NectarFi, a Lagos-based fintech startup, has raised $170,000 in a pre-seed funding round to develop its platform aimed at simplifying on-chain finance for Nigerian investors, the company announced this month. The round was led by Founders Factory Africa, with participation from other undisclosed angel investors.

The company is building a platform designed to aggregate fragmented liquidity across various decentralized finance protocols. Its stated goal is to provide a single interface where retail and institutional investors in Nigeria can more easily access and manage crypto assets, including yield-generating opportunities and stablecoins. Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer David Oyelade said the funding will be used for product development and initial go-to-market activities in Nigeria.

NectarFi enters a competitive but rapidly evolving Nigerian fintech landscape, where traditional mobile money has seen slower adoption compared to East Africa but digital banking and payment solutions are widespread. The move towards on-chain services reflects a growing, though niche, interest in cryptocurrency and decentralized finance as tools for savings and cross-border transactions, despite a regulatory environment that has historically been cautious. The Central Bank of Nigeria has previously restricted banks from facilitating crypto transactions, though it has since introduced a licensing framework for virtual asset service providers, signaling a more structured approach.

The investment comes amid continued venture capital interest in African fintech, though at varying scales. In early April, South African fintech Littlefish announced a $9.5 million Series A round to help traditional banks develop merchant services, with plans to expand into Kenya. Days later, AI-powered credit platform Optasia secured a $330 million refinancing facility to support its growth plans across the continent. The NectarFi deal, while smaller, highlights investor appetite for early-stage ventures targeting specific pain points in emerging digital asset markets.

Oyelade described the current state of decentralized finance as "complex and fragmented," creating barriers for new users. "Our vision is to abstract away this complexity," he said. The platform intends to offer features such as automated yield optimization across multiple protocols and a simplified onboarding process tailored for the local market.

The success of NectarFi will likely depend on navigating Nigeria's developing regulatory framework for digital assets while convincing users of the utility and security of its on-chain solutions. As the African fintech sector continues to mature, blending traditional financial inclusion goals with newer blockchain-based models represents a frontier for both startups and investors.