DEAL: Nigerian fintech startup Grey, raises $2 million in seed funding
Fintech startup, Grey, has raised $2 million in seed funding to expand its services into new African markets. The 1-year-old company says the funding will also allow it to expand its product suite to both money transfers and person-to-person and business-to-business payments, so all Africans can enjoy seamless cross-border payments with low fees.
The seed funding round included participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Heirloom Fund, True Culture Fund, angel investors Alan Rutledge, Samvit Ramadurgam, Karthik Ramakrishnan and other high-profile investors.
Gray allows users of the platform to set up an overseas USD, GBP and EUR bank account for free, send money to the UK and Europe and receive payments from over 88 countries. The company says it also offers conversion directly to customers’ local currency so they can easily use it on the app. The platform also allows users to receive foreign payments in their preferred foreign currency and withdraw directly to mobile money or their local bank account.
What Gray says
- Co-founder and CEO of Grey, Idorenyin Obong, announced the fundraising: “We built Gray in 2021 to empower people to live a location-independent lifestyle. I believe the least of your worries as a freelancer, remote worker or digital nomad should be sending or receiving payments, so we’ve made it easy.
- “We like to say we’re on a mission to make international payments as easy as sending an email. We want to do impactful work to improve how Africa as a continent interacts with money across borders. I am happy that we have gained an extensive and very loyal user base.”
- “Our seed funding round included participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Heirloom Fund, True Culture Fund, angel investors Alan Rutledge, Samvit Ramadurgam, Karthik Ramakrishnan and other high-profile investors. With this new round of capital, we plan to launch new markets and expand our product suite to both remittances and person-to-person and business-to-business payments, so that all Africans can enjoy seamless cross-border payments with low fees.
- “In addition to our funding, we have also expanded into East Africa, starting in Kenya, and partnering with payments giant Cellulant and ed-tech leader Moringa. Traveling to Kenya is much easier with Gray because you can pay suppliers directly to M-pesa. he added.
Last year, the startup raised an undisclosed upfront investment and was accepted into YC’s winter batch in March.
