Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin issuer and a key player in the global crypto economy, has announced a strategic investment in Kotani Pay, a Nairobi-based blockchain payments company focused on bridging the gap between digital assets and local financial systems across Africa. The partnership marks a major milestone in advancing digital financial inclusion and cross-border payments infrastructure across the continent.
Kotani Pay, which operates in multiple African countries including Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, enables users to send, receive, and convert digital assets into local currencies without needing internet access or complex crypto wallets. Its platform leverages USSD technology—the same system used for mobile banking—to provide blockchain-based services to users with even the most basic mobile phones. This approach aligns closely with Africa’s high mobile penetration rate and growing adoption of digital financial services.
Through Tether’s backing, Kotani Pay plans to expand its infrastructure to support faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments across Africa. The collaboration will also help integrate USDT (Tether’s stablecoin) into Kotani Pay’s ecosystem, enabling merchants, remittance services, and local financial institutions to use stable digital currencies as a reliable medium of exchange.
According to Tether, the investment reflects its commitment to supporting real-world blockchain adoption in emerging markets. By partnering with companies like Kotani Pay, Tether aims to tackle Africa’s long-standing challenges in remittance costs, currency instability, and limited access to global financial systems. The stablecoin issuer sees Africa as a key growth frontier for digital finance, where blockchain can offer practical solutions to real economic problems.
Kotani Pay’s CEO, Felix Macharia, highlighted that the partnership will accelerate the company’s mission to make digital currencies accessible to everyone—especially unbanked and underbanked populations. “Our goal is to simplify blockchain adoption for everyday Africans,” he said, adding that Tether’s support will help scale their technology and bring more liquidity into local markets.
As stablecoins continue to reshape global payments, Tether’s investment in Kotani Pay signals a growing confidence in Africa’s crypto ecosystem. The collaboration could set the stage for a more connected, inclusive, and efficient financial landscape across the continent.
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