Juicyway, a Nigerian cross-border payments startup that helps businesses get FX for international transactions, has raised $3 million in pre-seed funding. The company will use the funding to expand its marketing and business development teams, improve its technology, and scale its business in Nigeria, the US, the UK, and Canada.

P1 Ventures led the round with participation from Ventures Platform, Future Africa, Magic Fund, Microtraction, and angel investors Andrew Alli, Gbenga Oyebode, and Tunde Folawiyo.

Founded in 2021 by Ife Johnson and Justin Ziegler, Juicyway is a marketplace that allows businesses and individuals to convert local currency to dollars and vice versa. Juicyway serves both suppliers?businesses that are bringing foreign currency (like USD or CAD)?and buyers?businesses that need to buy the foreign currencies from them and make outbound transfers. It makes money from transaction fees and spreads from transactions on its platform.

?Businesses come to us for two reasons; the first type of business wants to take local currency, convert it to US dollars, and make international payments via [our] banking partners [demand side]. The second type of businesses want to leverage the accounts we provide to bring money into the continent and convert it into local currency to make disbursements [supply side],? said Ife Johnson, Juicyway co-founder and CEO.

The company?s raise comes at a time when access to FX remains a challenge for Nigerian businesses dealing with frequent heavy international transactions. Juicyway is one of the many Nigerian upstarts pitching to solve the country?s cross-border payments problem.

Juicyway allows businesses to make cross-border payments using stablecoins?like Tether and USDC?positioning it as a hybrid decentralised finance (DeFi) and traditional finance (TradFi) payments startup. When a business onboards on Juicyway, they can choose to open a US Dollar (USD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), or a stablecoin wallet.

When Customer A comes in and deposits naira to get dollars, and Customer B brings in dollars, they get matched on the platform and exchange liquidity without knowing it. This way, Juicyway is not counterparty for the transactions.

Businesses can set the prices and order limits they want to sell their foreign currencies. Other businesses that need FX can buy the foreign currencies if they match the asking price. This market-influenced pricing system can allow businesses to get good FX deals.

?We saw a problem where every single time businesses needed to convert local currency to foreign currency, there just wasn?t a supply for that [foreign] currency that was near-instant, cheap enough, or compliant enough to solve their needs,? Johnson shared on the problem Juicyway is solving.

Juicyway has been operating in stealth mode since November 2021 when it first processed its first $9 payment. Since then, it claims to have processed $1.3 billion in total payment volume (TPV)?a metric that Juicyway considers as its North Star?for over 4,000 customers.

The startup operates in four markets: Nigeria, the UK, the US, and Canada. Juicyway holds licences in all these markets: an International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licence in Nigeria, a Money Services Business (MSB) licence in Canada, and an Authorised Payment Institution (API) licence in the UK. It operates through partner banks in the US, where it has also received a phase 1 payments approval in Washington DC.

The company recently expanded its services to individuals, with Johnson saying they needed ?critical mass? to test and expand their platform. Individuals needing to make international payments or receive forex supply can also onboard on Juicyway. The startup plans to grow its customer base in the coming months by increasing its marketing efforts.

?This is a platform that can handle one or two million people across the UK, Canada, and Nigeria?all existing in one platform?and make money move between one another either directly or indirectly,? said Johnson.

Johnson explained that the company operates in a niche market that benefits both remittance companies and market makers. For example, remittance companies like RemitChoice use the platform to sell liquidity and make disbursements, while businesses like IHS Towers use it for outbound payments.

?We couldn?t be more excited to partner with Ife, Justin and Idris as they tackle one of the most critical challenges in finance. At P1 Ventures, we seek audacious and exceptional founders like them?visionaries who aim to redefine industries and empower emerging markets,? said Hisham Halbouny, co-founder and managing partner at P1 Ventures.

The company will be looking to raise again in the next 18?24 months. (Vanguard)

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