Afriex, the Lagos- and San Francisco-based cash switch startup, has expanded into Asia’s three largest remittance markets—China, India, and Pakistan—to faucet into rising demand for quick and reasonably priced cross-border funds. The transfer positions the corporate to serve a rising variety of African retailers and diaspora communities concerned in international commerce or sending a refund house.
“Our cash transfers to India and Pakistan are prompt, identical to sending cash to a good friend or paying your Uber driver, and 90% of our transactions are accomplished in underneath two seconds,” mentioned Tope Alabi, Afriex’s co-founder and CEO. “Though on China’s facet we aren’t but on the similar degree of prompt, however we’re getting shut.”
Based in 2019 by Alabi and John Obirije, Afriex permits customers to ship and obtain cash in native currencies between Africa and different areas, bypassing conventional fee rails like SWIFT. The corporate has constructed a multi-currency fee infrastructure that settles transactions in actual time, providing companies by means of its cell app with native banking integrations.
The growth comes as cross-border funds surge globally, pushed by migration, worldwide commerce, and distant work. The Asia-Pacific area accounted for about 26% of the worldwide $190 trillion in cross-border transactions in 2024, in accordance with market knowledge. India alone obtained $120 billion in remittances in 2023, adopted by China with $50 billion and Pakistan with $27 billion—three of the highest 5 recipient nations globally.
Afriex’s providing is focused at African merchants and world diaspora populations who import items or assist households throughout these markets. Alabi instructed TechCabal that African companies are more and more importing items from Asian nations, significantly China, India, and Pakistan, making quick and dependable cross-border funds that settle in real-time important. He famous that prime remittance prices and underdeveloped infrastructure have lengthy hindered clean cash transfers between borders.
To drive adoption, Afriex waives transaction charges on transfers above $10 and earns income from international alternate spreads.
“We discover the perfect alternate charges from native forex to international forex, after which give that to our prospects at an inexpensive margin, and that is sensible for each the purchasers and for the enterprise,” he mentioned. ”If the alternate charges go up and down, the charges on our platforms will even go up and right down to match the market and to match the truth.”
Nonetheless, Alabi pointed to key challenges within the new markets, together with regulatory compliance and interoperability. Whereas Pakistan shares similarities with Nigeria’s banking system, resembling parallel FX markets and low SME digitisation, China poses more durable hurdles, significantly round regulation, identify verification, and documentation.
“Sending cash to China just isn’t as seamless as sending cash to the particular person subsequent to you,” he mentioned. “There are a number of challenges round Chinese language remittances like documentation, identify verifications, and the language, as a result of every little thing is written in Mandarin and must be translated. Additionally, a number of companies can have the identical identify or a checking account identify with the seller you needed to ship to.”
Regardless of the challenges, Afriex is optimistic it can allow prompt funds to China by the top of 2025, matching the velocity of transactions in India and Pakistan. Alabi added that the corporate companions with native corporations in all three nations to navigate regulatory necessities and entry crucial data effectively.
The startup, which raised $1.2 million in seed funding in 2020 and adopted up with a $10 million Collection A spherical in 2022 at a $60 million valuation, is gearing up for one more fundraising push.
“We’re always talking with buyers and are prone to increase a brand new spherical, presumably early subsequent 12 months,” Alabi mentioned. “And any new spherical would principally be used to develop our development.”
Afriex joins a rising cohort of African fintechs increasing globally to seize new remittance and commerce corridors. In 2023, fintech unicorn Flutterwave expanded into India with a partnership with an area financial institution. Remittance startup LemFi raised $53 million in early 2025 to speed up its growth into Asia and Europe.
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