Mambu has partnered with Nyla, Africa’s first Islamic neobank, to provide the core infrastructure for its Shari’ah-compliant digital banking services as it launches in Ghana and plans expansion across West Africa.

Islamic finance is a global market exceeding US$7 trillion. Africa accounts for only 2%, despite growing demand for ethical, values-based financial services.

Nyla aims to address this gap with a digital-first model. It uses Mambu’s API-driven cloud platform to launch without developing core banking systems from scratch.

Initial offerings will include digital current and savings wallets, peer-to-peer transfers, bill payments, and card-linked accounts.

Mambu’s core banking engine enables account creation, product configuration, balance management, and transaction processing.

Its cloud-native, composable architecture, hosted on Amazon Web Services, allows Nyla to scale across multiple markets, including Nigeria, Senegal, and Gambia, while meeting local regulatory requirements.

Mambu also supports a range of Shari’ah-compliant deposit and investment products, including transactional accounts, fixed deposits, and savings plans.

Mark Geneste, Chief Revenue Officer at Mambu, said:

“Our platform is purpose-built to support Islamic and non-interest banking products, enabling institutions to innovate while maintaining compliance and operational resilience. This collaborative partnership reflects the growing demand for modern, scalable Islamic digital banking solutions.”

Nyla has over 33,000 users on its waitlist.

Following an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round, the neobank expects to launch in June 2026.

It is targeting 10,000 sign-ups in the first month, US$500,000 in transaction value, and 400,000 users by the end of the year.

“Our long-term ambition is to build the largest Islamic bank in the world,”

said Nyla CEO Mubarak Sumaila.

“By combining ethical banking principles with scalable technology, we aim to confront financial exclusion with a lasting and practical solution. Collaborating with Mambu gives us the foundation to execute that vision with speed and compliance.”

Over the next 24 to 36 months, Nyla plans to expand its product suite. New offerings will include physical debit cards, remittances, BNPL, Sukuk, and a “Nyla for Business” service.

Featured image credit: Edited by Fintech News Middle East, based on image by thanyakij-12 via Freepik