SCF Spotlight: Diego Yanez of alfred

Diego Yanez’s Stellar journey started not with his current venture, alfred, but with Alfred Pay, a direct-to-consumer, non-custodial wallet that was funded by the Stellar Community Fund’s ninth round back in 2021.

While building Alfred Pay, Diego and his team were also developing on and off-ramp infrastructure for Latin America. Alfred Pay itself faced some tough challenges: customer acquisition costs were prohibitively high, and competitors were multiplying across the region. However, something unexpected happened–other Stellar-based projects from regions such as the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Argentina began approaching Diego’s team to use their side project: the on and off-ramp payment infrastructure.

Those requests helped Diego realize a greater opportunity. Rather than trying to compete in the oversaturated consumer wallet space, his team could create more value by enabling others and becoming an “anchor-as-a-service” provider, offering on and off-ramps and payment facilitation for fintechs and regulated financial institutions across Latin America. The strategic shift from direct consumer services to B2B infrastructure would prove to be transformative for the company.

The initial SCF award was key to making this pivot possible, as it gave Diego’s team the support to pursue what they saw in the market. What started as a wallet evolved into alfred, an API platform built on stablecoins that enables businesses to access liquidity in both local currencies and digital assets, with real-time settlements across emerging markets. Since that shift, alfred received funding from SCF’s 19th round and has gone on to raise $3.5 million in post-SCF funding, evidence of just how impactful the pivot was.

For Diego, choosing to build on Stellar was about more than just the technology; it was about community. The Stellar ecosystem is filled with builders tackling a wide range of use cases, creating ample opportunities for collaboration and connection. Through SCF, he gained not only financial support but also direct access to that community, which provided the foundation for Alfred Pay to grow into alfred.

Looking back, Diego credits SCF as one of the most important factors in that journey. At a time when his team had few opportunities in other ecosystems, SCF recognized the project’s potential and invested while the vision was still in its earliest stages. That support gave them the validation and the room to experiment, helping them prove their model, navigate uncertainty, and focus on product-market fit. Three years later, Diego remains grateful, noting that without SCF’s backing, alfred might not exist.

The journey of building a company is filled with moments of uncertainty; he remembers a time when he’d look at the bank account and wonder how they would pay developers or keep their product moving forward. What carried them through, he says, was conviction in their mission and willingness to fight through those challenges. For him, grit is the fine line between founders who succeed and those who throw in the towel.

There are a lot of exciting things in the future for Diego, his team, and alfred! Be sure to keep up with everything by following them on LinkedIn and checking their website for updates!

You can also become a part of the vibrant Stellar ecosystem! Check out SDF’s various grant programs by visiting the SCF website! And questions are always welcome in the Stellar Developer Discord. It’s an exciting time to be building on Stellar!