Telecom
Earnipay Receives $4m Seed Funding to Provide on-Demand Salary to Employees in Africa
Earnipay, a fintech solution that provides flexible and on-demand salary access to income earners, has closed a seed round of $4 million.
The round was led by Canaan, with participation from XYZ Ventures, Village Global, Musha Ventures, Ventures Platform, Voltron Capital, and Paystack CEO Shola Akinlade.
Founded by Nonso Onwuzulike, who is the company’s CEO, Earnipay sets out to improve the financial well-being of employees by partnering with employers to seamlessly integrate their payroll systems with the fintech’s technology.
This way, employees can track and withdraw their accrued salaries via the app on any day of the month. At the end of the month, the employer deducts from the employee’s salary the amount withdrawn, refunds Earnipay with it, then pays the employee the balance as their salary for that month.
Earnipay charges employees a small processing fee of ₦250 or ₦500 for this access. There is no payback and no interest charge because employees are accessing what they have worked for, their own money, as opposed to a loan.
Employers can sign up to Earnipay via the web platform to gain access to the employer dashboard and add their employees in a simple process.
With the seed funding, Earnipay will accelerate the development of its technology platform to serve large-enterprise employers. The company plans to offer its on-demand salary solution to 200,000 employees by the end of 2022.
Speaking on the funding round and the recent launch of Earnipay, Onwuzulike, says, “Financial worries are the leading cause of distractions in the workplace. The monthly pay cycle means employees are often unable to afford daily expenses, cover emergencies, or take advantage of immediate financial opportunities.
“As a result, they become exposed to predatory payday loans and get stuck in unending debt cycles with unrealistic payback periods and expensive interest rates.
“Earnipay exists to address this problem and offer an ethical alternative to instant salary access while helping employers improve employee engagement and retention, at zero cost to their business.”
Onwuzulike believes that the future of the salary is “on-demand” and that Earnipay is poised to be at the forefront of this revolution within the African workforce.
On-demand salary access is a huge opportunity in Africa. With over 70% of Africa’s workforce, i.e. 500 million people, paid every 30 days and living from paycheck to paycheck, 40% of the workforce are trapped in an unending debt cycle as they struggle to match their income to their daily expenses, emergencies, and opportunities.
Earnipay officially launched its operations in January 2022, having been in development and beta testing since September 2021. Since operating in beta, Earnipay has served over 20 businesses, outsourcing firms, and HR solution providers in Nigeria, including Eden Life and Thrive Agric, whose employees have used the app to access their salary over 1,000 times—indicating a strong demand for the solution.
“We’ve seen earned wage access grow rapidly in many markets and believe it’s a natural fit in Africa,” said Brendan Dickinson, partner at Canaan.
“Earnipay has quickly established itself with a product built specifically for the payroll behaviours of this region, and early employer uptake is very strong. We’re thrilled for the opportunity to partner with them.”
Google has launched its Search Live feature globally to over 200 countries, including Nigeria, where AI Mode is available, enabling voice-and-camera conversations in users’ preferred languages.
Powered by the new multilingual Gemini 3.1 Flash Live model, it delivers natural, real-time interactions via the Google app on Android or iOS—tap the Live icon under the Search bar.
Ideal for hands-free help, users can speak queries for audio replies, follow-ups, or web links. Camera integration adds visual context, like troubleshooting a shelving unit, or pairs with Google Lens for real-world chats.
From the app or Lens, Nigerians can now explore, learn, or solve tasks instantly, boosting everyday productivity worldwide.
Clean and reliable power for telecom networks in Ethiopia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone will be expanded following a $45 million investment by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in IPT PowerTech.
The investment targets countries where limited power supply continues to slow digital connectivity and broader economic participation, the institution stated earlier this week.
To enable this expansion, the IFC is providing a $45 million corporate financing package consisting of an A-loan of $27 million and $18 million in blended finance.
The blended portion is sourced from the Canada-IFC Blended Climate Finance Programme and the IDA20 Private Sector Window Blended Finance Facility.
The initiative marks the IFC’s first direct infrastructure engagement in Liberia in a decade and in Sierra Leone in six years.
It will help scale solar- and battery-based power systems that reduce reliance on diesel and support greener, more resilient telecom networks.
By improving the quality and stability of power to telecom towers, the initiative will strengthen mobile coverage and ensure that households, schools, health centres, and small businesses can depend on consistent digital services, said the IFC.
The funding supports the modernisation, operation, and maintenance of 2 235 telecom sites across the three nations. More than 90% of these are located in off-grid or weak-grid locations.
With new solar and battery systems powering these sites, mobile networks will experience fewer outages and improved service quality.
Optimising the energy mix is estimated to reduce power costs for operators by up to 30% in Liberia, 26% in Sierra Leone, and 52% in Ethiopia.
This transition is also expected to cut emissions by more than 10 624 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually. Furthermore, the partnership will promote gender inclusion by expanding opportunities for women in technical, operational, and leadership roles within the sector, says the IFC.
This agreement reflects a shared vision for a greener telecom industry and empowers the company to scale its innovative energy platforms, according to Nabil Haddad, CEO of IPT PowerTech Group.
Reliable and affordable power for telecom networks is a cornerstone of Africa’s digital transformation, said Nathalie Kouassi-Akon, IFC regional director for West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
Through this partnership, the institution is supporting a scalable, private sector-led solution that enables mobile operators to reach underserved and fragile communities more sustainably, added Kouassi-Akon.
The project advances the World Bank Group and African Development Bank’s Mission 300 initiative, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030.
Expedier has unveiled “Expedier for Business,” an online pro-banking platform to simplify global payments, multi-currency transactions, and financial operations for expanding companies.
Kingsley Madu
The tool centralizes payments, invoicing, payroll, and treasury into one secure dashboard, tackling challenges like fragmented systems and poor visibility that hinder international scaling.
Kingsley Madu, Co-Founder and CEO of Expedier, said: “African businesses are increasingly global… Expedier for Business was built to simplify how companies manage money across borders while maintaining visibility, control, and compliance.”
Key features include customizable dashboards for payments, invoices, and workflows; support for USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, and more; virtual cards; automated payroll/invoicing; currency swaps; and real-time tracking.
Security measures cover two-factor authentication, KYC/KYB verification, and team access controls.
As cross-border trade and remote work boom in Africa, the platform aids firms dealing with international suppliers, teams, and customers. It is now available for organizations scaling globally.
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