Nigerian Startup Links Africa and Middle East with Stablecoins

Sending money across borders in Africa has always been expensive and slow, but a Nigerian startup just opened a new fast lane.

Daya, a Lagos-based payments company, partnered with the Aptos blockchain and Dubai's HashKey MENA to launch a pilot program connecting African and Middle Eastern businesses. The system lets companies convert their local currency into stablecoins (digital dollars), settle payments in minutes on the blockchain, and have recipients receive funds in their own local currency.

The move tackles a frustration that businesses across emerging markets know too well. Cross-border payments typically bounce through multiple banks and currency conversions, racking up fees and delays that can take days. This new corridor cuts through that maze.

Under the pilot, HashKey MENA handles the regulated money conversion in the Middle East, while Daya manages payment flows across African countries including Nigeria. Businesses can use bank transfers, virtual accounts, or integrate the technology directly into their existing systems through programming interfaces.

Daya was founded in October 2024 by Tomiwa Lasebikan and Paul Joe, who saw Africa's growing appetite for stablecoins but noticed the missing piece: regulated infrastructure to connect that demand globally. "What's been missing is the regulated infrastructure and scalable liquidity to connect that demand to the rest of the world," Joe explained.

The pilot plugs Africa into HashKey's Asia Connect network, which already links payment corridors across Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the UAE. That means African businesses now have a faster path to multiple major markets.

The Ripple Effect

This partnership reflects a bigger shift happening across African fintech. In the past year alone, Yellow Card partnered with Aptos to serve 20 African countries, Flutterwave teamed up with Polygon and Tempo, and Paga joined forces with Sui. These aren't just tech experiments anymore.

By working with payment providers that already serve real businesses and customers, blockchain networks gain access to actual transaction volume that can make the technology stick. For African businesses, it means more options to move money efficiently without the traditional banking bottlenecks.

The system is still in pilot mode, so it's early days. But for entrepreneurs who've spent years navigating expensive wire transfers and waiting days for payments to clear, faster and cheaper options represent real progress.

African businesses are already leading global stablecoin adoption, and now they're getting the infrastructure to match that demand.