Nigerian FinTech Vella Finance Launches Platform for SMBs in Africa

Nigerian FinTech Vella Finance has launched a new user interface and new products as part of a platform that helps streamline cross-border payments for owners of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in Africa.

Vella 2.0 bridges TradFi with DeFi and cryptocurrency rails to provide these owners of SMBs with alternative payment solutions, Vella Finance said in a press release emailed to PYMNTS Friday (Oct. 7).

“Our long-term goal at Vella is to become the preferred payment partner for 80% of businesses originating from Africa,” Vella Finance Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer Tolu Adedayo said in the release.

The solutions offered by Vella include Global Pay, which helps businesses send money to partners in 80 countries; Vella Boost, which helps businesses invest cash flow that would otherwise be idle; and Fintech-as-a-Service (FaaS), which helps companies become crypto-enabled to manage embedded finance, cards, wallets and payments, according to the release.

“Vellas’ sweet spot is our ability to layer regular traditional finance which businesses are already familiar with on top of crypto infrastructures,” Vella Finance CEO Mark Afolabi said in the release. “We were first merchants, then small business enablers; we share firsthand experience from a small business owner’s perspective.”

As PYMNTS reported in March, SMBs and entrepreneurs play a critical role in the overall development of most economies, particularly in emerging regions like Africa.

Read more: Tailored Payments Solutions Unlock Growth for Underserved Self-Employed Segment in Africa

In fact, the percentage of working-age adult entrepreneurs was found to be higher in Africa than in any other continent in the world, according to findings from a research study on African entrepreneurs published by the Tony Elumelu Foundation in partnership with Stanford University.