THE RISE OF SWYPT: Bridging Kenya’s Mobile Money and the Global Crypto Economy
A Startup Quietly Connecting Kenya to the Global Economy
I have one of their t-shirts. You’ve got to agree with me that Swypt has the best branding of any fintech startup in Kenya. That’s a hill I’m willing to die on. Fight me. Anyways…
ETHSafari 2023 must have been insane. This was when Swypt first emerged onto Kenya’s crypto scene. Co‑founders Davis Thoyah (CEO) and Stephen Gachanja (CPO) recognized a persistent challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises. Domestic payments via M-Pesa were reliable, but sending money internationally or handling large-volume transfers remained slow, costly, and unpredictable. Merchants patched together till numbers, USSD prompts, and scattered dashboards while navigating foreign exchange fees and delayed settlements.
That frustration became the reason for Swypt: a platform designed to provide a reliable, transparent layer under existing mobile-money rails and connect Kenyan merchants to global commerce.
The Web3 Pivot: Stablecoins as the Settlement Layer
Their early work focused on dissecting payment failures and API limitations in traditional systems. The team quickly realized that domestic mobile money networks were not the bottleneck; cross-border settlement through conventional banking was. This insight led to a pivotal decision. Instead of competing directly with local gateways, Swypt embraced Web3 technology and stablecoins as the backbone of its platform.
The system remains invisible to merchants. When a payment arrives via M-Pesa, Swypt converts it into a stablecoin, often USDT or cKES (the Celo Kenyan Shilling), making funds immediately available for international transfer. This architecture enables:
- Instant Cross-Border Settlement: Stablecoin transfers move funds internationally in minutes rather than days, benefiting importers and exporters alike.
- Foreign Exchange Stability: Merchants are insulated from rapid depreciation in local currency when holding operational balances.
Swypt functions as a non-custodial crypto wallet platform, specializing in fiat on/off-ramping and bridging Kenya’s mobile money ecosystem with global digital finance.
Growth, Strategy, and Technical Capabilities
Swypt prioritizes reliability over hype. By mid-2025, the company reported processing over $3.5 million USD in transaction volume, a milestone noted across multiple industry sources including STAR 101.5 FM. Growth has been driven organically, relying on grassroots adoption rather than large-scale marketing campaigns.
Their key features include:
- Payment Orchestration: Integrates USSD for traditional merchants, REST APIs for developers, and background processing for enterprise clients.
- Checkout SDK: A developer-friendly API for triggering M-Pesa payments, tracking transactions, and integrating Web3 flows.
- Instant Settlements: Converts fiat into stablecoins for near-real-time liquidity.
- Fraud Detection: Optimized to identify patterns typical in African transaction behavior.
Market Context and Challenges
Swypt operates in a competitive and complex landscape. Its technology competes with established cross-border payment providers while relying on domestic infrastructure. Key competitors include:
| Competitor | Primary Focus | Difference from Swypt |
|---|---|---|
| Pesapal | Online and POS payment gateway | Traditional fiat-based solutions regulated by the Central Bank |
| Flutterwave / PayU | Pan-African payment orchestration | Primarily fiat-focused, targets corporate banking and multi-currency transactions |
| M-Pesa | Mobile money transfer | Dominant infrastructure layer; Swypt functions as a settlement layer on top |
Unlike heavily venture-backed peers, Swypt remains largely unfunded as of Q4 2025. Its revenue-driven growth demonstrates resilience but limits scaling speed in a market dominated by deep-pocketed competitors. Regulatory uncertainty further complicates the picture. Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act (2025) requires licensing for crypto and stablecoin operators, and Swypt must navigate evolving enforcement timelines carefully.
Looking Ahead
Swypt’s continued success depends on delivering a secure and predictable payment experience. Its model shows strong promise for transforming African SMEs’ access to global markets, provided the company can secure capital and maintain regulatory compliance.
For developers, Swypt offers public APIs and a Checkout SDK that allow rapid prototyping and reliable scaling without requiring in-depth blockchain expertise. Teams can integrate M-Pesa payments, track transactions, and move assets across supported stablecoins, creating new applications without handling the complexities of the underlying infrastructure.
