Mambo👋! Last week, we hosted Mambo Stable #01, Tanzania’s first stablecoin gathering. If you joined us, you can find the photos here.
A big thank you to everyone who showed up, and to our founding supporting partners Tembo, NEDA, Swahilies, Waka Pay, GCA Pay and Senjaro for making it happen.
This week, Onboard has onboarded a new CEO and is entering a new chapter, with a growing focus on financial infrastructure connecting local currencies, dollars and stablecoins across emerging markets.
The story
Yele Bademosi stepped down as CEO of stablecoin fintech Onboard to become chairman, with Paul Oladimeji taking over as CEO.
The leadership transition comes as Onboard evolves beyond consumer products and increasingly builds financial infrastructure for businesses through Onboard Business and its API.
The company is now focusing on building infrastructure that connects local currencies, dollars and stablecoins across emerging markets.
Deals
Ventures Platform, an early investor in stablecoin fintechs including HoneyCoin, raised $84 million to provide more growth capital to startups across Africa.
HoneyCoin, which processes more than $150 million in monthly transaction volume, is part of a growing group of African fintechs building around stablecoin infrastructure.
As stablecoin businesses across the continent begin to scale, more growth capital is starting to follow.
Launches
Capi, a fintech helping businesses in emerging markets pay international suppliers,partnered with Tazapay to expand its global payment reach across both fiat and stablecoin rails.
The partnership reflects a broader shift in African cross border payments, where fintechs are increasingly combining traditional currencies and stablecoins to move money globally.
Regulation
Nigeria’s SEC proposed new rules requiring crypto firms to better protect customer assets and quickly report major incidents.
Under the proposal, firms would need to separate customer funds from their own and report certain incidents to the regulator within 24 hours, followed by a detailed report within 48 hours.
As Africa’s crypto regulation matures, the focus is increasingly shifting from whether to regulate to how to protect customers when things go wrong.
Madini
How to start a fintech in Nigeria in 2026: Licences, costs, Central Bank requirements and launch guide.
From inside
$100 billion in digital asset flows escapes Nigeria’s licensing regime.
Roughly $100 billion worth of digital assets moves out of Nigeria to the rest of the world without passing through licensed entities, according to Akeem Lawal, Divisional Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch’s Payment Processing and Switching business.
The disclosure highlights a growing challenge for regulators: digital asset activity is increasingly global, while regulation remains largely local.
On the record
Asia owns 60% of global stablecoin payment volume for the same reason MANSA's China corridor hit a $200M+ annualised run rate two weeks after launch.
Written from inside Africa with love 🇹🇿💚
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