Nomba, the Nigerian business banking platform, said on Wednesday that it had extended its payments service in the Democratic Republic of Congo into neighboring Zambia.
The move lets Congolese companies pay Zambian suppliers in U.S. dollars or Congolese francs, with funds arriving instantly in bank accounts or mobile wallets.
The company is working through licensed local partners in Zambia rather than holding its own license there. The expansion follows a recent fundraise aimed at building out cross-border payments in Congo.
A Corridor Growing Faster Than Its Plumbing
Trade between the two countries is rising quickly. Zambia’s goods exports to Congo reached $1.6 billion in 2025, up about a third from the year before, according to the Bank of Zambia.
Much of that trade runs through agriculture, retail and wholesale businesses. New investment in road and rail links between the countries is expected to push volumes higher.
Moving money has not kept pace. Businesses on the route deal with slow payments, heavy reliance on cash and shortages of foreign currency. Those problems tie up working capital and make it harder for small firms to grow.
“The ambition to grow intra-African trade has outpaced the financial infrastructure needed to support it,” said Yinka Adewale, Nomba’s chief executive. He said many of Africa’s busiest trade corridors still lack payment tools that let businesses move money efficiently.
How the Service Works
Nomba already operates in Congo, where businesses use its platform to collect and send payments in dollars and Congolese francs. The Zambia link builds on that base.
A Congolese buyer can now pay a Zambian supplier directly from Nomba. The supplier receives the money in a local bank account or mobile wallet. The company did not disclose fees, exchange rates or settlement details.
The service is one-directional for now, focused on Congolese businesses paying into Zambia. Nomba did not say when Zambian businesses would be able to send payments the other way.
From Payments to Banking
Nomba was founded in 2016 as a payments company. It now describes itself as a business banking and financial infrastructure platform. The company says it processes more than $70 billion in payments a year.
It is targeting more than $1 billion a month in cross-border payment volume. It also plans to raise a new funding round to support that growth. It did not say how much it hopes to raise or when.
Mr. Adewale framed the Zambia launch as part of a wider plan. “This is part of our own ambition to build a business banking platform that enables African businesses to trade, scale and compete beyond their home markets,” he said.
Over time, Nomba wants to offer more than payments on the corridor. The company said it planned to add deposits, foreign exchange and credit as its partnerships in the region mature.
A Crowded Field
Nomba is not alone in chasing African cross-border payments. Fintech companies, banks and mobile money operators are all competing for trade flows that have long relied on informal channels and costly correspondent banking.
The African Continental Free Trade Area, which aims to cut barriers to trade between member states, has added pressure to fix payments. Trade among African countries remains a small share of the continent’s total trade, and slow, expensive transfers are often cited as one reason.
What Comes Next
The Congo–Zambia route is a test of whether Nomba can operate outside its home market at scale. Success will depend on volume, pricing and how reliably its partners in Zambia can settle payments.
The company has not named those partners. It also has not shared how many businesses currently use its Congo service.
For now, Nomba is betting that a fast-growing corridor with weak payment options is the right place to prove its pan-African ambitions.
