StorsPay, a Nigerian Decentralized Retail Investing Platform, Raises $320,000 an...

StorsPay, a fintech startup by Nigerian, Sam Alonge, has secured a funding round of US$320,000 and selected to participate in the Techstars NYC accelerator. The accelerator supported by the JP Morgan Accelerator.

We are excited to announce that Storspay is participating in the prestigious Techstars New York accelerator powered by J.P. Morgan. We were in the top 1% of applicants selected for the exclusive program.

Read more here – https://t.co/XMX4P9snXx#defi #storspay pic.twitter.com/DSzMOASR8z

— StorsApp_Inc (@StorsappI) April 3, 2023

The fintech has developed a decentralized platform for retail lending infrastructure which aims to connect small businesses worldwide with retail investors seeking alternative asset investment opportunities. The platform is designed to provide affordable capital to small businesses that need funding to grow their operations.

“Our APIs & software automate lending by retail investors to small businesses globally using stablecoins. Retail investors in North America only need their phone to lend to participating merchants (anywhere in the world) using just a debit/credit card,” the startup’s listing on Crunchbase says.

As indicated on the startup’s website, StorsPay offers decentralized cross-border lending to small businesses with global investors having the chance to earn high yield on crypto stablecoin by financing small businesses in Africa and North America. The platform currently has a limited offer of up to 12% APY on investment.

“We are creating a new way for merchants and retail investors to exchange capital, one that puts them at the heart of the transaction while undoing the frictions of the current system through new paradigms- borderless instant lending, zero fees, community-driven higher interest income on user staking and lower rates on merchant borrowing.”

The 13-week Techstars NYC accelerator program provides mentoring and fundraising opportunities for startups seeking to boost their growth and raise their subsequent round of funding. The US$320,000 round of funding, comes alongside acceptance into the accelerator.

In addition to Techstars, the platform has the backing of several business players and investors including:

• Paystack
• Circle
• Goodmans
• United Bank of Africa (UBA)
• RBC Royal Bank
• Invest Ottawa
• 500, and
• Tangerine

StorsPay’s goal is to enhance the financial well-being of business owners globally by offering a decentralized lending infrastructure for the internet. This platform allows them to exchange capital instantly and securely across borders to finance their working capital inventory.

“At StorsPay, our mission is focused on enabling economic well being for everyday people across the world. Inflation continues to eat away at the savings of ordinary people in North America and small business owners in emerging economies continue to face the daily frustrations of not finding the capital they need at affordable rates to successfully grow their businesses,” said Sam Alonge, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Founder of StorsPay.

“We believe at StorsPay that we can make an outsized economic and social impact by building a decentralized retail lending platform that uses stablecoin to share prosperity across the world. We will enable ordinary people on one side of the world to support other ordinary people in another part of the world and make more money while at it.”

Follow us on Twitter for latest posts and updates

_____________________________________

According to data from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), China’s RMB Yuan overtook the US dollar to become the most-used currency in the country’s cross-border transactions in the month of March 2023.

Based on calculations by the State Administration, cross-border payments and receipts in RMB Yuan increased significantly from approximately $434.5 billion in February 2023 to a record high of $549.9 billion in March 2023, and represented 48.4% of all such transactions. This reflects a trend of moving away from the US dollar and China’s push to encourage the use of its currency.

According to SAFE, the volume of cross-border transactions in RMB Yuan includes both current and capital accounts.

While the RMB Yuan’s share in global settlements is still relatively low, it has been steadily increasing over the past few years.

Global cross border transactions by currency:

* U.S Dollar: 83%
* Chinese Yuan: 4.5% pic.twitter.com/DYyPsaNsME

— BitKE (@BitcoinKE) May 1, 2023

Big financial institutions like Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, however, have predicted that by 2030, Yuan will become the 3rd most used currency in international payments.

China’s efforts to reduce its reliance on the US dollar in international trade are said to have accelerated due to the sanctions imposed by Western countries against Russia, a significant global energy producer and exporter. These sanctions have disrupted global trade flows and increased the risk of financial transactions denominated in US dollars prompting China to seek alternatives.

China is not alone in these efforts, with its partners in the BRICS group of countries having taken similar measures to boost cross-border trade using their currencies. Recently, Russian President, Vladimir Putin, and Chinese President, Xi Jinping, agreed to adopt the Chinese Yuan as a settlement currency with emerging economies.

Indian policymakers have also taken steps towards shifting away from the U.S dollar to Russian Rubles and Indian Rupees in mutual trade with Moscow.

China and Brazil have also agreed to use their own currencies to settle trade over the dollar.

In March 2023, Egypt’s Parliament gave the green light for the country to join the BRICS Bank, also known as the New Development Bank, with lawmakers viewing it as a means of reducing reliance on the US dollar.

The 5 countries which include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are also working on a new currency with details set to be unveiled at an upcoming summit meeting to be held in South Africa in August 2023, a senior Russian official has revealed.

The latest data from the Bank of Russia shows that the RMB Yuan has also become a major player in Russia’s foreign trade and now accounts for more volumes than either the U.S dollar or Euro on the Moscow currency exchanges.

Follow us on Twitter for the latest posts and updates

________________________________________

________________________________________