Johannesburg, April 9, 2026 – VALR, the biggest crypto exchange in Africa in terms of trade volume, announced a strategic partnership with one of the continent’s most popular payment gateways, Onafriq. The partnership aims to expand access to digital financial services for millions by allowing Africans to fund their VALR accounts with mobile money in their local currencies.
Mobile Money’s Central Role in African Finance
Mobile money is a crucial aspect of everyday life in Africa. Mobile money is used for everything from everyday transactions to savings and remittances, especially in areas where traditional banks have little presence. In a 2025 report, the GSM Association (GSMA) released a report analyzing the mobile money industry. In the report, the GSMA found that there were more than 2.1 billion mobile money accounts globally in 2024, more than a quarter of the global population.
By the start of 2025, the mobile money industry had grown by 20% in volume and 16% in total value, processing more than 108 billion transactions, totaling over $1.68 trillion.
For Sub-Saharan Africans, mobile money is even more important, accounting for ~$190 billion in GDP for 2023 in the region. For most of these regions, mobile money use via platforms like MTN MoMo and M-Pesa outstrips the domestic use of traditional banking. This, effectively, makes integrating mobile money payments an integral part of breaking into the African market.
For VALR, this means Onafriq, which owns the biggest digital payments network in Africa, with over 1 million wallets in 43 markets. With the recent integration, VALR will gain access to all of this infrastructure, enabling local-currently deposits to be settled in stablecoins or in one of a short list of cryptocurrencies.
Onafriq Integration Enables Broader Participation in VALR Ecosystem
Onafriq handles processing all user settlements with stablecoins, letting users all across Africa make deposits with mobile money and access VALR’s full suite of features. This means easy access to VALR’s range of 100+ cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin trading, RWAs, lending/staking features, as well as VALR Pay.
With these mobile money on-ramps, VALR and Onafriq can help Africans enter and participate in global markets. On top of this, they can do so with their local currency and without assistance from a traditional bank.
VALR Paves the Way for African Financial Inclusion
VALR is already a major player in the African digital economy, with more than 1.7 million users and 2,000+ clients among corporations worldwide. The exchange is fully licensed through the South African Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) and has obtained regulatory approval to operate in Europe.
Farzam Ehsani, VALR’s CEO and Co-Founder, shared high hopes for its partnership with Onafriq, stating: “VALR’s partnership with Onafriq deepens our reach across Africa and the world, connecting many more countries and people to VALR’s wide array of crypto asset services and infrastructure. Mobile money has already reshaped financial access across the African continent. By enabling direct connections in local currencies, we offer millions a practical pathway to Bitcoin, stablecoins, tokenised gold, and more, as well as innovative financial tools, supporting greater economic participation for everyone.”
Meanwhile, the Founder and CEO of Onafriq, Dare Okoudjou put a spotlight on how the partnership will improve financial connectivity in Africa. “We are truly excited to welcome VALR onto the Onafriq Network, enabling their clients across Africa to transact freely with the 1bn mobile wallet users and hundreds of thousands of businesses already on Onafriq’s network. VALR is a recognised pioneer and leader of Blockchain and Stablecoin technologies on the continent, and we look forward to working with them to bring the many benefits of these technologies to people and businesses across Africa.”
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