Kredete, a Fintech company focused on helping African immigrants build credit and access financial services, has raised a $22 million Series A funding round led by AfricInvest via their Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF) and Financial Inclusion Vehicle (FIVE), alongside Partech, and with participation from Polymorphic Capital.
This latest round, which brings Kredete’s total funding to $24.75 million, will finance the company’s expansion into Canada, the United Kingdom, and key European markets.
Kredete was founded in 2023 by serial entrepreneur Adeola Adedewe.
Since then, the firm has been on a mission to help African immigrants build credit and access better financial services through stablecoin payments and responsible remittance infrastructure.
The company combines international money transfers with a proprietary credit-building engine, enabling users to send money to over 30 African countries while improving their credit history in the U.S. and beyond. Kredete has also built an API-based infrastructure to help businesses make secure and affordable cross-border payments into Africa, leveraging modern payment rails and stablecoin technology.
Kredete is doubling down on its mission to make credit universally accessible for Africans by expanding its credit-building infrastructure. The company is introducing new features like rent reporting, credit-linked savings plans, and responsible goal-based loans. These features are designed for thin-file or no-file immigrants who have historically been excluded from traditional credit systems.
At the core of this expansion is Africa’s first stablecoin-backed credit card, set to roll out across 41+ African countries, enabling users to spend seamlessly, build credit, and avoid costly foreign exchange fees. To complement this, Kredete is launching interest-bearing USD and EUR accounts, empowering Africans globally to preserve value, earn yield, and hedge against local currency volatility.
On the infrastructure side, Kredete is building the continent’s largest aggregation layer of banks and wallets — giving businesses a single API to enable secure, real-time, and affordable payouts into Africa. With this foundation, Kredete is redefining cross-border finance — helping Africans everywhere send, spend, save, and build credit on one powerful platform.
“Our vision is simple: if you support your family financially, that should count toward your creditworthiness,” says Adeola Adedewe, Founder and CEO of Kredete. “We’re building a system that rewards financial responsibility across borders. This raise is about scaling that infrastructure globally — and making sure that the millions of Africans abroad are finally seen, scored, and served.”
“Kredete has been focusing on serving the African diaspora while addressing the key bottlenecks faced by payment operators when they move money in and out of Africa,” comments Khaled Ben Jilani, Senior Partner at AfricInvest. “It is one of those extremely rare start-ups that has managed to solve several problems at once—both for its African consumer clients, as well as for the large payments companies operating in Africa.”
“Adeola and his team are driving transformative innovation in remittance and cross-border payment infrastructure,” comments Lewam Kefela, Principal at Partech. “We’re excited about how their work is enabling better financial services for the African diaspora and unlocking broader opportunities across the ecosystem. We are thrilled to partner with Kredete on this journey.”
Kredete’s mission aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8) and Reduced Inequalities (SDG 10). Since its launch, Kredete has reached over 700,000 monthly users, facilitated $500 million in remittances, and helped raise users’ U.S. credit scores by an average of 58 points.
About Kredete
Kredete is a financial technology platform that empowers African immigrants in the diaspora to build credit and send money instantly to over 30 African countries with low fees. Kredete offers an API-based infrastructure for businesses to make secure and affordable cross-border payments into Africa, leveraging modern payment rails and stablecoin technology.
https://www.kredete.io/
Media contact:
Adeola Adedewe
press@kredete.io
718-750-1371
About Partech
Partech is a global tech investment firm headquartered in Paris, with offices in Berlin, Dakar, Dubai, Nairobi, and San Francisco. Partech brings together capital, operational experience, and strategic support to back entrepreneurs from seed to growth stage. Born in San Francisco 40 years ago, today Partech manages €2.5B AUM and a current portfolio of 220 companies, spread across 40 countries and 4 continents.
About Cathay AfricInvest Innovation Fund (CAIF) and Financial Inclusion Vehicle (FIVE)
CAIF is a joint venture between pan-African investment firm AfricInvest and global venture firm Cathay Innovation to invest in highly scalable and ambitious technology companies operating in Africa. The first fund is a €110m vehicle launched in 2019 that invests primarily in Series A and B stage startups. The fund is backed by a diverse pool of globally renowned investors, development finance institutions, leading multinational corporations, and high-net-worth individuals.
FIVE is AfricInvest’s first pan-African evergreen fund and its second-generation vehicle dedicated to financial inclusion in Africa. With a flexible mandate, FIVE invests across the spectrum of traditional financial institutions and high-growth FinTechs. Backed by a diverse base of private investors and development finance institutions, FIVE has surpassed €200 million in assets under management. The fund’s perpetual structure enables patient capital and long-term value creation, empowering portfolio companies to drive transformational growth. Through digital innovation and inclusive finance, FIVE is committed to universal access to financial services and fostering sustainable economic development across the African continent.
AfricInvest is a leading pan-African investment platform active in multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, venture capital, private credit, blended finance, and listed equities. Over the past quarter century, we have raised more than $2bn to finance more than 200 companies at various development stages, delivering value and impact for our investors, portfolio companies, and the communities we serve. Our 100-strong team of investment experts in more than ten offices across three continents has a proven track record of providing attractive risk-adjusted returns while spurring productivity growth, creating jobs, and ultimately improving African lives through inclusive and sustainable development.
Cathay Innovation is a multi-stage venture capital firm, affiliated with Cathay Capital, that goes beyond the traditional VC playbook by providing entrepreneurs with the support of a global ecosystem. Its global venture capital platform – bridging entrepreneurs with innovation centers, investors, and Fortune 500 companies across five continents – helps startups grow and lead on the local or global stage with access to new markets, invaluable industry knowledge, and introductions to potential partners with the world’s leading corporations.
For further information on AfricInvest, contact:
