Canza Finance, a pioneering Web3 neobank focused on facilitating cross-border payments for African startups, has successfully closed a strategic funding round, raising $2.3 million. The funding will play a crucial role in obtaining licenses from diverse financial regulators across Africa and establishing the groundwork for its innovative FX DeFi platform, Baki. With this recent round, Canza has amassed a total of $5.5 million in funding, following its earlier seed round of $3.27 million last year.
The lead investor in this strategic round was Polychain Capital, with notable participation from Protocol Labs, Avalanche’s Blizzard Fund, 99 Capital, Stratified Capital, Hyperithm, and others.
In many African markets, including Nigeria, Cameroon, and Senegal, businesses seeking to conduct cross-border payments often grapple with slow and expensive traditional methods. These challenges hinder them from securing favorable international deals, participating in stock trading, or earning interest on their funds.
Pascal Ntsama, Canza’s co-founder and CEO, articulates the company’s mission to democratize access to financial services that are typically reserved for large corporations. Canza collaborates with FX agents in these regions to offer a faster and more cost-effective solution for sending and receiving money. To complete a transaction, businesses need to submit a valid invoice and undergo the KYC/KYB processes, with Canza determining the exchange rate and finalizing the transaction within 24 hours.
Canza generates revenue by charging 1% of the processed transaction, and it aspires to further reduce transaction fees to 0.2% through the introduction of Baki, its synthetic FX exchange on-chain protocol. Baki facilitates the digital exchange of different currencies using stablecoins—digital currencies pegged to the dollar—enabling businesses to overcome traditional forex challenges while maintaining dollar stability. This strategic move helps reduce transaction costs to a mere 1%.
The startup reports processing transactions worth $2,000,000 weekly and currently serves 150 clients. Oyedeji Oluwoye, co-founder and CTO of Canza Finance, emphasizes the company’s commitment to infrastructure development in Africa. He stated, “With over 50 countries on the continent, our focus is on expanding infrastructure and obtaining necessary licenses in suitable jurisdictions. Additionally, we will drive the growth of our DeFi infrastructure products.”
In the upcoming months, Canza aims to secure multiple licenses for virtual asset custodian, broker-dealer, and exchange services. Ntsama outlined the startup’s plans, stating, “We aim to secure a Money Services Business (MSB) license in the United States, obtain a Foreign Exchange (FX) license in Nigeria, and acquire three crucial Virtual Asset Licenses from the Financial Service Commission of Mauritius.” The strategic funding positions Canza Finance as a key player in reshaping cross-border payments for African startups and fostering financial inclusion across the continent.
