Kredete, a financial platform that enables African immigrants to build credit while sending money home, has raised $22M in a Series A funding round.
The round was led by AfricInvest Group, which invested through its Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF) and Financial Inclusion Vehicle (FIVE). The round also saw participation from existing seed investor Partech and new backer Polymorphic Capital.
Founded in 2022, Nigeria-based Kredete addresses a dual problem for the African diaspora: the high cost of remittances and the difficulty of building a credit history in a new country. The company’s platform allows users in North America and Europe to send low-cost payments to Africa, while using that history of consistent transactions to report positive payment data to credit bureaus in the user’s country of residence.
The fresh capital will be used to scale its operations from 20 to over 40 countries across Africa and to further develop its underlying financial infrastructure.
How it works
Traditional remittance services are often expensive and do not contribute to an immigrant’s financial footprint in their new home. This can lock them out of essential financial products like car loans, credit cards and mortgages.
Kredete’s model turns this on its head. By processing remittances using stablecoins, the company says it can cut transfer fees to less than a dollar per transaction. It then partners with credit bureaus to report these regular payments, allowing users to build a verifiable credit history.
Since its $2.25M seed round in August 2024, the company has grown its user base to over 300,000. According to Kredete, its active users have seen their credit scores increase by an average of 23 points within six months of using the platform.
“For millions of immigrants, sending money home is a regular, non-negotiable part of their financial lives. It’s a consistent payment that demonstrates creditworthiness, but it has never been recognised,” said Adeola Adedewe, founder and CEO of Kredete. “We’re making those payments count, turning a routine act of support for family into a tool for building a secure financial future.”
For investors, Kredete represents an opportunity to tap into the massive global remittance market with a model that promotes financial inclusion. The combination of a high-growth fintech platform with a tangible social impact is a compelling proposition. The involvement of pan-African and European VCs like AfricInvest and Partech signals confidence in the company’s ability to navigate complex cross-border financial regulations and scale effectively.
What’s next?
With the Series A funding, Kredete plans to accelerate its expansion across the African continent. The company also intends to broaden its product suite beyond credit-building remittances.
The roadmap includes launching financial products specifically tailored for the diaspora, such as credit cards, auto loans and mortgages, directly leveraging the credit histories users have built on the Kredete platform. This move positions Kredete to become a comprehensive financial service provider for African immigrants.