Kenyan fintech Cloud9 has raised $1 million in total funding, after securing a $500,000 equity investment from New York-based crypto accelerator and founder community Alliance.
The Alliance investment represents half of Cloud9’s total funding to date. The remaining $500,000 was raised from Techstars NYC and strategic angel investors as part of the company’s ongoing pre-seed round.
The fresh capital comes as Cloud9 expands its digital banking and cross-border payments platform for African businesses.
Founded by Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, Cloud9 provides businesses with financial infrastructure for international trade. Its platform allows customers to hold multiple currencies, including Kenyan shillings, US dollars, euros, British pounds and Chinese yuan.
Businesses can use Cloud9 to pay suppliers in more than 100 countries, receive international payments through virtual accounts and withdraw funds to mobile money when they need local currency. The platform also provides payroll, bulk payment and team approval tools.
Cloud9 launched its product in early 2026 and says it has since created more than 25,000 accounts, with transaction volumes growing by more than 15% week over week.
The fintech’s treasury operations now cover more than 120 countries, while its payment network supports direct payments to Mainland China, Hong Kong, India and Southeast Asia, as well as intra-African collections.
Stablecoins power Cloud9’s cross-border payments
Stablecoins are central to Cloud9’s cross-border payment infrastructure, with USDC and USDT used as part of its backend settlement system.
The company uses stablecoins to facilitate faster and cheaper international transfers compared with traditional correspondent banking. The model also allows Cloud9 to open new payment corridors without requiring a banking relationship in every country.
Alliance General Partner Imran Khan said stablecoins are rapidly emerging as a critical settlement layer for global trade, particularly in Africa.
Kenya’s trade with China represents one of the corridors Cloud9 is targeting. Kenyan imports from China were valued at $4.31 billion in 2024, creating significant demand for infrastructure that can make payments to overseas suppliers easier.
Cloud9 expands through acquisitions
Cloud9 is also expanding beyond payments through acquisitions and new financial products.
In August, the company acquired social commerce platform Chpter in an undisclosed all-stock transaction. It also acquired Kenyan ticketing platform M-Tickets in May for KES 100 million ($773,000), also in an all-stock deal.
The acquisitions give Cloud9 access to businesses and consumers at different stages of commercial activity, allowing it to layer financial services onto existing transactions and customer relationships.
Cloud9 also operates Cloud9 Wealth, which gives Kenyan users access to savings vaults and global stock markets.
The new funding will support the expansion of cross-border payment corridors, product improvements, virtual and physical cards, and growth among African consumers and businesses.
Cloud9 is also developing additional products around its business accounts, including credit and card offerings.
The company generates revenue primarily through foreign-exchange spreads and transaction fees, while some multi-currency accounts and wallets carry monthly fees.
Targeting a competitive payments market
Cloud9 is operating in a competitive Kenyan payments market where Safaricom’s M-Pesa remains deeply embedded in everyday transactions. Other providers, including Pesapal, Flutterwave and Wise, also offer payment collection and cross-border services.
Launched in October 2025 by Mbaabu and Sibuti after their departure from Chpter, Cloud9 is positioning itself as a broader financial platform combining multi-currency accounts, international payments, business tools, wealth products and future credit and card services.
The company’s broader ambition is to make international trade easier for African businesses by allowing merchants to transact across borders with the same convenience as local payments.