The need to bypass the high cost of international money transfer by Africans in the diaspora is the drive behind the launching of a new money transfer app in the United Kingdom (UK) by a Tanzanian fintech startup NALA focusing on servicing the needs of the East African diaspora in the United Kingdom. NALA was founded by Benjamin Fernandes.
Nala is a past winner of both Ecobank Fintech Challenge and Seedstars Tanzania and has previously developed a mobile money app for Africa that grew to over 250,000 customers in just over a year and became East Africa’s number one finance app.
Read also:African Business Council Applauds Start of African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
NALA, which is backed by Y Combinator and is also US-based VC firm Accel’s first Sub-Saharan African investment, recently gained EMD Agent approval from the UK’s financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and plans to launch a money transfer app for East Africans living in the UK in the next few months.
“Our mission is to increase economic opportunity for Africans worldwide and we believe that remittances are one of the best forms of economic development,” NALA said.
Read also:Ghanaian Fintech Startup OZÉ Raises $700k In Seed Funding Round
“We want to use remittances as a foundation for new layers of banking services for the African diaspora and their loved ones back home.”
The NALA beta app will be rolling out gradually from February 2021 for UK-based customers sending to Kenya and Uganda. It will be available for customers sending to Tanzania shortly after.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry