Africa-Press – Botswana. REasy, a Cameroonian trade finance platform providing cross-border payments, logistics, and compliance services to small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) importers, has secured $1.8 million in pre-seed funding. This investment will help the company accelerate its West African expansion and enhance its trade infrastructure.
The funding round was supported by Ingressive Capital, Launch Africa, and 4 Collective, 5with additional backing from Digital Africa, Christophe Chausson (Chausson Partners), Mathias Léopoldie (Julaya), and Joël Nana Kontchou (Cameroon Network Angels).
Brice Mba, Co-CEO of REasy, stated, “We will use the funding to drive customer acquisition, strengthen our technology infrastructure, and obtain new licenses in our target markets, particularly in West Africa. Our mission is simple: to enable more African businesses to trade globally, seamlessly.”
This funding follows REasy’s achievement in developing a foreign exchange mechanism in collaboration with the Bank of Central African States (BEAC). This innovation allows small and medium-sized businesses in Central Africa to conduct multi-currency cross-border payments without the need for traditional banks.
The REasy platform connects African payment systems, including Orange Money, MTN Mobile Money, and bank transfers, with international payment methods like Alipay, WeChat Pay, and UnionPay. The platform also integrates customs brokerage and freight forwarding services, empowering traders to complete their entire import transaction without relying on multiple intermediaries.
REasy collects payments from clients in Central African Franc (XAF) and facilitates settlement to suppliers almost immediately after the funds are received in Africa, with operations supported by hubs in the UK, France, and Hong Kong. The final foreign exchange conversion is processed through the Central Bank channel, where XAF is converted into Euros.
Mba emphasized, “An African entrepreneur should be able to pay a foreign supplier as easily as a merchant in Europe or Asia. By eliminating friction in these transactions, we unlock both capital and confidence for the millions of SMEs that are the backbone of Africa’s economy.”
Founded in 2023 by Brice Mba and Mathieu Wing, REasy was soon joined by two additional co-founders, Richard Kue and Stéphane Meng. The company was created to address the persistent challenges facing African importers: high transaction costs, fraud risks, and limited access to trade finance. Its integrated trade finance app combines foreign exchange payments, logistics, and regulatory compliance, helping small businesses settle international transactions.
While Africa’s imports have surged from approximately $27.6 billion in 2000 to over $600 billion in 2023, small and medium-sized businesses still face systemic barriers such as payment delays of up to two weeks, high transaction costs reaching up to 8%, and significant fraud risks.
Lina Kacyem, Investment Manager at Launch Africa, highlighted, “Their regulatory breakthrough with BEAC creates a defensible competitive advantage—this is about unlocking billions of dollars in trade currently hindered by infrastructure gaps.”
REasy currently serves thousands of importers along the China-Cameroon trade corridor, which saw $3.71 billion in imports in 2023. For many of these traders, REasy has drastically reduced settlement time, from weeks to mere minutes.
Looking ahead, the company plans to expand beyond Central Africa, starting with Nigeria, which imports over $25 billion annually from China. Between 2027 and 2028, REasy intends to integrate with the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) to facilitate intra-African trade, and by 2030, it aims to expand into South-South trade routes, such as India–East Africa and Brazil–West Africa. By the end of 2030, REasy plans to serve over one million importing businesses across the continent.
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