Raenest, a Nigerian fintech providing cross-border payments to gig workers and businesses, has secured $11 million in Series A funding.
The investment round was led by QED Investors, along with Norrsken22, Ventures Platform, P1 Ventures, and Seedstars and brings total venture funding to the startup to $14.3 million.
Raenest offers freelancers and businesses virtual USD, GBP, and EUR accounts to receive payments, manage multi-currency wallets and convert currencies. It also provides virtual and physical debit cards that accept multiple currencies like US dollars.
Since launching in 2022, Raenest has processed over $1 billion in payments — a 160% increase over the past two years. The company now claims 700,000 individual customers and 300+ businesses, including the likes of MoniePoint, Helium Health, Fez Delivery, and Matta.
The company says it will use the fresh capital to strengthen its presence in Nigeria and Kenya, and launch in the US and Egypt.
Eslewhere on the African sub-continent, Ghanaian digital banking startup Affinity Africa has bagged $8 million in seed funding.
The company was founded in 2022, when it received a savings and loans license from the Bank of
Ghana, the first of its kind granted in over 10 years, and officially launched operations in October 2024, following the regulatory approval of its mobile app. it has since onboarded over 50,000 customers, offering a comprehensive suite of products, including personal and SME accounts, savings, payments, transfers to banks and mobile money wallets, investments, and loans.
Tarek Mouganie, founder and group CEO of Affinity, says “The strong, sustained growth we have seen since the launch of our mobile app shows how much local customers needed a better banking experience, without absurd fees and endless queues. As a customer-centric, technology-driven, fully fledged financial institution, we offer affordable, easy-to-use products, backed by a unique business model that attracts a growing base of deposits while offering the cheapest instant loans in the region.”