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Nigeria-based fintech startup Daya has raised $2.4 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed round as investors increase their focus on stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure across Africa. The round was led by Hivemind Capital, with participation from Lattice, Alliance, Globelink Capital, and Aptos Foundation. The funding comes less than a year after the company was founded and reflects growing investor confidence in startups building financial infrastructure for businesses rather than consumer-facing crypto products.
Founded in 2025 by Aleph Lasebikan and Paul Joe, Daya is developing a stablecoin payment stack designed to help African businesses move money across borders more efficiently. Its platform combines stablecoin settlement, fiat on-ramps and off-ramps, multi-currency accounts, treasury management tools, foreign exchange routing, and compliance infrastructure. The company says it is targeting a problem that continues to affect businesses across the continent: the high cost and complexity of international payments.
The timing of the investment reflects broader shifts in how businesses and investors view stablecoins. Rather than treating them as speculative assets, companies are increasingly using them as a practical tool for settling transactions, managing treasury operations, and reducing payment costs. This shift is particularly visible in Africa, where fragmented banking systems, multiple currencies, and limited cross-border payment infrastructure continue to create barriers for trade and business expansion.
Nigeria has emerged as one of the clearest examples of this trend. According to the International Monetary Fund, the country received approximately $59 billion in crypto inflows between July 2023 and June 2024, accounting for roughly 60% of all stablecoin inflows into Sub-Saharan Africa during the period. The IMF noted that businesses and individuals are increasingly turning to stablecoins for cross-border transactions because they offer a faster and often cheaper alternative to traditional payment channels.
The demand becomes easier to understand when placed alongside the economics of moving money across Africa. Sending $200 into Sub-Saharan Africa still costs around 9% on average, according to IMF data, significantly higher than the global average of about 6%. For businesses that regularly pay international suppliers, settle invoices, purchase software subscriptions, or manage remote teams across multiple countries, these costs can accumulate quickly. Stablecoin-based settlement systems aim to reduce those frictions by bypassing some of the traditional intermediaries involved in international payments.
Daya’s growth suggests there is strong market demand for such services. The startup has reported more than 40% month-on-month growth during 2026, an unusually rapid expansion rate for a company at the pre-seed stage. While still early, the figure indicates that businesses are actively seeking alternatives to conventional payment rails.
The investment also fits into a larger trend unfolding across African fintech. Earlier this month, Flutterwave reached a reported valuation of $3.2 billion after bringing Ripple in as a strategic investor and signaling plans to deepen its stablecoin-enabled payment capabilities. The company has processed more than $40 billion in payments and over one billion transactions. Meanwhile, Tanzanian fintech NALA secured a credit facility of up to $50 million to expand stablecoin-based payment corridors. Together, the developments point to growing investor conviction that stablecoin infrastructure could become a major component of Africa’s financial system.
The trend is not limited to Africa. Globally, investors are directing capital toward businesses building stablecoin-powered financial infrastructure. In March, foreign exchange startup OpenFX raised $94 million after growing annualized payment volume from $4 billion to $45 billion within a year. The funding activity suggests that investors increasingly view stablecoins as part of the future of international payments rather than a niche crypto product.
Daya is also positioning itself around emerging trade routes. Earlier this month, the company partnered with Aptos Foundation and HashKey MENA to launch a pilot payment corridor connecting Africa and the United Arab Emirates. The move comes as the UAE strengthens its position as a major destination for African businesses, trade flows, and investment capital. As commercial ties between Africa and the Gulf continue to expand, efficient payment infrastructure is becoming increasingly important.
For investors, Daya’s funding round represents more than another fintech deal. It signals continued confidence in a category that is attracting growing attention across global financial markets. For African businesses, it highlights the search for alternatives to payment systems that remain costly, slow, and fragmented. And for Nigeria, it reinforces the country’s position as one of the continent’s most important testing grounds for the next generation of financial infrastructure.
