ImaliPay, the Nigerian startup which leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and big data to offer tailored financial products, has partnered with pan-African payments company Cellulant for its payments infrastructure and solutions in Kenya and Nigeria. The partnership will ease the making and receiving of payments for freelancers and will change the way gig workers experience making payments and further drive financial inclusion by allowing ImaliPay users to access financial services quicker through Cellulant’s payment rails.
Sanmi Akinmusire, co-founder and COO of ImaliPay, while commenting on the deal said most of the financial services provided today are not designed with the gig workers in mind and that ImaliPay is now building an ecosystem where the workers can create a safety net for their savings, credit, and insurance that drives their productivity and economic empowerment.
“Our partnership with Cellulant is an important step in our journey to improve the financial health of gig workers on the continent by leveraging Cellulant’s payment infrastructure to offer our customers an easy way to make and receive payments,” commented Tatenda Furusa, co-founder and CEO of ImaliPay, speaking to the importance of the partnership to the business.
The partnership is serendipitous for the two co-founders who are both alumni of Cellulant having worked at the company between 2013 and 2020. Tatenda worked in Cellulant Zimbabwe and then Cellulant Kenya as Technical Advisor to Co-founder Ken Njoroge supporting the business strategy after Series C fundraising and Sanmi as the Chief Commercial Officer of Tingg Payments and Marketplace across Nigeria and Africa
Regarding the partnership, David Waithaka, Group Chief Business Officer at Cellulant said, “At Cellulant, we’re driven by our belief to provide solutions to everyday challenges across Africa by digitizing payments for various value chains. For us, it’s about what people, businesses, and communities can do when the movement of money becomes seamless, dependable, and more transparent. We’re proud to partner with Imali Pay, with whom we have shared values and ambitions, to grow the gig economy in Africa.”