March 13, 2026
Abu Dhabi, UAE // Kigali, Rwanda – Mambu, a leading SaaS cloud banking platform, has announced a strategic collaboration with Nyla, Africa’s first digital Islamic neobank, to provide the core infrastructure for its Shari’ah-compliant banking services. The partnership supports Nyla’s launch in Ghana and prepares the neobank for expansion across West Africa.
Addressing a Growing Opportunity in Islamic Finance
Islamic finance represents a global market exceeding $7 trillion, yet Africa accounts for only 2% of this industry despite strong demand for ethical, values-based financial services. Nyla is tackling this gap with a digital-first, user-centric model, leveraging Mambu’s API-first, cloud-native platform to launch quickly without building core banking infrastructure from scratch. At launch, Nyla will offer digital current and savings wallets, peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, and card-linked accounts.
Scalable Infrastructure for Pan-African Growth
Mambu’s core banking engine enables Nyla to manage account creation, product configuration, balance management, and transaction processing across its suite of digital financial services. Hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the platform allows Nyla to scale efficiently into multiple African markets—including Nigeria, Senegal, and Gambia—while navigating complex regulatory environments.
“The global Islamic finance market presents a significant, underserved opportunity, particularly in Africa,” said Mark Geneste, Chief Revenue Officer at Mambu. “Nyla is addressing that gap with a digital-first, values-driven model, and we are proud to power their core infrastructure. Our platform enables institutions to innovate while maintaining compliance and operational resilience, reflecting the growing demand for modern, scalable Islamic digital banking solutions.”
Ambitious Growth Plans
Nyla has already demonstrated strong market interest, with over 33,000 users on its waitlist. Following an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round, the neobank targets:
- 10,000 customer sign-ups within the first month
- $500,000 in total transaction value processed across products
- 400,000 users by the end of 2026
“Our ambition is to build the largest Islamic bank in the world,” said Mubarak Sumaila, CEO of Nyla. “We are starting with digital products, but our vision extends to building the infrastructure layer for Islamic finance across Africa and beyond. Partnering with Mambu gives us the foundation to execute that vision quickly and in compliance with Shari’ah principles.”
Over the next 24–36 months, Nyla plans to expand its product offerings to include physical debit cards, remittances, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) solutions, Shari’ah-compliant investment instruments such as Sukuk, and a “Nyla for Business” solution. All transactions will be processed within Mambu’s core system, while customer funds will be held with regulated banking partners.
About Mambu
Mambu is the world’s only true SaaS cloud banking platform. Founded in 2011, Mambu enables banks, fintechs, credit unions, retailers, and other organizations to design and launch modern financial products quickly and flexibly. Its composable approach allows independent components, systems, and connectors to be assembled to meet specific business and customer needs.
Mambu’s platform supports core banking, deposits, lending, payments, and Islamic banking. Over 260 customers across 65+ countries—including Western Union, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, N26, BancoEstado, Raiffeisen Bank, ABN AMRO, and Bank Islam—rely on Mambu’s scalable solutions.
About Nyla
Nyla is Africa’s first digital Islamic neobank, offering ethical, Shari’ah-compliant financial products and services. Nyla combines Islamic finance principles with modern digital infrastructure to deliver transparent, user-friendly banking experiences, starting with a launch in Ghana and plans for expansion across Africa.
Nyla has attracted over 33,000 users across 43 countries, partnered with key financial institutions, completed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round, and been selected for the Milken-Motsepe Prize in Fintech.
