FUNDING | South African AI-Driven Payment-as-a-Service Platform, NjiaPay, Raises Over $1 Million

NjiaPay, a payments-as-a-service platform catering to African businesses, has successfully closed an over-subscribed pre-seed funding round exceeding $1 million.

The investment was led by Cape Town based HAVAÍC, with contributions from prominent angel investors, including the founders of:

• Anyfin
• Banxware, and
• MaxiDrive

Originally a spin-off from Talk360, an international calling app designed for the African diaspora, NjiaPay was launched in late 2024. The company simplifies payment management for African enterprises, tackling both technical and operational hurdles.

In its announcement, NjiaPay highlighted the significant challenges businesses face when handling payments across the continent. Many struggle with integrating and managing multiple payment service providers (PSPs) leading to inefficiencies and higher costs.

To address this, NjiaPay positions itself as an aggregator, unifying various PSPs and payment methods to streamline the process.

According to the startup, the platform offers a single, seamless integration, enabling merchants to access a unified checkout system and a centralized merchant portal, simplifying their payment processes.

Additionally, the platform utilizes intelligent routing, built-in redundancy, and advanced security measures, including fraud protection.

According to the company, these features ensure a smooth and efficient payment experience for merchants while also providing centralized reporting and data management to optimize key operations such as customer support and financial management.

According to Jonatan Allback, Co-Founder and CEO of NjiaPay, the funding will allow the company to expand its team in both Amsterdam and Cape Town while enhancing its platform’s capabilities.

“Our goal is to support African businesses by removing the complexities of payments.

By acting as their in-house payments experts, we enable them to concentrate on growth while we handle the technical and operational challenges of payment processing.”

Roderick Simons, Co-Founder and CPTO of NjiaPay, highlighted the platform’s technological advancements.

“NjiaPay is built on the latest cloud-based technology and leverages AI to select the optimal PSP for each transaction, driving higher conversion rates and minimising costs.

Our platform also incorporates sophisticated fraud screening to safeguard businesses from losses.”

Currently operating in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, NjiaPay aims to expand its product offerings within these markets in 2025. The company plans to achieve this by collaborating with additional payment service providers (PSPs) and scaling its operations across the continent.

“We have observed first-hand the challenges faced by our portfolio companies in managing payments across the African continent,” said Rob Heath, partner at HAVAÍC.

“The need to integrate with multiple PSPs can significantly impede their product development timelines. Streamlining payment operations is crucial for the growth of the African digital economy, and we believe that NjiaPay is well-positioned to address this critical need.”