Tanzanian fintech startup NALA is launching a new money transfer app in the United Kingdom (UK) early this year, aimed at servicing the needs of the East African diaspora in the country.
A past winner of the Ecobank Fintech Challenge and Seedstars Tanzania, NALA had previously developed a mobile money app for Africa that grew to over 250,000 customers in just over a year and became East Africa’s number one finance app.
The startup, which is backed by Y Combinator and is also US-based VC firm Accel’s first Sub-Saharan African investment, recently gained EMD Agent approval from the UK’s financial regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and plans to launch a money transfer app for East Africans living in the UK in the next few months.
“Our mission is to increase economic opportunity for Africans worldwide and we believe that remittances are one of the best forms of economic development,” NALA said.
“We want to use remittances as a foundation for new layers of banking services for the African diaspora and their loved ones back home.”
The NALA beta app will be rolling out gradually from February 2021 for UK-based customers sending to Kenya and Uganda. It will be available for customers sending to Tanzania shortly after.
