Clinton Mbah, Adesuwa Omoruyi, and Zino Asamaige. Image Credits: Accrue
Nigerian cross-border payment platform, Accrue, has landed a $1.58 million seed funding round to bolster its operations and improve its payment solutions across Africa. Venture capital firm Lattice fund participated in the round as the lead investor. The seed funding round also saw investment from Maven 11, Lava, Kraynod Capital, Distributed Capital, and a group of angel investors. The funding will be targeted at enabling Accrue to expand its payment structures across the continent, refining its product offerings and and injecting a fresh set of skilled professionals into its team.
Clinton Mbah jointly founded Accrue in 2021 with Adesuwa Omoruyi and Zino Asamaige. At the nascent stages of its inception, the company sought to simplify cryptocurrency and stock investment for retail users. However, the company soon chanced on a market opportunity caused by the 2022 cryptocurrency downturn and a growing demand for optimal cross-border payment solution within Africa.
What came out of this strategic shift was Cashramp, an innovative cross-border payment platform that helps users seamlessly send funds across African countries. Through Accrue, users can transfer funds to any bank account, mobile money wallet, or MPesa within five minutes, ensuring swift and reliable transactions.
Accrue’s change of direction towards cross-border payment solutions has proven to be a profitable adventure. Over the past three years, the platform has attracted over 200,000 users, facilitating secure and swift financial transactions across the continent. From being an auxiliary feature, Cashramp has become the company’s primary revenue driver. Accrue’s agent network model adopts the approach of established mobile money platforms like MPesa and Moniepoint, which have played a transformative role in financial inclusion across Africa. Accrue claims its system facilitates transaction completion within five minutes, offering significant convenience to its users.
Today, Accrue boasts over 200,000 users across eight African countries: Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Cameroon, Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi. The company generates revenue through various channels, including transaction fees associated with asset sales or investments. For example, users incur a 1.5% penalty for prematurely terminating auto-investment plans. Additionally, similar to many fintech companies, Accrue earns revenue through foreign exchange spreads on its transactions.
Lattice Fund, the lead investor in the seed round, highlighted Accrue’s potential to revolutionize cross-border payments in Africa. “We are impressed by Accrue’s ability to identify a critical need in the African financial landscape and develop a scalable solution to address it. The company’s agent network model, inspired by the success stories of MPesa and Moniepoint, has the potential to provide efficient and accessible cross-border payment services to a vast underbanked population.” said a spokesperson from Lattice Fund.
Accrue has retained its cryptocurrency investment feature. On the other hand, the company announced the discontinuation of stock trading on its platform in 2024. This decision streamlines the company’s focus on its core offerings, which now encompass enabling users to save in US dollars and make online payments using virtual cards issued by Accrue.
