The African Money Transfer Fintech Nala Launches In The EU

Nala launched in the UK last year with help from Y-Combinator and Accel Starters. Since then, it has expanded to the US before launching in the EU.

Nala, an African fintech company backed by YC and Accel Starters, has arrived in the EU.

Tanzania-based Nala came out in the UK exactly one year later, in January 2021. It is made up of people who used to work for Monzo and Google.

Now, it is offering its services for sending money back home and making payments to the African diaspora in Europe, where more than a quarter of African migrants live.

People in the US can use Nala’s app to send money to Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ghana, just like people in the EU and the UK.

“The European economy is the third largest in the world and home to more than a quarter of African migrants. At NALA, our mission is to empower Africans financially across the world. Launching in the EU significantly expands our reach and ability to meaningfully innovate in the African payments space,” said Nala CEO Benjamin Fernandes.

Fernandes is from Tanzania and has worked in mobile money payments in Africa for more than ten years. He also built one of the first ways to pay for TV subscription services with mobile money before this.

“Payments companies have traditionally leaned on market expansion as a primary growth lever, causing them to pursue wider geographic reach rather than added value in their product,” Fernandes added.