Accelerating Payment Solutions for Small African Export Businesses via Ghana's Liquify Service
In the heart of Ghana, a digital revolution is transforming the landscape of trade finance for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across Africa. **Liquify**, a groundbreaking platform, is bridging the $120 billion trade finance gap that has long plagued African SME exporters.
Founded by Nadya Yaremenko, a seasoned trade finance professional with over five years at Citi managing a US$3 billion portfolio, and Alberta Asafo-Asamoah, an impact investor with years of experience allocating patient capital to African SMEs, Liquify is poised to democratize trade finance.
The platform connects African SMEs with global capital markets, turning unpaid export invoices into rapid, affordable working capital. Operating end-to-end and paper-free, from onboarding to settlement, Liquify offers a fully digital, AI-driven marketplace that automates critical processes like KYC/AML compliance, credit checks, and invoice settlement.
This innovative approach bypasses traditional banks, which often take weeks to process financing and charge fees that are prohibitive for small exporters. Since its beta launch in late 2024, Liquify has facilitated over 150 transactions worth $4 million, primarily supporting agricultural and light manufacturing exports to Europe and North America.
However, Liquify's journey is not without challenges. Market education and trust, regulatory hurdles, infrastructure gaps, and funding and scaling costs are among the obstacles the startup faces. Convincing SMEs to shift away from informal credit and educating the broader market that SME trade finance isn't just viable - it's a scalable, investable asset class, has been a significant challenge.
Despite these challenges, Liquify's recent successful $1.5 million seed funding round led by Future Africa and other investors highlights confidence in its innovative model. The startup aims to expand into Nigeria and Francophone Africa, where demand is growing and trade finance access remains highly constrained.
Liquify's success not only benefits African SMEs but also offers global investors access to a new untapped asset class. Each invoice on the Liquify platform is a short-term, self-liquidating note with zero correlation with public markets, making it an attractive investment opportunity.
As Liquify continues to grow and scale, it plans to roll out other tools for exporters, such as keeping track of all their trade documentation in one place. Navigating multi-country compliance and ensuring proper KYC/AML frameworks across both UK and African regulatory environments remains a significant challenge, but one that Liquify is determined to overcome.
With its innovative approach and commitment to democratizing trade finance for African SMEs, Liquify is truly changing the game.
- Liquify, a fintech platform founded by Nadya Yaremenko and Alberta Asafo-Asamoah, is utilizing technology to democratize trade finance, bridging the financing gap for African SME exporters and connecting them with global capital markets.
- The revolutionary platform, Liquify, is not only transforming the landscape of trade finance for African SMEs but also offering global investors access to a new untapped asset class, as each invoice on the platform serves as a short-term, self-liquidating note with zero correlation with public markets.
