Crypto Africa: Minisend bets on M-Pesa
The push comes as Kenya is tightening its oversight of stablecoins. Minisend is positioning itself on the other side of the issue: making these digital dollars genuinely usable in the local economy.
Its system accepts USDC and USDT deposits from several blockchains, then converts them into the payment methods used on a daily basis. In Kenya, withdrawals are made through M-Pesa. In Nigeria, Minisend offers bank transfers, while Ghana and Uganda have access to mobile money. Its website claims support for 19 EVM networks for USDC and 15 for USDT, in addition to networks including Solana and Stellar.
Minisend says it has already processed more than $500,000, across more than 10,000 orders and over 1,000 users. These figures were provided by the company and have not been independently verified by Tech-ish.
Stablecoins seek African rails
Minisend is part of a trend that is already visible. BrefCrypto recently reported that DCS Pay and Kotani Pay also want to convert USDT and USDC into local currencies and mobile money across six African markets.
The need is there. According to Chainalysis, sub-Saharan Africa received more than $205 billion in on-chain value between July 2024 and June 2025, up approximately 52% year on year. Transfers below $10,000 also account for a larger share of activity there than in the rest of the world.
The partnership with the Africa Blockchain Festival therefore gives Minisend particular exposure. From October 15 to 17, the event will bring together blockchain, payments, regulation and tokenization players in Nairobi.
The regulatory timeline is poorly timed
One sensitive issue remains: licensing.
Kenya’s Virtual Asset Service Providers Act came into force on November 4, 2025, placing the relevant providers under the supervision of the Central Bank of Kenya and the Capital Markets Authority. Operators already active in the market have a transitional period that expires on November 4, 2026, less than three weeks after the festival.
Tech-ish notes that the partnership announcement does not specify whether Minisend has submitted a licence application or under which regulatory category the company intends to operate. Its offering also includes an advertised yield of 5.7% APY on USDC left on the platform, adding a separate activity to the simple settlement of funds through M-Pesa.
Minisend is therefore entering Kenya with a product that addresses a practical use case: moving stablecoins into the local economy. But as digital payments become a strategic arena in Africa, the next step will be less technological than regulatory: being able to continue operating once Kenya’s transition period has ended.
