NAIROBI, Kenya- Stablecoin settlement platform Minisend has stepped up its expansion into Kenya after being named the official payment partner of the Africa Blockchain Festival 2026.
The festival will take place from October 15 to 17 at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi, bringing together stakeholders from the blockchain, Web3, artificial intelligence and financial-technology sectors.
Minisend said it views Kenya as an important market for its next phase of growth as it develops infrastructure intended to make stablecoins easier to use for payments, business transactions and cross-border settlements.
The company is developing a cross-chain settlement platform through which individuals and businesses can receive stablecoins, including USDC and USDT, across supported blockchain networks.
Its proposed infrastructure is designed to enable users to transfer the value of their digital assets into familiar local financial systems without navigating several blockchain networks, exchanges, bridges and wallets.
Under the model, a Kenyan freelancer could receive payment in a dollar-denominated stablecoin before settling its value through a platform such as M-Pesa. Businesses could also accept payments in USDC or USDT while meeting their operational expenses in local currency.
The company is also targeting merchants and technology firms seeking to introduce stablecoin payments without requiring customers to understand the underlying blockchain systems.
Africa Blockchain Festival Founder and Convenor Olubunmi Fabanwo said Kenya’s established digital-payments culture made the country suitable for developing practical uses of blockchain technology.
“Kenya represents exactly the type of market where the next phase of blockchain adoption can take place,” Fabanwo said.
“People are already comfortable sending, receiving and paying digitally. What platforms such as Minisend are now exploring is how stablecoins can connect with that existing behaviour and make it easier for Africans to participate in a financial system that is increasingly global and digital.”
Kenya has one of Africa’s most established mobile-money markets, with digital payments widely used for personal and commercial transactions.
Minisend plans to use the festival to demonstrate how stablecoin payments could be connected to local settlement channels.
The company will also participate in discussions on cross-border payments, merchant transactions, financial inclusion and the infrastructure required to extend blockchain technology beyond cryptocurrency trading.
“Nairobi is an important place to have this conversation because Kenya has already demonstrated how technology can fundamentally change the way people interact with money,” Fabanwo said.
He said connecting stablecoins with M-Pesa, banks and other payment systems could expand the practical use of blockchain-based financial services in Africa.
The partnership comes as parts of Africa’s cryptocurrency sector increasingly explore payment and settlement applications beyond the trading and holding of digital assets.
