Canza Finance, a Web3 neobank dedicated to facilitating cross-border payments for African startups, has announced the successful completion of a strategic funding round, securing $2.3 million.
Canza plans to use the funds from the recent funding round to acquire licenses from various financial regulators across Africa and lay the foundation for its innovative decentralized finance (DeFi) platform for foreign exchange, named Baki.
We aim to secure a Money Services Business (MSB) license in the United States, obtain a Foreign Exchange (FX) license in Nigeria, and acquire three crucial Virtual Asset Licenses from the Financial Service Commission of Mauritius.
Pascal Ntsama, the Co-Founder and CEO of Canza Finance
Canza Finance has secured a total of $5.5 million in funding, including a previous seed round of $3.27 million in 2022.
The recent funding round, led by Polychain Capital, saw participation from various entities such as Protocol Labs, Avalanche’s Blizzard Fund, 99 Capital, Stratified Capital, Hyperithm, and others.
Canza collaborates with foreign exchange (FX) agents in African countries facing challenges with slow and costly cross-border payments. The platform offers a faster and more cost-effective method for businesses to send and receive money. To initiate a transaction, businesses submit a valid invoice and undergo Know Your Customer/Know Your Business (KYC/KYB) processes. Canza determines the exchange rate and ensures completion within 24 hours.
The startup generates revenue by charging a 1% fee on processed transactions. With the introduction of Baki, its synthetic FX exchange on-chain protocol launched in November 2023, Canza aims to reduce transaction fees to 0.2%. Baki represents a new system for digitally exchanging various currencies without the involvement of real money.
By leveraging stablecoins—digital currencies pegged to the dollar—Canza facilitates currency swapping for businesses without incurring significant forex fees. Through stablecoins and decentralized finance tools like Baki, Canza assists businesses in achieving dollar stability, overcoming traditional forex challenges, and reducing transaction costs to just 1%.
