African payments startup NALA has entered into a strategic partnership with global payments infrastructure provider Noah to launch an instant stablecoin settlement network aimed at modernizing cross‑border payments across emerging markets.
NALA operates as a fast‑growing African payments company and money transfer platform, enabling users in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States to send secure, low‑cost, and near‑instant payments to Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ghana.
In 2023, the company expanded into the European Union, adding 19 additional send markets and accelerating its mission to connect Africans worldwide. This growth trajectory was further supported by a US$40 million funding round last year.
Through its new collaboration with Noah, NALA is now developing an instant stablecoin settlement rail designed specifically for high‑growth regions. The system allows businesses across Africa and Asia to collect USD and disburse local currency within minutes, replacing traditional processes that often take several days.
By integrating Noah’s global USD collection infrastructure with NALA’s regulated stablecoin on‑ and off‑ramp network, the partnership enables:
- Instant USD settlement
- Real‑time payouts in local currency
- 24/7 cross‑border treasury operations
- Fully compliant, bilateral flows between digital dollars and local money
Shah Ramezani, founder and CEO of Noah, emphasised the need for a new model of payment infrastructure in fast‑growing markets, saying:
For years, emerging markets have been underserved by global payment infrastructure that was never designed for its scale, speed, or realities. This partnership with NALA is about building a new payment network that removes structural friction, restores trust in settlement, and gives businesses and consumers reliable access to global money movement. Stablecoins are not the story on their own – they are the rail that finally makes instant, compliant USD settlement possible at scale
The partnership comes amid rapid growth in NALA’s stablecoin‑powered payment services. Over the past 18 months, NALA’s infrastructure business scaled from zero to US$1 billion in processed volume, driven by soaring demand for stablecoin settlement solutions that reliably operate in emerging markets.
The company’s infrastructure platform, Rafiki, has grown 30x over the past year and now powers major partners, including MoneyGram.
Benjamin Fernandes, founder and CEO of NALA, highlighted the broader vision behind the collaboration:
We built NALA and Rafiki to power global money movement into emerging markets, not just remittances. We’ve seen a 100x demand increase for stablecoin on‑ and off‑ramps in emerging markets over the last 12 months. Access to compliant USD collection and stablecoin settlement at scale has been one of the biggest constraints for global businesses operating in these regions. Partnering with Noah allows us to offer global account usage, where companies can collect dollars anywhere in the world and pay out instantly in local currencies, all through licensed, regulated rails.
