Nomba Expands B2B Payments from the DRC to Zambia, Connecting Businesses Across a $1.2 Billion Trade Corridor

Nomba, a business banking and financial infrastructure platform, has extended its existing Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) payments corridor into Zambia through licensed local partners. The highly strategic move into Africa’s fastest-growing trade route advances the company’s Pan-African business banking ambitions and follows the recent fundraise to expand cross-border payments infrastructure in the DRC.

The expansion comes as the DRC and Zambia establish one of the most vital economic relationships on the continent. Zambia’s goods exports to the DRC reached $1.6 billion in 2025, an increase of approximately a third on the previous year, according to the Bank of Zambia. Investment in regional transport links is also strengthening the prospects for cross-border commerce for businesses in sectors such as agriculture, retail and wholesale trade. Yet, as trade and market opportunities grow, businesses operating along the corridor face challenges moving money across borders, critical payment delays, cash-management demands and foreign exchange shortages. These frictions tie up working capital and stall growth.

Nomba’s corridor provides the financial infrastructure to solve these frictions. Building on its existing operations in the DRC, where businesses collect and pay in USD and CDF(Congolese francs) on its platform, the company is working with licensed partners in Zambia to enable Congolese businesses to pay in CDF and USD to Zambian suppliers instantly, through bank accounts or mobile wallets.

Speaking on the expansion, Yinka Adewale, CEO of Nomba, said: “The ambition to grow intra-African trade has outpaced the financial infrastructure needed to support it. Many of the continent’s busiest trade corridors remain underserved by payment solutions that help businesses move money efficiently and scale. We’ve spent the past decade building solutions to address these challenges, and we’re now extending that infrastructure to the heart of Africa along the DRC–Zambia corridor. This is part of our own ambition to build a business banking platform that enables African businesses to trade, scale and compete beyond their home markets. Africa has a significant opportunity to grow its share of global trade, and that starts with making it easier for businesses to trade across the continent.

Founded in 2016, Nomba has evolved from a payments business into a business banking and financial infrastructure platform, processing more than $70 billion in annualised payments. As it expands beyond its established markets, the company is targeting monthly cross-border payment volumes of more than $1 billion, with plans to raise its next round to support its growth and build a broader platform to help Africa’s ambitious businesses to scale.

As the Zambia corridor develops, Nomba will deepen its engagement with businesses operating across the route, offering tailored financial services they need to grow. Beyond cross-border payments, its longer-term ambition is to support a broader range of business banking needs, including deposits, foreign exchange and credit, as its market presence and partnerships mature.