

Nigerian fintech company Cardtonic has closed a $2.1 million seed funding round to develop Pil, an independent business spending and expense management platform. This signals the company’s strategic shift from consumer-facing products into enterprise financial infrastructure. The funding underscores Cardtonic’s evolution from a bootstrapped retail fintech into a provider of essential financial tools for African businesses.
The Tonic Technologies Ltd., trading as Cardtonic, was co-founded by Balogun Usman and Faturoti Kayode (Kay) in 2019, with Emmanuel Sohe currently leading the company as Chief Executive Officer. The platform has established itself as a recognized provider of virtual dollar cards, eSIMs, gift card trading services, bill payment solutions, and gadget retail across Africa.
Pil emerged from Cardtonic’s internal operational challenges around managing subscriptions, advertising payments, and international transactions using unreliable card infrastructure with minimal spending oversight. The new platform provides businesses with labeled multi-card management, live transaction monitoring, and unified spend dashboards, along with multi-currency funding options including naira, cedis, and stablecoins.
Built as a standalone solution rather than a feature extension, Pil is aimed at startups and small-to-medium enterprises looking for enhanced financial oversight. Through upcoming integrations with accounting platforms such as QuickBooks and Xero, Cardtonic is establishing Pil as a comprehensive business spend operating system for the African market, with the platform set to launch in January 2026.
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