Vella had initially launched to provide a platform that powers crypto infrastructure and spend ability in Africa. With this iteration, the startup will be helping financially underserved businesses boost cross border trade and commerce by providing alternative payment solutions and infrastructure to scale and boost revenue by bridging TradFi with DeFi and cryptocurrency rails. ‘’Our long-term goal at Vella is to become the preferred payment partner for 80% of businesses originating from Africa,’’ Co-founder and COO, Tolu Adedayo said. The B2B market accounts for 30% of the world’s global imports and 45% of total employment in emerging markets yet, businesses are locked out of potential global revenue opportunities due to lack of proper financial/crypto infrastructure. The hiccups faced in the process of carrying payments across borders are almost limitless as Africans have been making strides in doing businesses as small and medium-sized enterprises. While fintechs are creating solutions around peer-to-peer payments and remittances, most are consumer-focused. Cross-border B2B transactions are largely untapped and faced with issues centered on wavering security, slow transactions rate, inadequate transparency, and high transactional cost due to multiple intermediaries. Addressing these problems, Vella is helping financially underserved businesses simplify cross border payments by providing business tools, which includes: Global Pay: A hybrid payment solution that helps businesses send money directly to vendors, suppliers and business partners across borders in over 80 countries. The integration of Vella’s Invoice, hybrid checkout and payment link enables businesses, freelancers, vendors and traders to accept payment from their customers in fiat and crypto (Stable coins) globally and get settled in local currencies. Vella Boost: A savings feature that helps businesses invest their idle and excess cash flow in USD while earning up to 12% APY. Fintech as a Service (FaaS): An enterprise service which helps startups of all sizes quickly become crypto-enabled companies using Vella’s API and solutions to power embedded finance and products such as Cards issuing, wallet system, and payment collections/disbursement. “Vella’s sweet spot is in our ability to layer regular traditional finance which businesses are already familiar with on top of crypto infrastructures. We were first merchants, then small business enablers; we share firsthand experience from a small business owner’s perspective. Not only can our users send and receive money, they can also get access to credit which helps boost their businesses; that is how we set ourselves apart. Through our checkout, web and mobile applications, small businesses get a simple yet powerful system that simplifies digital finance, accelerates growth, and boosts their earnings.” Mark Afolabi, CEO Vella Finance. Vella has garnered over 20,000 users, processed over 25,000 transactions successfully and has done well over 2 billion Naira in transactional volume.With the newly designed user interface and new products, Vella is reinforced at satisfying, and simplifying finance for SMEs in Africa.
