Tony Olendo, Virtual Assets Chamber of Commerce Chairman and ViFi Labs Co-founder. Photo credit: Tony Olendo | LinkedIn.
ViFi Labs, a decentralized protocol focused on foreign currency and stablecoin trading, has acquired OneRamp, a leading stablecoin payments platform serving emerging markets in Africa. OneRamp enables users to make everyday payments.
Founded by Ugandans Elias Hezron Opio and Jovan Mwesigwa, OneRamp simplifies stablecoin use by connecting crypto payments directly to mobile money and banking infrastructure. The platform currently operates in Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, and Tanzania, serving over 25,000 users and generating an annual revenue run rate of Sh155 million ($1.2 million).
The acquisition gives ViFi Labs immediate reach into key African markets and strengthens its ability to deliver practical, compliant crypto payment solutions.
Tony Olendo, Co-founder of ViFi Labs said the acquisition will give the company access to emerging markets, enabling it to connect institutional foreign exchange systems with everyday stablecoin payments.
“This acquisition is a significant milestone for ViFi Labs as we move from infrastructure development to real-world deployment. OneRamp gives us direct access to high-growth markets in Africa, where demand for stablecoin use is already proven. Together, we’re creating a bridge between institutional FX infrastructure and the everyday use of stablecoins by unlocking compliant, on-chain access to foreign exchange and payments at scale,” Olendo said.
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Across Africa and Latin America, stablecoin adoption continues to surge, with institutional usage exceeding Sh69 trillion ($540 billion) annually. However, limited FX trading infrastructure means much of this volume still flows through informal peer-to-peer (P2P) networks. ViFi Labs is working to change that by building on-chain FX swap venues, infrastructure that enables secure, transparent and scalable trading of stablecoins.
“Joining forces with ViFi Labs allows us to supercharge our mission of making stablecoin payments accessible, simple and secure for users across Africa,” said Elias Hezron, Cofounder of OneRamp.
“This partnership gives OneRamp the infrastructure depth needed to scale sustainably while staying compliant. It’s a win for our users, a win for the region, and a big step forward for the future of decentralized finance in emerging markets.”
As part of its growth strategy, OneRamp is also expanding into the Base ecosystem, recently launched by Coinbase. The goal is to become the premier stablecoin payments provider in Africa within this ecosystem.
“OneRamp will stay open to all platforms, but joining the Base ecosystem gives us an incredible opportunity to reach more users, both across Africa and globally. It puts us right where the demand is,” said Jovan Mwesigwa, Cofounder of OneRamp.
