Aruwa Capital Management has completed an investment in Sika Financial Group, a financial market infrastructure company focused on clearing, settlement, liquidity and market data services for cross-border transactions across Africa and other emerging markets.

The investment, made through Aruwa Capital Fund II, sees the firm lead Sika’s seed extension round with a total commitment of $2 million, including co-investors.

Founded in 2023 by Emmanuel Ashirifi, Sika is developing infrastructure designed to facilitate cross-border financial flows in frontier and emerging markets. Through its ClearNet platform, the company provides foreign exchange settlement, liquidity aggregation, multilateral netting, Payment-versus-Payment (PvP) settlement and market data services across multiple currencies.

The investment comes as trade and capital flows continue to increase across Africa and other developing regions, while many financial institutions continue to rely on fragmented correspondent banking networks and manual settlement processes.

Sika said its platform is designed to help financial institutions, corporates, brokers, payment providers and other market participants settle transactions more efficiently, improve liquidity management and reduce settlement risks.

The company currently supports settlement in more than 15 currencies and serves financial institutions, corporates, fintechs, brokers and liquidity providers across Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.

The business also aligns with broader efforts to deepen regional financial integration, particularly under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to increase intra-African trade and reduce reliance on foreign currencies for regional transactions.

The new funding will be used to expand Sika’s regulatory footprint, enhance its clearing and settlement infrastructure, add new currency corridors and strengthen its technology and risk management capabilities.

“Financial markets cannot scale efficiently without trusted infrastructure. While capital, trade, and investment increasingly move across emerging markets, the underlying systems responsible for clearing, settlement, liquidity, and risk management remain fragmented,” said Emmanuel Ashirifi, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sika.

“Sika was built to address this challenge. We are creating the financial market infrastructure that enables institutions to transact confidently across borders while reducing risk, unlocking liquidity, and improving capital efficiency.”

Ashirifi said the company intends to continue building infrastructure that supports growing trade and investment flows across Africa and the Global South.

“We are pleased to welcome Aruwa Capital as our lead investor. Their conviction, strategic support, and long-term perspective make them an ideal partner as we continue building critical infrastructure for the next generation of global financial markets,” he said.

Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder and Managing Partner of Aruwa Capital, said the firm sees significant demand for more efficient cross-border settlement infrastructure across emerging markets.

“Sika is addressing one of the most fundamental challenges facing financial markets across Africa and other emerging economies: the lack of efficient and trusted infrastructure for cross-border settlement and liquidity management,” she said.

“The Company's technology, regulatory strategy, and infrastructure-first approach position it to become an important enabler of trade, capital formation, and financial integration across underserved markets.”

Okunbo Rhodes said the investment aligns with Aruwa’s strategy of backing businesses that combine commercial growth potential with broader economic impact.

“By reducing friction in financial markets and enabling greater participation in regional and global commerce, Sika has the potential to generate significant value for both market participants and broader economies,” she said.

She added that the company also aligns with Aruwa’s gender-lens investment strategy, with women accounting for 50% of senior management positions and 37% of its workforce.