Stabyl raises $2.7m to build Africa’s institutional FX infrastructure with stablecoin rails

By Admin

A new fintech startup, Stabyl, has emerged from stealth with $2.7 million in pre-seed funding to tackle one of Africa’s biggest financial infrastructure challenges—foreign exchange liquidity.

Led by Konga, the investment will support the development of an institutional foreign exchange marketplace that combines traditional banking systems with stablecoin technology, enabling banks, payment service providers (PSPs) and financial institutions to source foreign exchange more efficiently.

The company is the brainchild of Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, former Co-Chief Executive Officer of Konga Group, Zachary Schwartzman and software engineer Michael Anyi. What began as conversations between Ekeh and Schwartzman while studying for their MBA at the University of Oxford has evolved into a fintech infrastructure company seeking to modernise how institutional FX transactions are executed across Africa.

Unlike consumer-focused fintech platforms, Stabyl is targeting the infrastructure layer that powers cross-border payments.

Its platform replaces the fragmented process of sourcing foreign exchange—where institutions negotiate separately with multiple banks and liquidity providers—with a central limit order book (CLOB). Through the marketplace, buyers and sellers can post orders that are automatically matched, reducing manual intervention, settlement delays and pricing inefficiencies.

“Our objective is to create the deepest and most accessible foreign exchange liquidity pool in Africa,” co-founder Zachary Schwartzman said.

The startup aggregates liquidity from participating financial institutions while maintaining additional reserves through strategic liquidity partners to support market activity during periods of high demand.

To facilitate settlement, Stabyl integrates both conventional banking infrastructure and blockchain-based payment rails. Naira settlements are processed through KongaPay, which serves as the company’s official settlement partner, while digital asset custody is powered by DFNS, a multi-party computation (MPC) wallet infrastructure provider.

The platform currently supports the USDT and USDC stablecoins but has been designed to remain blockchain-agnostic, allowing institutions to transact across networks based on transaction costs, speed, settlement finality and operational requirements.

According to Prince Nnamdi Ekeh, stablecoins alone cannot solve Africa’s foreign exchange challenges without seamless integration into the traditional banking system.

“Stablecoins are powerful, but institutions still need efficient access to local currencies. Our infrastructure connects those two worlds,” he said.

Beyond its trading platform, Stabyl also offers Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), enabling banks, fintechs and treasury departments to integrate foreign exchange access directly into their existing financial systems.

Rather than profiting from currency spreads—a common model among many FX operators—the company generates revenue through transaction-based fees, a strategy it says encourages higher trading volumes and deeper liquidity.

“What we’re building is not another foreign exchange business. We’re building the infrastructure that allows the entire ecosystem to operate more efficiently,” Schwartzman explained.

The launch comes as Nigeria’s digital asset landscape undergoes significant regulatory transformation. Following the Central Bank of Nigeria’s reversal of its cryptocurrency restrictions and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme (ARIP), digital asset businesses are increasingly operating within formal regulatory frameworks.

The founders believe the improving regulatory environment creates an opportunity to build compliant financial infrastructure from the outset rather than adapting after market maturity.

Although companies such as Onafriq, Yellow Card and Fincra already facilitate cross-border payments across Africa, Stabyl views them as potential ecosystem partners rather than competitors.

The company says its role is to provide institutional liquidity infrastructure that supports payment companies, foreign exchange providers and financial institutions, ultimately expanding the overall size and efficiency of Africa’s digital payments ecosystem.

The newly secured capital will be deployed towards regulatory licensing, technology development, compliance, product expansion and entry into additional African markets.

Konga’s involvement extends beyond financial backing. Through KongaPay, the company serves as Stabyl’s official naira settlement partner while also becoming its first large-scale enterprise customer.

“Konga’s ambition has always been to power trade and commerce across Africa. Efficient foreign exchange infrastructure is fundamental to achieving that vision,” Ekeh said.

Initially focused on the naira-US dollar corridor, Stabyl plans to expand into additional African currency pairs as regulatory approvals are secured, positioning itself as a foundational layer for institutional foreign exchange and cross-border financial infrastructure across the continent.