Till a couple of years in the past, it was once troublesome to make funds throughout borders nearly wherever on the planet. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless an enormous drawback in Africa, the place fragmented, disconnected methods, excessive charges, and poor infrastructure make it powerful for companies and people to maneuver cash shortly and affordably.
The vast majority of individuals and companies nonetheless depend on outdated agent networks or grapple with cellular pockets integrations. However there may be tangible demand for cheaper and simpler options, notably in underserved areas like Francophone Africa.
Ivorian fintech Cauridor is getting down to resolve that, and it not too long ago raised $3.5 million in seed funding to proceed constructing its fee rails that permit retailers, banks, telecom operators, and cash switch corporations transfer funds out and in of Africa.
Cauridor says its platform helps cellular wallets, financial institution transfers, and money pickups by a community of greater than 25,000 brokers throughout Guinea, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia. These brokers are a part of a well-liked distribution technique within the area — they’re often small enterprise house owners outfitted with point-of-sale (POS) units and allow money deposits, withdrawals and invoice funds.
Cauridor is adopting a hybrid strategy to fixing the cash switch drawback — the identical means different fintechs within the area mix money networks with digital infrastructure for native fee wants. Nonetheless, the strategy has enabled it to function remittance corridors to key markets like Ghana and Nigeria, and set up group-level contracts with main gamers corresponding to Ria, MoneyGram, and Western Union, alongside partnerships with Orange and MTN.
From remittance to B2B funds
Cauridor’s founders Oumar Rafiou Barry and Abdoulaye Bah skilled first-hand the challenges of sending a reimbursement dwelling to Guinea when finding out in Canada. They confronted gradual, costly remittance choices in Francophone Africa, a area lengthy underserved by the worldwide remittance trade.
In 2019, this frustration drove them to begin BNB CashApp, a consumer-focused remittance platform for customers in Canada to ship cash to Africa. The app built-in instantly with banks, cellular wallets like MTN, and an agent community outfitted with a cellular portal to facilitate money payouts.
However because the platform grew, the founders encountered a bigger problem: Africa’s fragmented and inefficient fee infrastructure. “We realized early on that the rails in Francophone Africa had been nearly non-existent. So we needed to go in and begin constructing fee rails within the area for the reason that funds there have been fragmented,” CEO Barry advised TechCrunch.
Sensing a possibility, the crew pivoted in 2022 to construct fee rails for the area. By 2023, the corporate had merged its client remittance enterprise and B2B fee infrastructure underneath the Cauridor model, very similar to Tanzania’s Nala and Rafiki’s operational mannequin.
The shift paid off: Over 90% of the corporate’s income now comes from its fee rails enterprise. In 2023, Cauridor processed 2 million transactions and recorded whole fee quantity (TPV) of $300 million, which grew to $500 million in 2024, the corporate mentioned.
Competitors and future plans
Whereas Barry references extra distinguished gamers like Onafriq and Thunes as Cauridor’s essential competitors, he says his firm has remained related as a result of it constructed fee rails in markets “nobody was taking a look at,” like Guinea and Liberia.
He famous that hands-on customer support and pricing have additionally helped it retain clients. The fintech supplies customer support to resolve widespread points like rejected cellular cash transactions resulting from incomplete KYC. For instance, if a recipient can solely obtain $10 out of a $700 fee, Cauridor steps in to assist improve their account and make sure the transaction goes by.
Barry thinks Hall’s robust native presence provides it an edge in securing higher foreign exchange margins, which it passes on to its clients. He mentioned this benefit has helped the corporate appeal to main shoppers like MoneyGram, which switched from rivals for higher charges and improved buyer assist.
Apparently, competitors within the cross-border funds area doesn’t rule out collaboration. A few of Cauridor’s rivals depend on its infrastructure in particular areas, simply because it companions with corporations like Thunes for a world attain.
Cauridor employs about 200 individuals globally and has workplaces in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
The seed spherical was led by pan-African VC agency Oui Capital, and noticed participation from Rally Cap, BKR Capital, and a few angel buyers.
With the recent money, the corporate plans to broaden into new markets (it has new workplaces in Mali and Nigeria opening this yr), flesh out its groups, and enhance advertising and marketing efforts. Barry advised TechCrunch that Cauridor can also be getting ready for a Collection A spherical and exploring blockchain integration to streamline settlements and faucet into the rising adoption of stablecoins in Africa’s cross-border fee area.