Kredete, a fintech focused on helping African immigrants build credit and access financial services, has raised $22 million in a Series A round to expand credit-building infrastructure with stablecoin transfers to Africa.
The raise was led by AfricInvest through its Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund and Financial Inclusion Vehicle, with participation from Partech and Polymorphic Capital.
In August 2024, the firm raised $2.25 million in seed funding led by BFF, with participation from notable investors, including Techstars, Tezos Foundation, Polymorphic Capital, Launch Africa, Neer Venture Partners, SDF and DNA Fund. The round also saw contributions from angel investors who have supported successful payment ventures such as Wise and Western Union.
The latest round brings Kredete’s total funding to $24.75 million. The company will use the capital to expand into Canada, the United Kingdom, and European markets.
Kredete aims to bridge that gap by linking financial responsibility abroad to credit scoring at home and overseas. The company is rolling out Africa’s first stablecoin-backed credit card across 41 countries, alongside rent reporting, savings-linked credit, and goal-based loans.
Founded in 2023 by Adeola Adedewe, Kredete links remittances with a proprietary credit-building engine. Users can send money to over 30 African countries while improving their credit history in the U.S. and abroad. Kredete has also built an API for businesses to make cross-border payments into Africa using stablecoin rails.
Kredete says it has reached 700,000 monthly users, processed $500 million in remittances, and improved U.S. credit scores by an average of 58 points.
Speaking on the raise, Mr Adedewe said, “We’re building a system that rewards financial responsibility across borders. This raise is about scaling that infrastructure globally — and making sure that the millions of Africans abroad are finally seen, scored, and served.”
“Kredete has been focusing on serving the African diaspora while addressing the key bottlenecks faced by payment operators when they move money in and out of Africa,” said Mr Khaled Ben Jilani, Senior Partner at AfricInvest, adding that, “It is one of those extremely rare start-ups that has managed to solve several problems at once—both for its African consumer clients, as well as for the large payments companies operating in Africa.”
“Adeola and his team are driving transformative innovation in remittance and cross-border payment infrastructure. We’re excited about how their work is enabling better financial services for the African diaspora and unlocking broader opportunities across the ecosystem. We are thrilled to partner with Kredete on this journey,” added Ms Lewam Kefela, Principal at Partech.