MANSA, a global fintech innovator transforming cross-border payments, today announced the successful close of its $10 million funding round. This significant milestone comprises a $3 million pre-seed round led by Tether and co-led by Polymorphic Capital, with participation from Octerra Capital, Faculty Group, and Trive Digital, alongside $7 million in liquidity funding from institutions including corporate investors, quantitative funds, and alternative investment firms.
MANSA’s stablecoin-based solution empowers payment providers in both emerging and mature markets to effectively manage liquidity challenges in cross-border transactions. The funds will fuel market expansion into Latin America and Southeast Asia, as well as the development of bespoke liquidity and ancillary solutions tailored to complex cross-border payment needs.
“Securing $10 million in pre-seed and liquidity funding marks a significant milestone in our mission to transform the way money moves,” said Mouloukou Sanoh, CEO and Co-Founder of MANSA. “By bringing payments on-chain and leveraging efficient liquidity solutions, we are addressing critical challenges in cross-border transactions—making payments faster, cheaper, and more reliable worldwide. This funding accelerates our global expansion, enabling us to empower payment companies with seamless, real-time settlement infrastructure and drive the future of payments.”
Since launching in August 2024, MANSA has partnered with major payment companies across Africa, Asia, and South America, driving adoption of its instant liquidity solutions. This has resulted in $27 million in transaction volume to date, with nearly $11 million in on-chain volume in January—a 574% growth since August. By leveraging stablecoins, MANSA reduces settlement delays and transaction costs, enabling payment providers to scale efficiently.
“MANSA’s vision for addressing liquidity challenges in cross-border payments aligns with our mission to create a more efficient and inclusive financial system,” said Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether. “By leveraging USDT for real-time settlements and instant payouts, MANSA is solving critical pain points for payment companies operating in emerging markets. We are proud to collaborate with MANSA and support their efforts to reshape global payment infrastructure.”
Furthermore, the funding will support MANSA’s strategic expansion into Latin America and Southeast Asia, regions heavily impacted by liquidity challenges in cross-border payments. MANSA will significantly scale its liquidity infrastructure and forge strategic partnerships to deliver faster, more affordable payment solutions.
Investors expressed strong confidence in MANSA’s team and vision:
- Vitaly Spassky, Managing Partner, Polymorphic Capital: “Mansa is here to disrupt a massive traditional market with blockchain and the Web3 paradigm. Polymorphic supports extraordinary founders. The Mansa team is up to this incredible challenge.”
- Ashim Egunjobi, Managing Partner, Octerra Capital: “We invested in MANSA because of their bold, diverse, high-caliber team of visionary founders addressing critical challenges faced by payments companies in Emerging Markets. We firmly believe that decentralized finance and asset tokenization are game-changing frontier technologies. With immense market potential in emerging economies, MANSA is uniquely positioned to drive transformative impact and bridge the credit gap across Africa.”
- Sebastian Cheek, Head of Investment, Faculty Group: “We are incredibly excited to have been the first investor in Mansa. Our decision to invest was driven primarily by our strong confidence in the leadership team, and we are certain they will continue to validate our belief. Additionally, we are thrilled about the future of crypto payments and Mansa’s potential to make transactions in emerging markets faster, cheaper, and more efficient.”
- Shawn Tan, General Partner, TRIVE Digital: “MANSA addresses a fundamental liquidity challenge in cross-border payments, leveraging stablecoins to create more efficient and accessible financial rails. TRIVE Digital backs visionary founders building the future of Web3, and we are excited to support the MANSA team as they drive transformative impact in the global payments industry.”
Cross-border payments are crucial to global commerce, yet payment providers often face significant liquidity shortages, leading to delays and increased costs, especially in emerging markets. Globally, remittance costs average 6.5% of the amount sent, disproportionately affecting developing regions. With cross-border payments projected to reach $290.2 trillion annually by 2030, current system inefficiencies could cost businesses billions. MANSA unlocks a more efficient and inclusive financial system, connecting it through blockchain and Web3 solutions to this massive market.
