Daya Raises US$2.4M Pre-Seed to Transform Cross-Border Payments in Africa

Daya Co-Founders, Paul Joe and Aleph L.

Cross-border payments remain one of Africa's largest financial infrastructure challenges, with businesses and individuals often navigating fragmented banking systems, expensive transfer fees, and slow settlement times. Addressing this opportunity, Daya has secured US$2.4 million in pre-seed funding to build a financial operating layer that streamlines international money movement across the continent.

The funding round was led by Hivemind Capital, with participation from Alliance DAO, Lattice, Globelink Holding, and the Aptos Foundation. The investment will accelerate product development and strengthen the company's financial infrastructure platform for businesses operating across international markets.

Why Did Daya Raise US$2.4 Million?

The newly raised capital will be used to expand Daya's financial operating platform, allowing African businesses and individuals to:

• Collect payments locally across multiple markets
• Convert currencies more efficiently
• Settle funds internationally
• Reduce operational complexity
• Lower cross-border transaction costs

Rather than operating as another payment application, Daya aims to become the financial infrastructure layer powering global commerce for African businesses, freelancers, suppliers, and exporters.

Investor backing also highlights continued confidence in African fintech, which remains one of the continent's most active venture sectors despite broader funding normalization during 2025–2026.

What Problem Is Daya Solving?

Cross-border transactions across Africa continue to face several structural challenges, including:

Challenge	Business Impact	How Daya Addresses It
High international transfer fees	Increased operating costs	Streamlined payment infrastructure
Fragmented banking systems	Multiple financial accounts	Unified financial operating platform
Manual settlement processes	Slower payment cycles	Automated collection and settlement
Currency conversion complexity	Foreign exchange inefficiencies	Integrated currency conversion
Limited payment accessibility	Reduced global competitiveness	Local collection with global settlement

These inefficiencies create friction for SMEs, freelancers, exporters, and remote workers participating in international trade.

How Will the Funding Strengthen Daya's Platform?

According to the company, the investment will support continued expansion of its platform capabilities, including improvements across payment collection, currency conversion, and international settlement infrastructure.

The objective is to create a seamless financial operating system that enables African users to transact globally without relying on fragmented payment providers or complex banking workflows.

As global commerce becomes increasingly digital, reducing friction in cross-border payments is becoming a competitive advantage for businesses serving international customers.

Why Investors Continue Backing African Fintech

The successful pre-seed round reflects sustained investor interest in infrastructure-focused fintech companies solving fundamental financial challenges across emerging markets.

Rather than targeting consumer payments alone, Daya is building core financial rails that enable cross-border commerce at scale—a segment attracting increasing venture capital attention as digital trade continues to expand across Africa.

The participation of firms including Hivemind Capital, Alliance DAO, Lattice, Globelink Holding, and the Aptos Foundation underscores growing confidence in infrastructure-first fintech solutions designed for African markets.

Across emerging innovation ecosystems, financial infrastructure continues to attract investment alongside government-backed hubs such as Hub71 in Abu Dhabi, ADGM, and NEOM, reflecting broader global momentum behind fintech infrastructure and digital economic transformation.

What Does This Mean for Africa's Cross-Border Payments Market?

With fresh funding secured, Daya plans to strengthen the financial infrastructure that supports businesses and individuals participating in the global economy.

As digital commerce accelerates and international trade becomes increasingly accessible to SMEs, platforms that simplify payment collection, foreign exchange, and global settlement are expected to play an increasingly important role in Africa's evolving fintech ecosystem.

By reducing costs, improving efficiency, and simplifying international transactions, Daya is positioning itself to become a foundational financial operating layer for cross-border commerce across the continent.

 

 

FAQ

1. How much funding did Daya raise?
Daya raised US$2.4 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Hivemind Capital with participation from Alliance, Lattice, Globelink Holding, and the Aptos Foundation.

2. What does Daya do?
Daya is building a financial infrastructure platform that enables African businesses and individuals to collect local payments, convert currencies, and settle international transactions more efficiently.

3. Who invested in Daya's funding round?
The round was led by Hivemind Capital and included Alliance, Lattice, Globelink Holding, and the Aptos Foundation.

4. How will Daya use the new funding?
The company will expand its platform capabilities, strengthen its financial infrastructure, and improve payment collection, currency conversion, and cross-border settlement services.

5. Why are cross-border payment platforms important in Africa?
Many African businesses face high transfer costs, fragmented banking systems, and slow settlement processes. Platforms like Daya help simplify international payments, improve efficiency, and enable greater participation in global commerce.