Alliance-backed Timon expands into Kenya after crossing 100,000 users

Timon, a stablecoin-powered travel payments startup, is expanding its operations in Kenya after surpassing 100,000 users across Africa, a milestone that highlights growing demand for cross-border financial products built for Africans who increasingly live, work and travel internationally.

The expansion comes shortly after the company secured backing from Alliance, one of the world’s leading startup accelerators for crypto companies. The investment gives Timon fresh capital and access to a global network of investors, operators and strategic partners as it scales across the continent.

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The move reflects a broader shift in Africa’s fintech industry. While many startups have spent the past decade building platforms for remittances and domestic payments, a new generation of companies is targeting Africans who earn globally, hold wealth in digital assets and require seamless payment services wherever they travel.

Founded by Tomi Ayorinde and Chizaram Ucheaga, Timon was launched in September 2024 to solve a problem the founders experienced themselves—being unable to access money abroad because of failed bank cards, foreign exchange restrictions and fragmented payment systems.

“We’ve spent the last decade solving how money comes into Africa. We think the next major opportunity is helping Africans take their money with them wherever they go,” Ayorinde said.

The platform enables users to fund digital wallets with local currencies, US dollar accounts or stablecoins before accessing virtual and physical payment cards, cross-border transfers, local payouts and global eSIM services. Physical cards can be collected at airports or delivered within 24 to 48 hours.

Timon now serves customers across 16 African countries, with Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa emerging as its biggest markets.

Kenya has become one of the company’s fastest-growing destinations, driven largely by customer referrals rather than formal market entry campaigns.

“We don’t expand because the market looks attractive on paper. We expand because customers are already there,” Ayorinde said.

One of the biggest surprises for the company has been the rapid adoption of stablecoins. Although they were not part of Timon’s original product strategy, customer demand prompted the company to integrate them into its platform. Today, nearly 70 percent of wallet funding is completed using stablecoins, underlining how digital dollar-backed assets are becoming an important store of value for Africans facing currency volatility.

The trend reflects changing consumer behaviour across the continent, where professionals working for international companies or receiving income from abroad increasingly prefer digital assets that preserve value and simplify cross-border transactions.

Alliance’s investment also signals growing investor confidence in startups building consumer applications around stablecoins rather than focusing only on cryptocurrency trading.

According to Ucheaga, the accelerator recognised the company’s long-term vision of creating a borderless financial platform for African travellers.

“We are building for where financial services are going, not where they have been. Beyond capital, Alliance has given us access to operators, partnerships and a network that can dramatically accelerate our growth,” he disclosed.

The company plans to use the new funding to strengthen its stablecoin infrastructure, expand into additional African markets, acquire more customers and introduce new travel-focused services such as insurance, travel planning and enhanced global payment capabilities.

Despite being described as a travel payments company, the founders believe the opportunity extends far beyond travel.

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They describe Timon as a financial passport that allows Africans to carry their financial identity across borders with the same ease as their national passports.

The strategy positions Timon within a growing segment of African fintech startups seeking to build global financial infrastructure for the continent’s increasingly mobile workforce. As more Africans work remotely for foreign employers, study abroad or travel frequently for business, demand is expected to rise for payment solutions that are not constrained by local banking systems or volatile exchange rates.

For Timon, crossing 100,000 users is more than a growth milestone. It is an early sign that Africa’s next fintech opportunity may lie not in moving money into the continent, but in helping Africans move their money with them wherever they go.