Juicyway, a fee startup leveraging stablecoin expertise to streamline international cash transfers, has formally launched out of stealth mode, asserting a $3 million pre-seed funding spherical.
The spherical was led by P1 Ventures with participation from Ventures Platform, Future Africa, Magic Fund, and notable traders like Andrew Alli, Gbenga Oyebode, and Tunde Folawiyo.
Based in 2021 by Ife Johnson and Justin Ziegler, Juicyway permits seamless cross-border transactions, supporting fiat currencies such because the Nigerian Naira (NGN), US Greenback (USD), and Canadian Greenback (CAD), in addition to cryptocurrency.
The corporate mentioned the funding would drive its progress by supporting staff growth, technological developments, and entry into new markets.
Most lately, the startup has onboarded key hires, together with regulatory knowledgeable Joshua Wasserman, previously of the U.S. FDIC, and engineering abilities like Ridwan Otun and Ukeoma Chukundah.
Africa within the international foreign money market
In line with Co-Founder and CEO, Ife Johnson, Africa contributes lower than 1% to the $5 trillion international foreign money market, largely resulting from liquidity challenges for intra-African foreign money pairs.
“We purpose to unlock liquidity for these pairs utilizing stablecoin expertise, making cross-border commerce inside and out of doors the continent seamless and cost-effective.
“Over the following three years, we need to be the platform the place Nigerians and ultimately the entire of Africa, and people doing enterprise on the continent can simply convert African currencies to native ones and again,” he mentioned.
- Juicyway’s flagship choices embody multicurrency accounts, entry to liquidity swimming pools for aggressive native and worldwide funds, and integration with APIs to simplify international monetary operations.
- Up to now, the corporate has processed $1.3 billion throughout 25,000 transactions for over 4,000 clients.
- Africa has among the highest remittance charges globally, averaging 13% on $200 transfers as of This autumn 2023.
Juicyway mentioned it’s addressing this problem by leveraging stablecoin expertise to make sure real-time, low-cost transactions.
Why they make investments
Commenting on the funding spherical, Hisham Halbouny, Co-Founder and Managing Accomplice at P1 Ventures who’s main the spherical mentioned they supported the founders to deal with some of the vital challenges in finance.
“By leveraging progressive stablecoin expertise, they’re leapfrogging outdated infrastructure to create a seamless, environment friendly, and inclusive cross-border fee system that reshapes how Africans join with the worldwide financial system.
“At P1 Ventures, we search audacious and distinctive founders like them—visionaries who purpose to redefine industries and empower rising markets. We couldn’t be extra excited to help their journey,” Halbouny mentioned.
Dr. Dotun Olowoporoku, Managing Accomplice at Ventures Platform mentioned Juicyway’s progressive and forward-thinking method to cross-border funds strategically positions it as a transformative power in Africa’s quickly evolving monetary panorama.
What it is best to know
Juicyway operates in a aggressive but burgeoning sector. Different African startups tackling cross-border fee challenges embody Chipper Money, Flutterwave, Afriex, amongst a number of others.
In 2023, Africa acquired an estimated $90.2 billion in remittances, accounting for five.2% of GDP.
With platforms like Juicyway, Chipper Money, and Flutterwave driving innovation, Africa’s monetary ecosystem is poised for a metamorphosis that might unlock unprecedented financial alternatives for hundreds of thousands.
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