Kenyan fintech Cloud9 has received $500,000 from Alliance, a New York-headquartered accelerator, in its ongoing pre-seed round. This brings its total disclosed funding to $1 million.
Its pre-seed round has attracted investments from Techstars and undisclosed angel investors. The company plans to use the new funding to expand into cross-border payment corridors, improve the user experience, launch virtual and physical cards, and attract more customers.
Founded in late 2025 by Tesh Mbaabu and Mesongo Sibuti, the co-founders of Y Combinator-backed Marketforce, Cloud9 operates as a digital bank that combines banking, global payments, and business tools in one place tailored for informal businesses and retailers across Africa.
Both founders previously co-founded Chpter, which Cloud9 acquired in an all-stock deal in August 2026. It previously acquired MTickets, a ticketing platform, for about KES 100 million ($773,000) in an all-stock transaction.
This aligns with the company’s mission to simplify, democratise, and accelerate access to financial tools, helping individuals grow wealth, businesses scale faster, and communities participate in global markets, all through one platform.
Cloud9 claims to have created more than 25,000 accounts, with transaction volume growing by more than 15% week over week. In September 2026, it was recognised as the Gold Winner for Best Fintech Innovation at the Kenya-8th Awards. It was also selected for Cohort 6 of the Visa Africa FinTech Accelerator.
Last updated: October 7, 2026
