Checker, a global infrastructure network focused on unifying digital asset markets, has raised $8 million in funding to accelerate the adoption of stablecoin-powered financial services across Africa and other emerging markets.
According to a statement from the company, the funding round was led by Al Mada Ventures, the sovereign wealth fund of Morocco and parent company of Attijariwafa Bank, alongside Galaxy Ventures and Framework Ventures.
Prominent African tech ecosystem players also participated in the raise, including Iyin Aboyeji, former Onafriq Vice President Gwera Kiwana, and Juicyway co-founder Justin Ziegler, alongside individuals from Stripe and Tala.
The round also attracted backing from strategic financial institutions including DFS Lab, Bitso, Airtm, Onigiri Capital, SNZ Capital, and Velocity.
What they are saying
Checker said the participation of Al Mada Ventures represents a major institutional endorsement for stablecoin-powered infrastructure within Africa’s financial system.
As the controlling shareholder of Wafa Cash, a remittance network operating across Africa and the diaspora, Al Mada brings extensive reach into African financial services and cross-border remittance operations.
Commenting on the investment, Managing Director of Al Mada Ventures, Omar Laalej, said liquidity access remains one of the biggest constraints limiting stablecoin adoption globally.
- “Checker addresses this with a novel orchestration layer that organizes fragmented stablecoin liquidity into a programmable, compliant network,” Laalej said.
According to the company, Africa has emerged as one of the world’s fastest-growing digital asset markets, driven by a young population, rising fintech adoption, and expanding regulatory clarity across markets such as Kenya and South Africa.
Nigeria continues to rank among the leading countries globally for cryptocurrency usage, while regulators across East and Southern Africa are increasingly introducing Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) licensing frameworks.
More insights
Despite growing adoption, Checker said African financial institutions continue to struggle with fragmented payment systems, expensive correspondent banking relationships, and foreign exchange volatility.
The company noted that stablecoin operators often rely on multiple liquidity providers and informal coordination systems to facilitate transactions, creating operational inefficiencies that make scaling difficult.
Checker’s platform seeks to address this challenge through a single API that connects banks, neobanks, payment providers, and cross-border businesses to global stablecoin liquidity, treasury management services, payments infrastructure, and credit products.
The company said the infrastructure is particularly relevant for large trade corridors between Africa and China, as well as Africa and the United States, where businesses continue to face slow settlement timelines and high transaction costs tied to traditional correspondent banking systems.
- “We’re building the network-of-networks infrastructure for the stablecoin era,” said Isaac Umejiaku, Head of Africa Sales at Checker.
- “With one integration, we connect African financial institutions to multiple payment providers, cross-border payment businesses, and banks globally, dramatically reducing settlement times and fees,” he added.
Chief Executive Officer of Checker, Jack Chong, said the latest funding would support the company’s plans to deepen global payments coverage and reduce African institutions’ dependence on correspondent banking systems.
The company also plans to develop embedded borrowing and lending capabilities designed to improve capital efficiency and reduce pre-funding requirements for financial institutions using stablecoin settlement systems.
What you should know
Founded in 2025 by Chong, Nathan Crocker, Justin McMahan, and Michael Zaczyk, Checker builds infrastructure that allows regulated financial institutions, including banks, remittance providers, and neobanks, to plug into global stablecoin liquidity and payment rails through an Application Programming Interface (API) integration.
- Over the past year, Checker said it onboarded institutional clients including Rail, which was recently acquired by Ripple, as well as Braza Bank in Brazil and Belo in Argentina.
- The company disclosed that it has scaled to $3 billion in total processing volume, representing roughly 1% of annual global B2B stablecoin payment volume.
In Africa, the company already operates in Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Francophone West Africa, with plans for further expansion.
