Tether, the entity behind the stablecoin USDT, heads a $10 million investment round for blockchain-based identity solution provider MANSA.
MANSA Finance Secures $17 Million to Expand Cross-Border Remittance Services
MANSA Finance, a stablecoin liquidity provider for cross-border remittance companies, has successfully raised $17 million in its latest funding round, with the aim of expanding into Latin America and Southeast Asia, enhancing its platform capabilities, and strengthening its embedded payment offerings.
The funding round was led by Tether and Polymorphic Capital, with other investors including Faculty Group, Octerra Capital, and Trive Digital. MANSA also secured an additional $7 million in liquidity from individual investors, investment firms, and funds.
Headquartered in the UAE and with a strong presence in Africa, MANSA aims to tackle the liquidity challenges that hinder African companies from conducting seamless cross-border payments. The company sources liquidity from DeFi pools and investment funds, hosting its liquidity pool on Ethereum's Layer-2 network, Base.
MANSA's platform enables fintech companies in emerging markets like Africa to move funds across borders seamlessly and settle international transactions faster. This is particularly important in regions like Africa, where historically, cross-border payments have been inefficient, costly, and time-consuming.
In fact, despite being the largest recipient of remittances in 2023, the region remains the most expensive for sending money, with an average transfer cost of 7.73%.
Before MANSA, African companies such as Yellow Card and Accrue have used stablecoins to settle transactions across borders, albeit via different models. For instance, Accrue uses local agents in African countries to settle payments while holding stablecoin reserves as escrow.
MANSA allows companies to use various assets as collateral for loans, offering a more flexible and efficient solution for cross-border remittances. Since its launch in August, MANSA has processed $27 million in on-chain cross-border payments.
With the new capital, MANSA plans to broaden its geographic reach in key emerging markets and improve the core payment infrastructure to better serve cross-border remittance customers.
[1] This information was obtained from the press release issued by MANSA Finance.
- MANSA, an African-focused stablecoin liquidity provider, secured $17 million in a funding round led by Tether and Polymorphic Capital.
- The funds aim to expand the company's services into Latin America and Southeast Asia, enhance platform capabilities, and strengthen embedded payment offerings.
- MANSA's platform uses DeFi pools and investment funds for liquidity, hosted on Ethereum's Layer-2 network, Base.
- The company helps fintech firms in Africa to make seamless cross-border payments, addressing the inefficiencies, costs, and time constraints historically associated with the region.
- Despite being the largest recipient of remittances in 2023, Africa remains the most expensive region for sending money, with an average transfer cost of 7.73%.
- With the new capital, MANSA plans to improve its core payment infrastructure, broaden its geographic reach, and serve more cross-border remittance customers, offering a more flexible and efficient solution utilizing various assets as collateral for loans.
