NjiaPay, a payments-as-a-service provider focused on African businesses, has announced the successful completion of an oversubscribed pre-seed investment round, raising over $1 million. The funding round was led by HAVAÍC, with participation from notable angel investors, including the founders of Anyfin, Banxware, and Maxidrive.
Launched in late 2024, NjiaPay is a spin-off from Talk360, an international calling app designed for the African diaspora. The company aims to streamline payment management for enterprises across Africa, tackling both technical and operational challenges that businesses face in the region.
In its announcement, NjiaPay highlighted the significant difficulties that companies encounter when managing payments across the continent. Many businesses struggle to integrate and manage various payment service providers (PSPs), leading to operational inefficiencies and increased costs. To address these issues, NjiaPay positions itself as a smart aggregator of PSPs and payment methods.
The company stated, “Through a single, seamless integration, merchants gain access to a unified checkout experience and a consolidated merchant portal, which simplifies their payment operations.” This approach allows businesses to manage their payment processes more efficiently.
NjiaPay’s platform also incorporates intelligent routing, built-in redundancy, and advanced features such as fraud protection. These capabilities ensure a smooth payment experience for merchants while providing centralized reporting and data management to enhance operational functions, including customer support and finance.
Rob Heath, a partner at HAVAÍC, elaborated on the importance of NjiaPay’s services for African businesses;
We have observed first-hand the challenges faced by our portfolio companies in managing payments across the African continent. The need to integrate with multiple PSPs can significantly impede their product development timelines. Streamlining payment operations is crucial for the growth of the African digital economy, and we believe that NjiaPay is well-positioned to address this critical need.
Jonatan Allback, co-founder and CEO of NjiaPay, expressed that the funding will allow the company to expand its team in both Amsterdam and Cape Town, as well as enhance the capabilities of its platform. He stated, “Our mission is to empower African businesses by simplifying the complexities of payments. By becoming their in-house payments experts, we enable them to focus on growth while we manage the operational and technical intricacies of their payments processing.”
Roderick Simons, co-founder and Chief Product and Technology Officer (CPTO) of NjiaPay, emphasized the technological advancements of the platform. “NjiaPay is built on the latest cloud-based technology and leverages AI to select the optimal PSP for each transaction, driving higher conversion rates and minimizing costs. Our platform also incorporates sophisticated fraud screening to safeguard businesses from losses,” he explained.
Currently operational in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, NjiaPay has plans to expand its product offerings within these markets in 2025. The company aims to partner with additional PSPs and scale its operations across the continent.
Hans Osnabrugge, founder of Talk360 and Chairman of the Board at NjiaPay, shared his positive experience with the solution. “At Talk360, we experienced first-hand the value of NjiaPay’s solution. By transitioning to NjiaPay, we freed up valuable engineering resources and achieved a 25% increase in conversion rates, translating to significant revenue growth.” This underscores the potential impact of NjiaPay’s services on enhancing business performance in the African market.
