Daya, a Nigerian startup building stablecoin-powered payment infrastructure for African businesses, has raised a $2.4 million pre-seed round to expand its cross-border payments network and deepen its stablecoin-based financial services.

Hivemind Capital, a New York-based digital asset investment firm, led the round with participation from Lattice Fund, a crypto-focused venture capital firm; Alliance DAO, a New York-based crypto accelerator; Aptos Foundation, an independent entity that supports the US-based Aptos blockchain network by issuing builder grants and developer resources; and Globelink Investment, a Singapore-based investment company.

“The round was oversubscribed,” Tomiwa “Aleph” Lasebikan, Daya’s co-founder, told TechCabal. “Right now, we’re heads down focused on building and shipping for our users and delivering on the promises we made to our investors and early backers.”

The funding comes seven months after Daya emerged from the Alliance DAO ALL15 cohort and positions the startup among a growing group of Africa-focused fintechs, including Yellow Card and Juicyway, betting that stablecoins can become a mainstream rail for cross-border business payments.

Founded in October 2025 by Lasebikan and Paul Joe, Daya helps businesses receive dollar payments, settle transactions using stablecoins, and move funds across borders through a combination of regulated banking partners and blockchain-based settlement infrastructure.

The funding also shows investor conviction in African stablecoin-based fintechs like Daya. It is part of a broader shift in financial services as stablecoins move beyond their origins in cryptocurrency trading and find adoption in business payments, treasury management, and international commerce.

According to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, stablecoins settled about $28 trillion in transaction value globally in 2025, with much of that activity tied to economic use cases such as payments and remittances.

For African businesses, it enables them to settle international payments without routing through correspondent banks, which can cause delays and increase costs.

Stablecoin-based infrastructure aims to reduce some of that friction by using blockchain networks as settlement rails while relying on regulated financial institutions for fiat onboarding and withdrawals.

Daya’s platform allows businesses to receive payments through dollar-denominated accounts provided by banking partners, settle those funds in stablecoins, and either hold them, make international payments, or convert them into local currency.

The startup has been building partnerships around that model. In June, Daya partnered with Aptos Foundation and Dubai-based crypto exchange HashKey MENA to pilot a stablecoin settlement corridor connecting businesses in Africa and the Middle East.

The partnership enables African businesses to settle transactions with counterparties in the Middle East using stablecoins, while receiving and paying out funds in local currencies at either end of the transaction.

Businesses can access virtual US dollar (USD), Hong Kong dollar (HKD), and Chinese yuan (CNY) accounts, convert local currencies into dollar liquidity, hold funds in stablecoins, and manage payments and treasury operations on the same platform, according to Daya.

The startup said it has been growing more than 40% month-on-month in 2026. According to Lasebikan, several businesses now use its platform for cross-border payments and treasury management, although he did not specify how many businesses the startup currently serves.

“We’re focused on iterating with our products and continuing to learn,” Lasebikan said. “We already partner with a core group of businesses and are helping them simplify their cross-border payments and treasury processes. The pre-seed enables us to learn faster and serve our users more broadly.”

Investors are betting that businesses across Africa need a simpler way to access global financial infrastructure.

“Many teams still stitch together local banks, domiciliary accounts, FX desks, OTC [over-the-counter] relationships, crypto ramps, payment processors, spreadsheets, and manual approval flows,” Lattice Fund wrote in a June 24 statement announcing the raise. “The result is delayed settlement, opaque FX [forex exchange], trapped working capital, compliance drag, and limited visibility into where money is at any point in the transaction lifecycle.”

With the funding, Daya plans to expand its payment corridors, compliance infrastructure, and partnerships with local and global financial institutions as it seeks to build what it describes as a financial operating layer for African businesses moving money across borders.