This launch will allow the African diaspora across Europe, the UK, and the United States to send money to Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, and Ghana and provide efficient and cheap money transfer options.

Despite numerous money transfer options being available, Africa continues to be the most expensive place to send money. According to The World Bank, average transfer fees to Africa are estimated at ~9%.

In addition to this, existing options include hidden fees that make it difficult to calculate the actual cost of sending money. Nala is working towards providing transparent products and services that empower people to have control over their money.

Nala was founded by and is led by Benjamin Fernandes, who is from Tanzania and has been working in African mobile money payments for over 10 years. He built one of the first integrations for mobile money payments for TV subscription services 10 years ago.

Fernandes says: “The European economy is the third largest in the world, and home to more than a quarter of African migrants. At NALA, our mission is to financially empower Africans across the world. Launching in the EU significantly expands our reach and ability to meaningfully innovate in the African payments space.

“Payments companies have traditionally leaned on market expansion as a primary growth lever, causing them to pursue wider geographic reach rather than added value in their product. At NALA, we are laser focused building the payments company that Africans deserve. This has led us to dually push forward on product innovation alongside market expansion.”