Ugandan fintechs seek regional market as Nairobi hosts blockchain festival

Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Ugandan fintech companies are seeking opportunities beyond the domestic market as demand grows for faster cross-border payments, digital-asset settlement and financial services across Africa.

The companies are positioning themselves for a regional market where businesses increasingly need to move money between countries, currencies and payment systems.

That push will be on display in Nairobi this month when the Africa Blockchain Festival 2026 brings together investors, technology companies, financial institutions, developers and regulators from across Africa and beyond.

The festival will run from October 15 to 17 at the Sarit Expo Centre under the theme, “Capital, Code, and Continuity: Building Africa’s Permanent Digital Economy.”

Organisers expect more than 3,000 delegates from more than 20 countries. The programme will cover blockchain infrastructure, stablecoins, cross-border payments, tokenisation, digital identity and regulation, alongside investor forums and startup showcases.

For Uganda’s fintech sector, the gathering comes as local companies develop products aimed at solving some of the friction involved in moving money across African markets.

Building the financial rails

Kampala-linked MUDA is one of the companies operating in this space.

The company describes itself as a liquidity infrastructure provider for the digital economy, offering global collections and payouts, virtual accounts, stablecoin wallets and stablecoin-to-fiat conversion.

Its platform supports USDC, USDT and cNGN and provides access to liquidity in more than 50 countries, according to the company.

The company says its infrastructure allows banks, fintechs, remittance businesses and other enterprises to move money between traditional financial systems and digital-asset networks.

MUDA’s proposition addresses a problem facing businesses operating across borders: transactions often have to pass through multiple financial institutions, currencies and settlement systems before reaching the final recipient.

By providing liquidity and settlement infrastructure, fintech companies are seeking to reduce some of those delays and costs.

From Kampala to regional markets

Equator Finance, trading as EQPay Finance Ltd, is pursuing a similar regional strategy.

The Kampala-based company provides digital-asset settlement, stablecoin liquidity, over-the-counter trading, remittances and cross-border payment services.

Equator Finance says it serves Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa, while maintaining settlement corridors involving the Gulf, China and Japan.

Its management team includes Chief Operations Officer Brian Ashimwe, Business Development Lead Brisa Mukunde and Senior Advisor Daniel Kimotho.

The company’s business model reflects an emerging segment of African fintech focused less on consumer cryptocurrency trading and more on the infrastructure required to move value between markets.

Linking credit to blockchain

Ugandan-founded fintech tisini is exploring another application of the technology: credit.

The company combines artificial intelligence and credit intelligence with blockchain infrastructure.

In 2025, tisini partnered with Sphere Labs to integrate its AI-powered credit intelligence with SphereNet, a blockchain network designed for financial applications.

The partnership is intended to enable eligible African credit assets to be represented digitally on a blockchain, potentially creating new channels through which investors can participate in African credit markets.

Tisini operates within the NSSF Uganda innovation sandbox and has previously indicated plans to expand into Kenya, Zambia and Ghana.

The approach illustrates how blockchain is increasingly being explored beyond cryptocurrency.

For fintech companies, the technology can be used as infrastructure for payments, settlement, credit, identity and the digital representation of financial assets.

Regional opportunity

The regional market offers Ugandan fintechs a larger customer base but also brings additional complexity.

Companies operating across several countries must work with different currencies, banks, mobile-money platforms and regulatory regimes.

They also need adequate liquidity and reliable settlement arrangements to ensure that money reaches its destination.

That is creating demand for financial infrastructure that can connect fragmented markets.

The Africa Blockchain Festival is designed around that emerging ecosystem.

The organisers say the event will bring together founders, investors, developers, banks, mobile-money operators and regulators. The 2026 programme also includes a policy stage focused on the regulatory environment surrounding digital assets and Web3.

Uganda will have government representation at the event, with Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Monica Musenero Masanza listed as a speaker at the official opening.

Yellow Card’s Country Manager for Kenya and Uganda, Isaac Wabuge, is also listed among the festival speakers.

For Ugandan fintech firms, the Nairobi event offers access to a regional ecosystem in which investors, financial institutions, technology developers and regulators are discussing how digital infrastructure can support cross-border commerce.

The bigger opportunity is commercial.

If Ugandan companies can build financial systems that work reliably across borders, they could move from serving a domestic market to competing for business in a wider African economy.

That would make fintech not merely a technology story, but part of Uganda’s push to export financial services and digital expertise to the region.