# Waza

**Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/waza  
**Vertical:** Finance  
**Subcategory:** General  
**Tier:** Emerging  
**Website:** waza.co  
**Last Updated:** 2026-04-14

## Summary

Lagos B2B cross-border payments platform processing $700M annualized volume; profitable since Q4 2023 with 20% monthly growth backed by YC competing with Flutterwave for African international payments.

## Company Overview

Waza is a Lagos-based B2B cross-border payments platform enabling businesses in Africa and other emerging markets to make and receive international payments — solving the specific challenge of settling transactions across currencies and financial systems where correspondent banking relationships are limited, FX rates are poor, and traditional wire transfers are slow and expensive. Founded in 2022 by Emmanuel Igbodudu and Maxwell Obi and a Y Combinator W23 graduate, Waza raised $8 million, processes $700 million in annualized payment volume, reached profitability in Q4 2023 while maintaining 20% monthly growth, and launched Lync as a multi-currency account platform.

Waza's payments infrastructure handles the liquidity and FX operations that make cross-border B2B payments work in emerging markets: maintaining currency positions, managing FX conversion at competitive rates through treasury operations, and providing API access so that other fintechs and platforms can integrate Waza's payment rails for their own international payment use cases. The $700 million annualized volume within approximately 2 years of founding demonstrates strong product-market fit in an underserved market.

In 2025, Waza competes in the African and emerging market cross-border payments space with Nium (global payments infrastructure), Flutterwave (African payments leader), Paystack (acquired by Stripe), and Airwallex (global multi-currency business accounts) for B2B cross-border payment flows. The African cross-border payments market is fragmented and expensive — correspondent banking charges, multiple currency conversions, and settlement delays add significant cost and friction to intra-African and Africa-international trade. Waza's profitability at scale reflects disciplined unit economics: treasury management of currency positions enables FX spread revenue that makes the payments business profitable without requiring VC subsidy of pricing. The 2025 strategy focuses on scaling payment volume through enterprise customer acquisition, expanding Lync's multi-currency account features for businesses managing international operations, and growing the markets covered across Africa and emerging market corridors.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is Waza?
Waza is a B2B payments company founded in 2022 and based in Lagos, Nigeria. The company builds payment infrastructure for emerging markets, facilitating international transactions across six continents.

### What products and services does Waza offer?
Waza offers a B2B payment platform that enables international transactions and global payment rails for businesses. In January 2025, they launched Lync, a multi-currency account platform targeting emerging markets B2B payments.

### Who is Waza's target customer?
Waza serves B2B customers in emerging markets, currently working with hundreds of businesses across six continents. The company focuses on businesses that need to facilitate international payments and transactions.

### When was Waza founded?
Waza was founded in 2022 by Emmanuel Igbodudu and Maxwell Obi. The company participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2023 batch.

### Where is Waza located?
Waza is based in Lagos, Nigeria. Despite its Nigeria base, the company serves businesses across six continents.

### How much funding has Waza raised?
Waza has raised $8M in total funding. This includes $1.2M in pre-seed funding from Y Combinator in 2023, plus $3M in seed funding and $5M in venture debt in 2024.

### What are Waza's key achievements and metrics?
Waza facilitates $700M in annualized payment volume and serves hundreds of businesses. The company achieved profitability in Q4 2023 and has maintained profitability into 2024 while growing 20% month-over-month.

### What is Waza's approach to B2B payments?
Waza delivers payment infrastructure specifically designed for emerging markets, enabling global payment rails and international transaction facilitation. Their technology allows businesses across six continents to send and receive payments seamlessly.

### How large is Waza's team?
Waza currently has 28 employees. The company was founded by Emmanuel Igbodudu and Maxwell Obi.

### What are Waza's recent developments?
In January 2025, Waza launched Lync, a multi-currency account platform for emerging markets B2B payments. The company continues to grow at 20% monthly while maintaining profitability achieved in Q4 2023.

## Tags

b2b, fintech, payment-processing, africa, scaleup, platform

---
*Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*