CEO Eghosa Nehikhare outlines Multigate’s unified treasury platform and future local‑currency rails for African trade.
Multigate’s Vision: Driving 30 % of Africa’s Trade Flows in 10 Years
Multigate (site), a licensed treasury management and cross‑border solutions provider, provides a range of services beyond payments; for example, the company allows clients to make payments in their local currency, while settling the payment in a foreign currency, CEO Eghosa Nehikhare, says, “our platform enables a client to make a payment in naira while the beneficiary abroad receives USD … or CNY …”.
“If I fast-forward 10 years, one achievement that would make me proudest is for 30 per cent of Africa’s trade flows, whether from banks, corporates, or SMEs, to run on our rails. That’s our vision: three out of every 10 trade transactions on the continent will be facilitated by Multigate,” he says.
Distinctive Value Proposition
Neikhare emphasizes Multigate’s unique offering: “There is no company today that can go to any corporate in Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, or Mozambique and say, ‘Link all your bank accounts anywhere in the world to this platform.’ With Multigate, they can log in, view all their account balances in real time, and aggregate statements from multiple banks”. Neikhare highlighted that one of his clients leverages this ability to monitor 600 bank accounts across multiple countries. Further, the platform integrates directly with a company’s ERP, enabling automatic workflows, payment instructions, and reconciliation. Unlike other providers, Multigate automates the entire financial workflow in real time, allowing CFOs instant access to liquidity positions.
Momentum Amidst AfCFTA and Cross‑Border Trade
Neikhare links growing interest in Multigate’s offering to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), observing that renewed conversations with banks and corporates are underway. He recalls that in 2018, a white paper from his team proposed a Pan‑African settlement platform, later mirrored by emerging services. Multigate chose to “complement” rather than compete with such platforms, collaborating closely with Nigerian banks and positioning itself as a parallel, reliable SWIFT rail. As Neikhare puts it: “We have our own SWIFT rails, and we can operate in parallel with banks, even acting as a backup”.
Future Ambitions and Regulatory Commitment
One of the firm’s key milestones is that they have “just obtained our Connected Bank Identifier Code (BIC) …”, according to Neikhare. A which opens the path to trade finance automation and a smoother, wider range of services. Empowered by this, they plan to launch local currency–based settlement rails via SWIFT, enabling direct receipts in currencies like Kenyan shillings. Looking forward a decade, Neikhare states: “one achievement that would make me proudest is for 30 per cent of Africa’s trade flows, whether from banks, corporates, or SMEs, to run on our rails”. On expansion, Multigate is pursuing a South African license and operations in Francophone Africa (West and Central), with Northern Africa as phase two.
Regulatory Diligence and Market Engagement
Neikhare underscores the necessity of regulatory alignment: in each African country, Multigate either obtains a license or “no objection” from the central bank before operations begin. He affirms: “our operations team submits between 13 and 30 reports daily to various regulators across the continent. This is a significant commitment, but for us, it’s non‑negotiable”.
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