Nigerian fintech company Nomba has acquired a licensed Canadian payment service provider and money services business as part of its strategy to build robust cross-border payment infrastructure for African businesses engaged in global trade.
The acquisition gives Nomba regulatory coverage in Canada, allowing it to move money locally within the country and connect Canadian dollar (CAD) payment flows directly to African markets. By owning a licensed entity, the fintech can now offer African businesses local CAD accounts held in Canada, direct settlement from CAD into naira and other African currencies, near-real-time settlement for cross-border transactions, and reduced reliance on intermediary banks.
Nomba has reportedly injected approximately $2 million in capital into the acquired entity to strengthen its infrastructure and support scaling efforts.
“Cross-border trade payments for African businesses are still built on infrastructure that was never designed for speed or transparency,” Yinka Adewale, CEO of Nomba, said. “Owning regulated infrastructure allows us to remove layers of complexity and give businesses predictable, reliable rails they can build on.”
Adewale noted that Nomba’s focus on businesses is not intended to exclude individuals but reflects where the company believes the biggest unmet need lies. While fintech innovation has significantly improved consumer remittances, he argues that cross-border payments for businesses remain a persistent challenge.
“Solving this requires different infrastructure: strong regulatory compliance, direct relationships with global correspondent banks, and deep liquidity pools. That’s what Nomba has built, and that’s where we can create the most value. We’re serving the segment where the problem is unsolved and where we have unique capabilities to fix it.”
The acquisition of a licensed Canadian payment service provider and money services follows Nomba’s expansion into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in November 2025, where it launched a remittance-first business model. In the DRC, the fintech entered a competitive market dominated by players such as Vodacom, Orange, Airtel, and Africell. Despite this competition, Nomba views the remittance space in the country as a relatively underserved opportunity and plans to differentiate through improved product offerings.
Founded in 2016 as Kudi by Yinka Adewale and Pelumi Aboluwarin, the company rebranded to Nomba in 2022 as it transitioned into an omni-channel payment platform. The startup initially launched as a chatbot for payments before pivoting into agency banking and point-of-sale (PoS) services.
Today, Nomba enables merchants across Nigeria to accept multiple forms of payment and manage their finances more efficiently, with a strong focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Its core offerings include affordable and reliable PoS terminals, digital payment services, and essential banking features designed to help small businesses process card payments, track sales, and access modern financial tools without relying on traditional bank branches.
Nomba differentiates itself by tailoring its services to the needs of Nigerian SMEs through easy-to-use PoS devices, seamless onboarding, fast settlement of funds, and integrated banking services such as transfers, bill payments, and business insights. These solutions support entrepreneurs, shop owners, and service providers operating in Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital economy.
Nomba describes the Canada corridor as the first of several international markets where it aims to establish regulated infrastructure to support African trade. With its Canadian presence secured, the fintech plans to expand into additional international markets.
Notably, in the UAE, the company intends to pursue direct licensing, while in Singapore it will work through bank sponsorship agreements to unlock access not only to the local market but also to the broader Asia–Africa trade corridor.
