Kora

What Kora does

Kora is a pan-African payment infrastructure company founded in 2017 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, with additional offices in Toronto, Canada and Birmingham, United Kingdom. The company provides a unified API-first platform for businesses to collect payments (pay-ins), disburse funds (payouts), and settle transactions across 9+ African markets including Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Tanzania, and Zambia. Kora's product suite spans four core modules — Pay-ins (cards, bank transfers, mobile money, EFT, payment links, checkout), Payouts (bulk, multicurrency, mobile money), Settlements (instant, scheduled, balance visibility), and Identity (KYC/KYB verification) — all accessible via APIs, SDKs, and a self-serve merchant portal at merchant.korapay.com. Underlying technical capabilities include real-time AML transaction monitoring, KYC/KYB identity verification, multi-currency settlement with FX services, and virtual USD card issuing; the platform is certified to PCI DSS v4.0, ISO/IEC 27001:2013, and ISO 22301:2019.

The company's go-to-market combines a product-led growth motion (self-serve onboarding, no-code payment links, developer documentation) with enterprise field sales and dedicated account management for larger merchants. Revenue is generated primarily through transaction fees on payment processing and FX/conversion services, supplemented by subscription-style fees on card issuing and identity verification products. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed, with a Startup Launch Bundle available for early-stage businesses. Named customers span logistics (GIG Logistics), finance (Myxalary, Oystr, Quantum Zenith), health (Healthtracka), retail (Moniebee), and payments/payroll (Sycamore, AD Dynamo, Payfuture, AstroPay), indicating a diversified customer base across enterprise, startup, and SMB segments. In June 2026, Kora joined the IATA Financial Gateway, extending its distribution into 370+ global airlines and travel agencies seeking to accept African payments — a partnership the company cites as a flagship channel expansion into the aviation vertical. Kora also operates The Curve Africa, a wholly-owned software engineering academy acquired in 2023 that functions as both a community initiative and a talent pipeline.

Name

Kora

Legal name

Kora

Website

https://korahq.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Kora is a pan-African payment infrastructure provider offering API-first pay-ins, payouts, settlements, card issuing, and KYC across 9+ African countries. It serves SMEs, enterprises, and startups, and in 2026 joined the IATA Financial Gateway to serve global airlines.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Payment Infrastructure

NAICS

Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (522320), Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities (52232)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

A2A Checkout & Merchant Acceptance Solutions (FSAMAFAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Multi-Currency Accounts, Wallets & IBAN Services (FSAMAIAG), Cross-Border Payouts & Mass Disbursements (Pay-outs) (FSAMAIAJ), Fraud, Risk, KYC/AML & Compliance Platforms (BPAMAFAI), Cross-border Payments & FX for E-commerce (CRAFALAF)

Keywords

• Pan-African payment infrastructure
• Payment processing APIs
• Cross-border payouts
• Mobile money integration
• Multi-currency settlement

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Payment Processing (Transaction Fees): Kora earns revenue by charging transaction fees on payments processed through its platform. This includes fees on card payments, bank transfers, mobile money transactions, and other payment methods accepted on its rails.
2. Multi-Currency and FX Services: Revenue is generated from currency conversion and FX services when merchants settle in preferred currencies across multiple African markets.
3. Card Issuing: Kora offers virtual USD card issuing for businesses, generating revenue from card processing and management fees.
4. Identity Verification Services: KYC and KYB verification services are offered as part of the platform, likely with per-verification or subscription-based pricing.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Kora provides unified pan-African payment infrastructure enabling businesses to accept pay-ins (cards, bank transfers, mobile money, EFTs), disburse payouts (including bulk and multi-currency), settle funds across multiple African currencies, issue virtual USD cards, and run KYC/KYB identity verification through a single API integration. The platform supports merchants, enterprises, and startups operating across Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Zambia, and the UK, with extensions into global aviation through the IATA Financial Gateway.

Product overview

Kora is a pan-African payment infrastructure platform providing a unified suite of payment solutions across 9+ African countries plus the UK. The platform operates on a modular architecture centered around four core product pillars: Pay-ins (encompassing Payment Links, Kora Checkout, and Card Issuance for accepting payments), Payouts (including Bulk Payouts, Multicurrency Payouts, and Mobile Money for disbursements), Settlements (with Instant Settlements and Balance management for fund flows), and Identity (KYC/KYB verification for compliance). All products are accessible via both no-code tools and APIs, enabling businesses to collect, disburse, and settle payments seamlessly across borders. The platform covers Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Tanzania, Zambia, and the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Curve Africa: A software engineering academy that teaches and provides hands-on experience for six months to underprivileged young people interested in building a career in technology.

Products and services

• Pay-ins Accept online payments through cards, bank transfers, mobile money, and EFT with a localized checkout experience supporting multiple currencies; designed for businesses that need to receive payments from customers across multiple African markets.
• Card Issuance Flexible card issuing suite for creating and managing virtual USD cards for business needs and customers with custom branding; targeted at businesses that need corporate or customer-facing virtual USD cards.
• Payouts Direct, secure payments to customers in multiple currencies; supports single payouts, bulk payouts, multicurrency payouts, and mobile money payouts to bank accounts and mobile wallets for businesses paying partners, suppliers, or end users.
• Settlements Settlement flows designed for business needs with flexible settlement options; enables merchants to receive the true value of transactions and settle in local or preferred currencies, with instant and scheduled settlement variants.
• Identity (KYC/KYB) KYC and KYB verification services that enable businesses to run real-time identity verification of customers and businesses to reduce fraud and speed up onboarding.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3x faster payment conversions with Kora Checkout
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• IATA (International Air Transport Association) Financial GatewayflagshipTechnology or Integration · 12 June 2026Kora joined the IATA Financial Gateway (IFG) in June 2026, enabling global airlines and travel agencies on the IFG network to access Africa's diverse payment ecosystem through a single integration. The partnership addresses the fragmented payment landscape across African markets (Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt, South Africa), allowing carriers to accept payments via cards, bank transfers, mobile money, and local alternative payment methods without managing multiple individual integrations. This supports Africa's projected aviation expansion with IATA forecasting the continent will add more than 300 million new passengers by 2050.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Paystack: Nigerian-headquartered payment processor (acquired by Stripe) serving African merchants with card and bank-transfer acceptance plus developer APIs. Directly overlaps Kora's core SME/enterprise payment acceptance offering.
• dLocal: Emerging-markets payment processor connecting global merchants to local payment methods in Africa, LatAm, and Asia. Closely comparable cross-border, multi-method acceptance model targeting enterprise and payment-aggregator clients.
• Chipper Cash: African cross-border payments company offering mobile money, bank, and card transfers across multiple African markets. Overlaps with Kora on multi-country payouts and cross-border money movement for consumers and businesses.
• Onafriq (formerly MFS Africa): Pan-African mobile-money interoperability and payments network connecting mobile wallets, banks, and merchants across Africa. Comparable on mobile-money aggregation and cross-border payout infrastructure for the continent.
• Cellulant: Pan-African digital payments platform providing payment collection, disbursement, and mobile-money aggregation across 35+ countries. Comparable on cross-country payment acceptance and enterprise merchant integrations.
• Flutterwave: Pan-African payment infrastructure provider offering payins, payouts, and multi-currency settlement across dozens of African countries. Most direct competitor to Kora's unified African payment-rails proposition.
• Interswitch: Largest Nigerian payments processor with pan-African reach across cards, bank transfers, and settlement. Comparable on geographic coverage, multi-product stack (including card issuing and identity), and enterprise merchant focus.

Broad incumbents

• Stripe: Global payments incumbent with growing Africa footprint via Paystack. Competes in the same merchant acceptance and developer-first category but as a much broader multi-region platform rather than an Africa-specialist.
• Visa Direct: Global card-network push-payments platform enabling cross-border payouts and account-to-account transfers. Overlaps with Kora's payouts and multi-currency settlement as part of a much wider global payment-rails portfolio.
• Worldpay (FIS): Large global payment processor offering merchant acquiring, cross-border, and FX services. Comparable at the enterprise/aggregator level but as a broad incumbent rather than an Africa-focused specialist.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thekorahq
• Facebookfacebook.com/thekorahq
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kora-hq
• Instagraminstagram.com/thekorahq

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kora