Kenya’s Cloud9 Raises $500,000 from Alliance to Expand Cross-Border Payments

Kenyan fintech Cloud9 has raised $500,000 in equity from Alliance, a New York-based crypto accelerator and founder community, as the company expands its digital banking platform into cross-border payments for African businesses.

The investment forms part of Cloud9’s ongoing pre-seed round, which has also attracted funding from Techstars NYC and strategic angel investors. The round brings Cloud9’s total funding to $1 million.

Cloud9 plans to use the capital to expand its cross-border payment corridors, improve its product, introduce virtual and physical cards, and grow its customer base among African businesses and consumers involved in international trade.

The company launched its product in early 2026 and says it has since created more than 25,000 accounts, while transaction volumes have grown by more than 15% week over week.

Building payment infrastructure for African trade

Cloud9 is positioning itself as financial infrastructure for businesses that buy from and sell to customers and suppliers outside Africa.

Its platform allows users to hold multiple currencies, including the Kenyan shilling, US dollar, euro, British pound and Chinese yuan. Businesses can send payments to suppliers in more than 100 countries, receive international payments through virtual accounts and withdraw funds into mobile money when they need local currency.

The company also provides payroll, bulk payments and team approval tools for businesses. Its Cloud9 Wealth product gives Kenyan customers access to savings vaults and global stock markets.

Cloud9 says its treasury operations cover more than 120 countries, while its payment network supports direct payments to Mainland China, Hong Kong, India and Southeast Asia, alongside intra-African collections and local-currency disbursements.

Kenya's trade relationship with China is a significant market opportunity. Kenyan imports from China were valued at about $4.31 billion in 2024, according to Trading Economics.

“Kenya already skipped the bank branch once. Mobile money became how the country pays for almost everything, but only within its borders,” said Tesh Mbaabu, Cloud9 founder and CEO.

“With Cloud9, a merchant in Nairobi should be able to pay a supplier in Guangzhou as easily as they pay a vendor down the street.”

Stablecoins power the backend

Stablecoins form part of Cloud9's infrastructure for moving money between countries.

Customers can initiate payments in currencies such as dollars, euros or Kenyan shillings, while Cloud9 uses USDC or USDT to transfer value between currencies and markets behind the scenes.

The company says this model can make transfers faster and cheaper than traditional correspondent banking while allowing it to open new payment corridors without establishing a banking relationship in every market.

“Stablecoins are becoming the settlement layer for global trade, and Africa is where that shift matters most,” said Imran Khan, general partner at Alliance.

Two acquisitions in three months

Cloud9 has also expanded through acquisitions as it builds out its financial services platform.

In August 2026, the company acquired social commerce platform Chpter in an undisclosed all-stock transaction. The deal came three months after Cloud9 acquired Kenyan ticketing platform M-Tickets for approximately KES 100 million ($773,000) in an all-stock transaction.

The acquisitions give Cloud9 access to businesses at different stages of their commercial activity.

M-Tickets connects the company with event organisers and consumer spending, while Chpter brings businesses that sell and communicate with customers through platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram. Cloud9's strategy is to add financial services to these existing transactions and customer relationships.

Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti launched Cloud9 in October 2025, shortly after leaving Chpter, where they had been co-founders.

Competing in Kenya's payments market

Cloud9 is entering a Kenyan payments market where Safaricom's M-Pesa remains deeply embedded in everyday transactions.

It also competes with payment providers such as Pesapal, Flutterwave and Wise, particularly in business payments and cross-border transactions.

Cloud9 generates revenue through foreign-exchange spreads and transaction fees, while some multi-currency accounts and wallets carry monthly fees. The company is also developing additional products around its business accounts, including cards and credit options. Its next stage of growth will depend on how quickly it can expand its payment corridors and convert its growing user base into regular cross-border business customers.