Kenya-based HoneyCoin — a stablecoin-compatible, full-stack payment orchestration platform — has closed a $4.9 million seed round to expand its product suite, hire senior talent, and scale operations globally.
Founder story
CEO David Nandwa launched HoneyCoin in 2020 at just 19 years old during the pandemic. A blockchain engineer and serial entrepreneur, Nandwa aims to create the “financial operating system for a hybrid future” where fiat and blockchain rails merge for faster, compliant cross-border payments.
By the numbers
- $4.9M seed round led by Flourish Ventures.
- Participation from Visa Ventures, TLcom Capital, Stellar Development Foundation, Lava, Musha Ventures, 4DX Ventures, and Antler.
- $150M+ in monthly transaction volume, serving 350+ enterprise customers and hundreds of thousands of consumers.
- Operational in 45+ countries, PCI-DSS Level 1 certified.
Why it matters
HoneyCoin tackles slow, fragmented payment systems in frontier markets by enabling instant or same-day settlements versus traditional 4–7 day timelines.
The platform supports mobile money, card, and bank payments in 15 African markets, plus the US, Canada, Europe, and the UK.
Investor take:
“Since 2021, David’s built a licensed, profitable, high-growth infrastructure platform processing billions in transactions annually,” said Efayomi Carr, Principal at Flourish Ventures.
“We see HoneyCoin as a leader in the next generation of compliant, blockchain-enabled finance in Africa.”
Zoom in
- Built direct integrations with banks and telcos, partnering with MoneyGram, UBA Bank, and Stripe.
- Clients include Cedar Money, TerraPay, and Jiji.
- FXHub offers access to 49 currencies at competitive rates for CFOs and finance teams.
What’s next
HoneyCoin will expand its compliance and licensing footprint, grow its team, and develop its API-first suite for developers, PSPs, and enterprises seeking stablecoin settlement rails and FX liquidity.
Learn more about other African tech startups on Labari Insights, our data repository for tech in Africa: insights.techlabari.com
