Emerging economies are grappling with trade deficits, leading to a high demand for the dollar in global trade, resulting in a supply-demand imbalance. This imbalance raises costs and causes delays in trade. In Africa, the problem is further exacerbated by the lack of technology solutions catering to the liquidity needs of large enterprises and multinationals. Many cross-border payment platforms are focusing on consumer-facing products instead.
Introducing Waza, a payment and liquidity platform backed by Y Combinator that has recently emerged from stealth mode with $8 million in seed funding. Waza aims to simplify global payment management for African businesses and traders when dealing with suppliers worldwide. The startup eyes a market worth $7 trillion, with a potential revenue of $250 billion.
As per TechCrunch reports, cross-border fintech and payments are currently a vibrant segment in the industry, especially for Y Combinator-backed startups in recent cohorts. The global payments market, projected to exceed $250 billion by 2027, sees fintechs increasingly challenging traditional banks, especially in the B2B sector.
Waza, which commenced operations in January 2023 after participating in Y Combinator’s winter batch, intends to capitalize on this trend and establish itself in the global payments market, starting with Africa.
Prior to founding Waza, CEO Maxwell Obi held various roles in the fintech industry. His experience includes co-founding Amplify, a Nigerian fintech acquired by Carbon, and working at Zepz subsidiary Sendwave. It was during his time at Sendwave that the idea for Waza was conceived.
Obi co-founded Waza with CTO Emmanuel Igbodudu, a seasoned engineer with experience at Revolut, Carbon, and prominent Nigerian fintech companies. Both founders bring strong technical backgrounds, which will be invaluable as Waza expands its offerings in trade finance and cross-border payment solutions to diversify revenue streams.
The recent seed funding will support Waza’s growth initiatives, allowing expansion into new markets beyond Ghana and Nigeria. The investment includes equity from Y Combinator, Byld Ventures, Norrsken Africa, Heirloom VC, Plug and Play Tech Center, and Olive Tree Capital, along with venture debt financing from Timon Capital.
