Congolese traders can now pay suppliers in Zambia from one platform. The Nigerian firm behind it says it will need far more cash to keep going.
Nigerian payments company Nomba has stretched its cross-border payments route from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) into Zambia. Businesses on its platform can now pay Zambian suppliers through bank accounts and mobile wallets. DRC firms can pay in US dollars or Congolese francs. Licensed local partners handle the transfers. Nomba is aiming at agriculture, retail and wholesale firms along the route.
The move follows a $3 million debt facility from CardinalStone Finance in early September 2026. It is meant to fund expansion and strengthen the firm’s payments systems. CEO Yinka Adewale says the money “gives us more room to move: more liquidity, more corridors, faster settlement.”
Nomba says it handles more than $480 million a month across its DRC business and a Canadian-licensed money services business. It says it is profitable. It wants to pass $1 billion a month in cross-border payments.
The firm began in 2016 as a payments business. It now calls itself a business banking and financial infrastructure platform. Zambia is part of a wider plan to build a payments network within Africa. Uganda is the next early target. Nomba also plans to add deposits, foreign exchange and credit.
More growth will cost more. Nomba says it may need between $20 million and $50 million in the coming months, and expects another funding round.
Why it matters: Paying across African borders is often slow and costly. A route between two neighbours, run through licensed local partners, could make trade easier for traders and suppliers. The $3 million loan is small next to the $20 million to $50 million Nomba says it needs. Its next raise will show how investors rate its growth. The volume and profit figures come from the company.
What to watch next: the size and backers of the next round, how much volume the Zambia route adds, when Uganda goes live, and when deposits, foreign exchange and credit launch.
Sources: The Condia on Nomba’s $3 million debt facility; WeeTracker on Nomba’s debt raise; Business Post on Nomba’s $1 billion monthly target. The volume and profit figures are Nomba’s own.
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