TurnStay Raises $2M to Scale Travel Payments Across Africa

Key Takeaways

TurnStay’s model addresses a major inefficiency in Africa’s travel industry: the high cost and slow pace of cross-border payments. By mirroring the techniques used by global travel giants, it offers a tailored solution for African tourism operators often priced out of competitive online markets. The platform's use of stablecoins for local settlement is particularly relevant in markets with currency volatility and banking limitations. This feature not only improves cash flow for operators but also ensures higher conversion rates by enabling travelers to pay in familiar, domestic systems. Its focus on a single vertical—travel—gives TurnStay an edge over generalist payment providers, enabling custom integrations, better fraud controls, and deeper client relationships. With an estimated $ 50 billion+ annual travel and tourism market in Africa and growing cross-border demand, TurnStay is positioning itself as the underlying infrastructure to power payments in the sector. Backed by both African and global VCs, its next phase of growth will test how far a travel-centric fintech can scale on the continent—and whether localised fintech models can meaningfully bridge global-to-local payment flows.