by Benjamin Fernandes, NALA consumer money transfer app that enables users to make secure and reliable payments from Europe, the UK, and the US to 11 African countries in seconds.
The company is on a mission to build payments for the Next Billion, laying the payment rails to improve payments into the African continent.
By building community-powered financial solutions, the London-based company makes it easier to handle day-to-day payments and conduct business in an increasingly global Africa.
Rafiki – B2B platform that enables payments to individuals and businesses globally on the African continent. Similar to dLocal but for Africa.
Over the past 12 months, the company has achieved a tenfold increase in revenue, became profitable, and achieved positive cash flow.
Within the last 20 months, NALA experienced a thirty-fourfold increase in transaction volume.
The NALA team has grown from just 7 members to a robust team of over 100. Today, NALA serves 500,000 customers.
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