Nigerian Crypto Startup Reveals Closure of $2.3 Million Strategic Funding Round

The Nigerian crypto startup revealed on Jan. 16 that the firm had closed a $2.3 million strategic fund to finance the acquisition of operating licenses from different African regulators. Canza Finance said it hopes the new licenses and the defi platform will help it achieve its goal of lowering the cost of doing business.

Lowering the Cost of Doing Business

Nigerian crypto startup, Canza Finance, announced on Jan. 16 that the firm had secured a $2.3 million strategic fund raise. The latest funding round brings the capital that Canza Finance has raised to $5.5 million. Polychain Capital led the round with the participation of Protocol Labs, Ava Labs, 99 Capital, and the early-stage venture capital firm Stratified Capital.

We are delighted to announce a strategic fund raise of $2.3m led by @polychain, and participation from: @protocollabs, @AvaLabs, 99 Capital, @BitscaleCapital, @StratifiedCap, @ContangoDigital, @KaironLabs, @hyperithm, @StatelessVC, @ytwovc, @Maple_block, and @HASHCIB pic.twitter.com/3K2LA43Vz5

— Canza Finance (@Canza_Finance) January 16, 2024

According to a Techcabal report, Canza Finance plans to use the funding to acquire licenses from different African financial regulators. In Nigeria, Canza Finance hopes to obtain a foreign exchange license and three virtual asset licenses from Mauritius’ Financial Service Commission. The startup also aims to secure a money services business license from U.S. regulators.

Additionally, the startup said it intends to fund the building of the infrastructure for its decentralized finance (defi) platform Baki. Overall, Canza Finance said it hopes the new licenses and the defi platform will help it achieve its goal of lowering the cost of doing business.

“This funding round empowers us to further develop innovative tools and services, dedicated to easing the expense of conducting business across the African continent,” Canza Finance said in a post on X.

Pascal Ntsama, the co-founder and CEO of Canza Finance, said the startup is aiming to make it easier for small businesses to access financial services normally reserved for large corporations.