Nigerian Fintech Cardtonic Raises USD 2.1 M Seed To Build Pil, A Business Spending Platform

Nigerian fintech Cardtonic has raised USD 2.1 M in seed funding to build Pil, a standalone business spending and expense management platform, marking the fintech’s expansion from consumer products into infrastructure. The raise validates Cardtonic’s transition from a bootstrapped, retail-focused fintech into a provider of core financial tooling for African businesses.

Cardtonic, operated by The Tonic Technologies Ltd., co-founded by Balogun Usman and Faturoti Kayode (Kay), who launched it in 2019, with Emmanuel Sohe serving as the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), is a notable platform for virtual dollar cards, eSIMs, gift card trading, bill payments, and gadget shopping in Africa.

Pil was born out of Cardtonic’s own internal struggles managing subscriptions, ad payments, and cross-border spending with unreliable cards and limited visibility. The platform offers businesses labelled multi-card controls, real-time transaction tracking, and centralised spend dashboards, alongside multi-currency funding in naira, cedis, and stablecoins.

Designed as an independent product rather than an add-on, Pil targets startups and SMEs seeking tighter financial controls. With planned integrations into accounting tools like QuickBooks and Xero, Cardtonic is positioning Pil as an operating system for business spend across Africa ahead of its January 2026 launch.