Nomba, the Nigerian fintech formerly known as Kudi, is making a bold expansion into the cash-rich economy of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) — and it’s starting with remittances.
According to TechCabal, Nomba has spent the past year quietly building operations in the DRC, identifying the country’s remittance corridors — especially from high-volume hubs such as China and Dubai — as its most viable entry point. The company is recruiting on-the-ground agents in Kinshasa and beyond, leveraging physical networks to collect cash inflows and build trust with a market that remains overwhelmingly unbanked and reliant on cash.
Henry Bankole, Nomba’s country manager for the DRC, explains that remittances create a natural “on-ramp” for the company’s services: “From what we’ve seen, remittances are where money already flows … By starting there, we can quickly earn transactional trust and build the rails we need for payments and credit.” Once established, Nomba plans to layer in broader digital banking solutions, including payments and credit, to serve underserved Congolese polpulation.
Nomba’s decision to target the DRC comes amid a landscape where more than 80% of the population lacks a bank account, and the country’s banking sector remains small, concentrated, and heavily dollarized. In contrast, mobile money platforms like Vodacom, Orange, and Airtel have built large wallet networks — but users typically cash out immediately, limiting the opportunity for more advanced fintech products.
By partnering with local agents to handle remittance inflows, Nomba is positioning itself as a first mover in a relatively under-served space. Its channel could then evolve into a broader ecosystem for savings, payments, and lending as Congolese customers become more accustomed to its platform.
Regulatory alignment will be vital for Nomba’s success. The company says it is working closely with the Central Bank of the DRC (BCC), adhering to local know-your-customer (KYC) and anti-money-laundering rules as it formalizes its presence.
Nomba’s bet in the DRC reflects a high-risk, high-reward strategy: leveraging flows that already exist in cash, building physical trust via agents, and slowly transforming that into digitized financial access. If successful, this could mark a significant step in expanding digital finance into one of Central Africa’s most cash-intensive markets.
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