Circle partners to expand USDC in Africa
Circle partnered with Sasai Fintech to expand USDC access across Africa, highlighting fintech partnerships as the vector for broader digital‑dollar adoption and financial inclusion on the continent. The deal underscores stablecoins' growing role in regional payment rails and treasury tooling. (maglazana.com)
Circle filed a formal press release on March 24, 2026 announcing a collaboration between one of its regulated affiliates and Sasai Fintech to accelerate USDC use across African payment corridors. (circle.com) Bloomberg reported Sasai Fintech Ltd. operates a money‑transfer app across roughly 30 African markets, positioning it as the distribution network for on‑chain USDC flows. (bloomberg.com) Sasai is a business unit of Cassava Technologies, the Nvidia‑backed group led by Strive Masiyiwa, and Cassava’s corporate materials state the group serves customers across 94 countries through its business units. ( ) Circle specified that USDC will be issued through its regulated affiliates as a fully‑reserved stablecoin redeemable one‑to‑one for U.S. dollars, and described its “full‑stack” platform as the integration layer for Sasai’s payments infrastructure. (circle.com) Company statements name targeted commercial use cases as remittances, B2B payments and mobile‑wallet settlement, with the goal of shortening settlement times and lowering transaction costs for enterprise and consumer customers. (businesswire.com) Multiple outlets described the agreement as Circle’s first major commercial partnership in Africa, marking the firm’s initial market entry rather than an acquisition or local subsidiary launch. ( )
