MiniPay announces up to $1 million in CELO and ecosystem grants tied to real onchain usage and expands its global push to back local Mini App developers across emerging markets, with the Mini App Roadshow now underway
OSLO, Norway – April 22, 2026 – MiniPay, Opera’s self-custodial stablecoin wallet on Celo, the Ethereum Layer 2 built for the real world, announced a new performance-based incentive programme for Mini App builders backed by up to $1 million in $CELO and ecosystem grants. The programme launches alongside the Mini App Roadshow, a global builder initiative now underway. Together, the two initiatives build on MiniPay’s record of backing local builders, adding a structured financial programme and expanded in-person support to an ecosystem already driving over 400 million transactions.
The incentive programme is designed around a simple premise. Builders who create Mini Apps that generate real transaction activity on MiniPay are eligible for grants distributed in $CELO and ecosystem inventory. This gives builders direct exposure to the native CELO token as it further increases real-world usage of the network, strengthening its position as the leading Ethereum Layer 2 by Daily Active Users. There is no committee, no pitch competition, and no subjective selection process. While most ecosystem programmes fund proposals, MiniPay backs demonstrated utility, creating builder economics around activity that is already happening. Beyond the grants, builders also receive fully funded growth campaigns, co-branded promotion across MiniPay and Opera surfaces, and hands-on product, business development, and design support.
The Mini App Roadshow is the in-person extension of that commitment. Through community mixers, hands-on builder workshops, and curated founder events hosted by Celo Core Co. and Opera, the campaign is designed to find and engage local developers to build Mini Apps that reflect how people in their markets actually use digital financial tools. The workshops help founders scale their idea to launch, reaching MiniPay’s 15+ million wallet users.
As stablecoin adoption continues to rapidly increase, surpassing $33 trillion in 2025, the most impactful use cases remain most evident in emerging markets, where volatile local currencies and exclusionary banking systems make access to financial tools and stable money a daily struggle for many. MiniPay’s Mini App ecosystem expands financial accessibility further with third-party services embedded directly inside the wallet that let users pay bills, top up airtime, access local commerce, and more, without ever leaving the app. Since launching in 2023, MiniPay has surpassed 15 million activated wallets across 66+ countries, with 50 Mini Apps live and more than 400 million Mini App transactions to date.
Scale alone does not make a product locally relevant. Local communities have distinct behaviors, needs, and contexts that no outside team can fully understand. The Mini App model exists to solve this, giving local founders the platform to build solutions that fit their markets.
MiniPay first launched in Africa in 2023, and local builders proved the distribution potential of Mini App structure quickly upon launch. BitGifty, bootstrapped and born at a hackathon with no marketing budget, reached over one million users across ten countries and recorded more than 800,000 transactions within MiniPay. “MiniPay has been instrumental in BitGifty achieving product-market fit,” the BitGifty team said. Similarly, the Buy Gold Mini App which lets users buy and hold digital gold(XAUt0) saw hundreds of thousands of users within weeks of launch.
The Roadshow is MiniPay’s commitment to bringing that same philosophy to builders across other emerging markets, finding those who understand their communities’ needs and usage patterns best, and supporting them as they bring their products to market.
For most early-stage founders, distribution and payments infrastructure consume months of engineering and business development before a single real user shows up. Inside MiniPay, those questions are already answered. Builders enter an ecosystem with infrastructure already in place, and access to hands-on product, BD, and marketing support from Opera, drawing on 30 years of experience building products for hundreds of millions of users worldwide. The robust, global Celo ecosystem adds further backing. Through Proof of Ship, a builder grants initiative led by Celo Core Co. Developer Relations, 576 projects received mentorship, support, and opportunities to earn bounties in 2025. This builder engagement series continues in 2026 entirely dedicated to MiniPay builders, with a $5K monthly prize pool distributed to top projects. Celo Regional Ambassadors provide their input and support to ensure Mini Apps are well suited for their local communities, bringing on-the-ground expertise and advocacy to projects from their 8+ geographies.
“Technology only matters when it fits naturally into people’s everyday lives. That is why we believe local builders matter so much,” said Murray Spark, Head of Commerce at MiniPay. “They understand the context, the habits, and the problems worth solving, and MiniPay is here to give them the platform, distribution, and incentives to turn that insight into products people actually use.”
“The Mini App ecosystem is a powerful extension of MiniPay, with many of the 50+ applications enhancing the global digital dollar wallet by adding localized solutions that make crypto useful for everyday life,” said Anna Tudhope, Celo Core Co.’s Head of Growth. “Leveraging the massive global distribution of MiniPay and core Celo benefits like fee abstraction, sub-cent transaction costs, and fast finality, Mini App builders can take their ideas to life with a potential user base of millions on day one. We’re proud to work with Opera to support builders across the world, and excited to see the innovative projects that emerge from these efforts.”
For stablecoins to become the financial infrastructure of billions worldwide, the solutions built on top of them must reflect how people across different markets actually manage and interact with their finances. Opera, Celo, and the Mini App ecosystem have worked since MiniPay’s launch to make that vision a reality. The next chapter is now underway. To find out more about MiniPay’s Mini App ecosystem, visit minipay.to/mini-apps.
About MiniPay
MiniPay is a non-custodial stablecoin wallet built on the Celo blockchain and designed to make digital finance accessible, affordable, and user-friendly, especially across emerging markets. We do not provide investment or financial advice of any kind. When investing in crypto assets, you risk losing your entire investment. Please consider whether trading and owning crypto assets is appropriate for your financial situation. MiniPay has surpassed 15 million activated wallets across 65+ countries since its launch in 2023. Learn more at minipay.to.
About Celo
Celo is an Ethereum Layer-2 and mobile-first blockchain network built for the real world and designed for fast, low-cost payments worldwide. The Celo ecosystem consists of a decentralized, proof-of-stake blockchain technology stack, the CELO native token, USDC and USDT (both enabled as gas currencies), several Mento stable assets (USDm, EURm, REALm, XOFm), and popular infrastructure including Morpho, Aave, Uniswap V3, Curve, Velodrome, and Chainlink. Launched on Earth Day in 2020, the open-source Celo mainnet supports a rich ecosystem of projects (1,000+) contributing to Celo’s global mission of prosperity for all. For more about Celo, visit https://celo.org/.
Disclaimer:
MiniPay is a non-custodial stablecoin wallet built on the Celo blockchain and designed to make digital finance accessible, affordable, and user-friendly – especially across emerging markets. MiniPay is offered by Blueboard Limited, an Opera company. As a non-custodial stablecoin wallet, MiniPay exclusively enables individual users to initiate on-chain P2P stablecoin transfers. Through integrations with our third-party partners, however, the MiniPay ecosystem also enables users to discover a rich array of additional services provided by such third parties including on-ramp/off-ramp, top-up, or payment services. MiniPay itself does not facilitate or provide any form of exchange services, payment services, or remittances. Any and all references to such functionality indicates the availability of third-party services discoverable within the MiniPay ecosystem.