African fintech startup Cardri is tackling one of the continent’s longest-standing trade challenges: moving money across borders. Founded in 2022 by Bolaji Okunade, Yusuf Ibrahim, and Clement David, Cardri has been in open testing since September 2024 and offers a financial super app combining payments with AI-driven risk management for small businesses, entrepreneurs, and traders.
Cardri’s platform allows users to transfer funds between African countries as easily as local payments, supporting transactions in 20 African countries and global payouts to 92 nations. Users can send money from Nigeria to Kenya in Kenyan shillings instantly at the prevailing exchange rate. The platform also supports instant domiciliary funding and top-ups for Alipay and other international accounts.
So far, over 1,500 users have processed more than $500,000 in transactions. Cardri integrates AI-powered risk management, enabling businesses and individuals to hedge against currency fluctuations and commodity price changes, helping secure financial stability across the continent.
The startup operates on a low-fee business model, charging less than 1 percent per transaction and generating revenue from global payouts and currency swaps. While intra-African transfers remain free to attract users and build trust, Cardri has generated $8,000 in revenue since launch.
Cardri differentiates itself in a competitive fintech landscape with its AI-driven tools, simple interface, and WhatsApp integration, which allows users to initiate payments via voice commands or photos of account numbers. The company is currently awaiting licensing from Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission to roll out its derivatives and risk management platform by Q1 2026, with its WhatsApp interface expected by the end of November 2025.
The startup envisions itself as a continental financial infrastructure layer, democratizing access to sophisticated financial tools for SMEs, traders, and farmers, and aiming to drive greater efficiency in intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“Payments are the backbone of trade. If you can fix how money moves across Africa, you can fix how business works in Africa,” said Okunade.
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