Nigerian fintech Juicyway raised $3 M Pre-seed funding, emerges from stealth

After emerging from stealth mode, Nigeria’s JuicyWay, a payments startup that uses stablecoin technology to revolutionize cross-border payments, has revealed a US $3 million pre-seed round of funding.

Juicyway, which was founded in 2021 by Ife Johnson and Justin Ziegler, allows people and companies to send, receive, and process payments all over the world. The platform facilitates cryptocurrency transactions in addition to fiat currencies like the US dollar (USD), Canadian dollar (CAD), and Nigerian naira (NGN).

Juicyway facilitates remittances and offers access to foreign exchange through a variety of payment channels. They are the creators of Naira Rates, Nigeria’s largest price discovery engine. It provides competitively priced multicurrency accounts and access to a liquidity pool for both domestic and foreign payments.

Juicyway, which holds licenses in Nigeria, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom, has demonstrated its worth and effectiveness by processing $1.3 billion in 25,000 transactions with 4,000 clients. In addition to being partnered with Access Bank for remittance services, the company is trusted by well-known brands such as Bolt, IHS, Piggyvest, Mocoh SA, Bamboo, and Afriex.

The startup, which had been operating in stealth mode, has now made its public debut and announced a US$3 million pre-seed round of funding led by P1 Ventures. Other investors in the round include Andrew Alli, Future Africa, Magic Fund, Ventures Platform, Gbenga Oyebode, Tunde Folawiyo, Microtraction, and others.

“Africa contributes less than one per cent to the US$5 trillion global currency market, partly because there’s no liquidity for intra-African currency pairs. The old systems weren’t built to support this. Over the next three years, we want to be the platform where Nigerians and eventually the whole of Africa, and those doing business on the continent can easily convert African currencies to local ones and back,” said Ife Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Juicyway.

“Our ultimate goal is to unlock liquidity for African currency pairs that currently have none. Stablecoin technology and our network model make this vision achievable by enabling fast and efficient money movement. Without it, we’d still be in pursuit of this goal, but it would be far harder to achieve.”

Cross-border payments, funds repatriation, treasury management, payment processing, and spend management are among the features of Juicyway’s payment platform, which is committed to creating a technology-first platform that functions at both the remittance source and destination.

“Juicyway’s goal is to build uninterrupted, cost-effective cross-border infrastructure that enables Africa to participate in the global economy on equal footing. Our growth in a short period of time reflects the underlying demand for better global payments. We’re proud to offer a solution that eliminates the need for businesses and individuals to juggle multiple platforms to manage their financial needs. This investment represents a milestone for our company, and we are grateful for the trust and commitment from our investors,” said Justin Ziegler, co-founder and COO of Juicyway.

Through team expansion, technology development, and market expansion, the funding will propel Juicyway’s growth.

“We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Ife, Justin, and Idris as they tackle one of the most critical challenges in finance. By leveraging innovative stablecoin technology, they’re leapfrogging outdated infrastructure to create a seamless, efficient, and inclusive cross-border payment system that reshapes how Africans connect with the global economy. At P1 Ventures, we seek audacious and exceptional founders like them – visionaries who aim to redefine industries and empower emerging markets. We couldn’t be more excited to support their journey,” said Hisham Halbouny, co-founder and managing partner at P1 Ventures.