HoneyCoin, a Nairobi-based fintech startup specializing in stablecoin-powered payment rails, has raised $4.9 million in seed funding to accelerate its expansion into new markets across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The funding round was led by Flourish Ventures, with participation from a diverse group of global investors including TLcom Capital, Stellar Development Foundation, Lava, Musha Ventures, 4DX Ventures, Antler, and Visa Ventures, the investment arm of the global payments leader.
Founded in 2020, HoneyCoin is tackling inefficiencies in Africa’s $329 billion cross-border payments market, where high fees and slow settlement times remain persistent challenges. The company’s proprietary infrastructure leverages stablecoins to enable near-instant settlements, connecting directly to banks, mobile money platforms, and global payment networks. This allows businesses to move funds in hours instead of days, at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems.
David Nandwa, Founder and CEO of HoneyCoin, stated:
We’re profitable, have been for two years, and now have unlimited runway. Our mission is to build the operating system for money how it’s moved, held, and collected across any geography or medium. This funding empowers us to lead that transformation globally.
HoneyCoin currently processes $150 million in monthly transactions, serving 350 enterprise clients and over 326,000 direct consumers. Its revenue is primarily driven by B2B settlement and acquiring services, with corporate clients paying up to $2,500 per month to integrate its payments API.
The company operates in 15 African countries, the United States, parts of Europe, and several emerging markets. With this new capital, HoneyCoin plans to expand into Mozambique, Zambia, Rwanda, Francophone Africa, as well as Latin America and Asia. The funding will also support hiring senior executives, securing additional licenses, and launching new products.
HoneyCoin’s infrastructure is built around a stablecoin-powered AI Matching Engine, which uses customer and volume data to net off flows across both sides of a transaction. It also maintains a global colocation network of strategic banking partners, enabling same-day settlements.
The startup holds a robust set of regulatory approvals, including:
- Money Service Business (MSB) and Payment Service Solutions Provider (PSSP) licenses in Canada
- Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) license in Europe
- MSB approval in the United States
- Letters of No Objection (LNOs) from regulators in Nigeria, Kenya, and Tanzania
It also has direct partnerships with mobile network operators and payment service providers across Africa.
HoneyCoin plans to roll out several new products in Q3 2025, including:
- A stablecoin-backed debit card in partnership with Visa
- A cross-border liquidity solution for African corporates with Interswitch
- A Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) platform in Ghana, Malawi, and Tanzania
- A software-based POS solution for merchants in East Africa
Flourish Ventures Principal Efayomi Carr remarked:
HoneyCoin has the potential to become the go-to infrastructure layer for collecting, converting, and settling funds across B2B cross-border payments into and within Africa. This capital will strengthen its core infrastructure, deepen relationships with banks and regulators, and attract senior talent to support enterprise growth.
HoneyCoin is positioning itself alongside other major players in the African fintech space, including VertoFX, Nala, Yellow Card, and Cellulant, all of which are building solutions to streamline cross-border payments.
