Tether, the company behind the world’s biggest stablecoin USDT, is growing its presence in Africa through a strategic investment in Shiga Digital, a blockchain-based financial solutions startup targeting African regions.
Tether wants to help solve financial problems in Africa using stablecoins to enhance cross-border payments, treasury management, and foreign exchange (FX) solutions.
What Shiga Digital does
Shiga Digital, though relatively small with fewer than 10 employees and based in Abu Dhabi, positions itself as a pan-African financial infrastructure provider.
Their services include virtual accounts, over-the-counter (OTC) trading, and FX solutions—key offerings for businesses struggling with liquidity challenges and currency volatility.
However, Africa’s growing adoption of blockchain and regulatory openness has made it a priority for Tether. The Shiga Digital deal follows earlier collaborations with African firms like Quidax and MANSA, a cross-border payments platform.
Tether emphasised that the partnership will particularly benefit sectors such as oil and gas, which face significant foreign exchange exposure and treasury management challenges.
“This collaboration marks a significant step toward addressing longstanding financial barriers faced by African businesses, especially in cross-border payments and accessing global liquidity,” Tether stated.
Shiga Digital’s CEO, Abiola Shogbeni, echoed this vision, framing the partnership as part of a larger shift toward decentralised finance.
“At Shiga Digital, we believe the future of money is decentralized,” Shogbeni said. “We envision a world where Bitcoin becomes the default global currency, while stablecoins like USDT serve as essential tools for everyday transactions and financial portfolios.”
The startup is developing an on-chain gateway to enable direct USDT transactions for goods and services, bypassing the need to convert into local currencies. This could streamline remittances, intra-African trade, and reduce reliance on traditional banking systems.
Tether’s African expansion beyond payments
In February, Tether signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Guinea to support digital transformation through the use of blockchain technology.
The company has also supported educational initiatives, including a Bitcoin mining program designed to promote cryptocurrency adoption throughout the region.
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO, emphasised the transformative potential of stablecoins: “At Tether, we believe stablecoins are the heartbeat of financial transformation. By collaborating with innovators like Shiga Digital, we aim to deliver financial access and efficiency to African enterprises. Together, we are not just imagining a future powered by blockchain technology, we are building it.”
With a market cap exceeding $153 billion and $120 billion in U.S. Treasury holdings, Tether is well-positioned to scale its African ambitions. The Shiga Digital investment reinforces its focus on high-impact markets where inflation and currency instability make dollar-pegged stablecoins an attractive alternative.
About Shiga Digital
Shiga Digital is an emerging player in the blockchain space, which focuses on providing financial infrastructure across the African continent.
The company’s mission, as noted on its website, is to democratise financial access by leveraging blockchain technology.
Shiga Digital aims to provide solutions, including virtual accounts, OTC trading, treasury management, and foreign exchange services, specifically tailored to meet the unique financial needs of various businesses.
This strategic vision aligns with Tether’s objective of expanding USDT-based solutions into underserved and inflation-prone markets, making Shiga Digital a key partner in the ongoing digital transformation of Africa’s financial landscape.
