In March 2026, the UK government published a list of Nigerian companies expanding into the country, naming fintechs Moniepoint, Kuda and LemFi among them. That list is a small window into a much larger shift. African tech companies, particularly Nigerian ones, are increasingly treating the United Kingdom not just as a registration address but as a real operational home.
A November 2026 report by TLP Advisory, a cross-border venture law firm, looked at 100 technology companies across Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana and Morocco that have documented affiliations in the UK, the US and the UAE. The US came out on top, with 67% of companies connected there, mostly for incorporation purposes. Delaware-registered companies are familiar to investors, and 81% of US-connected companies in the sample had no other recorded link to the country beyond that paperwork. The UK told a different story: 84% of UK-connected companies were incorporated there, 47% maintained an operational presence, and 19% held regulatory licences. Only 3% of US-connected companies could say the same on the licensing front.
Currency pressure is part of what is pushing African fintechs toward the UK. TLP's earlier research found that over 76% of funded Nigerian startups surveyed had raised capital in US dollars. Between September 2023 and September 2024, the naira dropped by more than 71%, while inflation climbed to nearly 34% by October 2024. For a company earning in naira but carrying dollar obligations, that gap is painful. Having a regulated presence in a stable currency environment offers some relief.
The diaspora angle matters too. The 2021 UK Census recorded over 270,000 Nigeria-born residents in England and Wales, and Nigeria received around $22.8 billion in personal remittances in 2025. For a remittance or payments company, that is a ready-made customer base on one end of the corridor, with family and businesses on the other side already waiting. Similar dynamics apply for companies with roots in Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.
What makes the UK particularly interesting is how these motivations stack on top of each other. It is a place where African companies can register, operate, get licensed and reach a diaspora customer base all at once. Whether that combination keeps drawing more companies south of the continent depends on what happens next with regulation, capital access and the corridors these businesses are building.
Originally published by TechCabal.