Crypto accelerator Alliance invests $500,000 in Kenyan fintech Cloud9

Alliance, a New York-headquartered crypto accelerator and founder community that invests in early-stage crypto and fintech startups, has invested $500,000 in equity in Cloud9, a Kenyan fintech that provides digital banking services for businesses.

The investment is part of Cloud9’s ongoing pre-seed round, which also attracted investment from Techstars NYC and strategic angel investors, bringing the company’s total funding to $1 million.

The investment comes as Cloud9 pushes beyond digital banking to build payment infrastructure for African businesses trading across borders after making two acquisitions in three months.

The company plans to use the new funding to expand its cross-border payment corridors, improve its product experience, launch virtual and physical cards, and grow its base of African consumers and businesses using the platform to participate in global trade.

Cloud9 launched its product in early 2026 and says it has since created more than 25,000 accounts, with transaction volume growing by more than 15% week over week. It is positioning the platform as financial infrastructure for African businesses trading across borders.

“Kenya already skipped the bank branch once. Mobile money became how the country pays for almost everything, but only within its borders,” said Tesh Mbaabu, Cloud9’s founder and chief executive officer. “With Cloud9, a merchant in Nairobi should be able to pay a supplier in Guangzhou as easily as they pay a vendor down the street. Where an entrepreneur is based should not limit who they can buy from or sell to.”

Cloud9 says users can hold multiple currencies, including Kenyan shillings, US dollars, euros, pounds and Chinese yuan. They can send payments to suppliers in more than 100 countries, receive international payments through virtual accounts, and withdraw funds to mobile money when they need local currency.

 The company also offers tools for payroll, bulk payments and team approvals for businesses, while its Cloud9 Wealth product gives Kenyan users access to savings vaults and global stock markets. Its treasury operations cover more than 120 countries, and its payment network currently supports direct payments to Mainland China, Hong Kong, India and Southeast Asia, as well as intra-African collections and local-currency disbursements. The company said it is targeting businesses involved in global trade. Kenya imports from China were worth $4.31 billion in 2024. 

Stablecoins are a key part of how Cloud9 moves money between countries. A customer may hold dollars, euros, or Kenyan shillings and initiate a payment in one of those currencies. Cloud9 then uses USDC or USDT to move value between countries and currencies on the backend.

“Stablecoins are becoming the settlement layer for global trade, and Africa is where that shift matters most,” said Imran Khan, general partner at Alliance. “Tesh has built for African merchants at scale before, and Cloud9 is turning stablecoin rails into an everyday bank account for the entrepreneurs who need it most.”

The company’s push into cross-border payments comes as it expands beyond banking through acquisitions. In August, Cloud9 acquired social commerce platform Chpter in an undisclosed all-stock deal, its second acquisition in three months. In May, the company acquired Kenyan ticketing platform M-Tickets for about KES 100 million ($773,000) in an all-stock transaction.

The acquisitions give Cloud9 access to businesses at different points in their commercial activity. M-Tickets brings it closer to event organisers and consumer spending, while Chpter adds businesses that sell and communicate with customers through platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram. Cloud9’s stated strategy is to layer financial services onto those existing transactions and customer relationships.

Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti launched Cloud9 in October 2025, weeks after leaving Chpter, where they served as co-founders. They joined Chpter in early 2024 to help accelerate the social-commerce company’s growth and stepped down from day-to-day operations in September 2025.

Cloud9 operates in a competitive Kenyan payments market, with Safaricom’s M-Pesa remaining embedded in everyday payments. Companies such as Pesapal, Flutterwave, Wise, and other payment providers serve businesses with payment collection and cross-border capabilities. 

Cloud9 generates revenue from foreign-exchange spreads and transaction fees when customers make payments. It also charges monthly fees on some multi-currency accounts and wallets. The company noted that it is building additional products around the business account, including cards and credit options.

“Cloud9’s mission is to simplify, democratise, and accelerate access to financial tools, helping individuals grow wealth, businesses scale faster, and communities participate in global markets, all through one platform,” the company said.

Cloud9 says its treasury operations cover more than 120 countries and its payment network currently supports direct payments to Mainland China, Hong Kong, India and Southeast Asia, as well as intra-African collections and local-currency disbursements. The company said it is targeting businesses involved in global trade.  Kenya imports from China were worth $4.31 billion in 2024. 

The company says stablecoins serve as the settlement layer for many of its transactions. A customer may hold dollars, euros or Kenyan shillings and initiate a payment in one of those currencies. Cloud9 then uses USDC or USDT to move value between countries and currencies on the backend.

“That makes transfers faster and cheaper than correspondent banking and lets Cloud9 open new corridors without a bank in each one,” Mbaabu said.

Cloud9 generates revenue from foreign-exchange spreads and transaction fees when customers make payments. It also charges monthly fees on some multi-currency accounts and wallets. The company noted that it is building additional products around the business account, including cards and credit options.

Cloud9 operates in a competitive Kenyan payments market, with Safaricom’s M-Pesa remaining embedded in everyday payments. Companies such as Pesapal, Flutterwave, Wise, and other payment providers serve businesses with payment collection and cross-border capabilities. 

Cloud9’s strategy is to embed financial services into the platforms and transactions businesses already use. M-Tickets put it closer to consumer spending and the events economy, while Chpter gave it access to businesses that sell and communicate with customers through platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram.

“Cloud9’s mission is to simplify, democratise, and accelerate access to financial tools, helping individuals grow wealth, businesses scale faster, and communities participate in global markets, all through one platform,” the company said.

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