Seychelles-based fintech startup Fusepay has successfully raised $350,000 in pre-seed funding to modernize business-to-business (B2B) payment systems across the Indian Ocean islands. The funding round was led by Hustle Fund, with additional participation from Everywhere Ventures, First Check Ventures, Startup Istanbul, and angel investor Ryan Nesbitt.
“Our mission is to build modern financial and payment solutions for the underserved Indian Ocean islands, starting with Seychelles,” said Vidhyasahar Thiyagarajan, CEO of Fusepay. “We aim to help businesses save time, reduce costs, and prevent fraud. This funding represents a significant milestone as we work toward becoming a licensed Payment Service Provider (PSP) in Seychelles.”
Fusepay was founded in June 2024 by Vidhyasahar Thiyagarajan (CEO) and Francesco Rocchi (CTO). Both founders have lived in Seychelles for decades, where they supported their families’ retail and wholesale businesses. Their firsthand experience revealed the inefficiencies of traditional payment systems in the region, which still rely heavily on cash, paper-based processes, and physical cheques.
“We saw how much time and money businesses were losing to manual payments, chasing invoices, and dealing with employee fraud,” the founders explained. “These challenges inspired us to leverage our tech expertise and startup experience, including time at YC-backed Alaan, to create a better solution.”
Interestingly, Alaan, a UAE-based corporate card and spend management platform, recently announced a $48 million Series A round, underscoring the growing demand for modern financial tools in emerging markets.
Fusepay’s flagship product, FuseCheq, enables secure, post-dated digital payments for retail and wholesale businesses, effectively replacing physical cheques. This innovation is timely, as the Seychelles government is phasing out physical cheques, signaling a shift toward digital financial infrastructure.
Later this month, Fusepay plans to launch an invoice payment platform designed to streamline accounts payable and receivable, further reducing friction in B2B transactions.
The company has grown to a 10-member team, comprising engineers, designers, and finance professionals with experience at global firms such as Intel and Goldman Sachs. This diverse expertise positions Fusepay to deliver robust, scalable solutions tailored to the unique needs of businesses in the Indian Ocean region.
