The high-stakes challenge
How do you transform Kudi, a household name in Nigeria’s agency-banking scene, into Nomba, a full-stack payments and business-operations partner for merchants of every size?Kudi’s street-level brand equity was strong, yet its name tied the company to a single service: cash-in/cash-out.
As the team prepared to roll out POS terminals, inventory tools and a developer platform, they needed a brand that could scale with the ambition. FourthCanvas was asked to deliver an identity system, sonic signature and launch campaign that;
1. Honoured Kudi’s grass-roots goodwill,
2. Signalled an expanded product suite, and
3. Stood out in a crowded African fintech market.
Making every number count
We anchored the strategy on a simple insight: numbers are the universal language of business. They flag problems, define goals and measure success, yet most SMEs treat them as afterthoughts. By morphing “numbers” into the short, memorable “Nomba,” we planted the idea that the brand exists to decode, streamline and monetise every metric a business cares about. Messaging divided into two tiers:
- Core promise to merchants: “From first sale to daily settlement, Nomba puts every number to work.”
- Signal to regulators & partners: “A compliance-ready infrastructure layer built in Africa for African commerce.”
Internally, the new name rallied teams around a north star: product decisions must simplify how customers see and act on their numbers.
Guiding you at every crossroads
Logo. The symbol abstracts the cross-road signposts found in Nigerian intersections, suggesting that whatever turn a merchant’s payments journey takes—POS, transfer, online checkout—Nomba points the way. The mark also forms an “N” monogram, ensuring quick recognition on tiny app icons and large billboards alike.
Visual system. We codified colour, typography, pattern and imagery into flexible “devices” so the brand remains unmistakable across POS sleeves, dashboards or nationwide OOH. A vibrant core palette and a custom sans serif typeface keeps numeric data legible at all sizes. Patterns echo the signpost motif, diagonal bars that expand, rotate and overlap to signal movement and choice.
Sonic identity. Collaborating with producer Damilare Afolabi, we built an audio suite whose beats sample familiar Nigerian ‘number moments’—bus conductors calling fares, market traders chanting prices, classic phone-credit jingles. The resulting stingers and loops let Nomba sound instantly resonant on radio ads, ATM screens and in-app alerts.
Digital HQ. Recognising the website as Nomba’s 24/7 branch, we designed a conversion-first experience that pairs concise storytelling with demo videos and actionable copy.
