International money transfer company WorldRemit has launched a new cross-border digital service within Africa that will target the continent’s fast growing economies including Kenya.
The new digital service is set to reduce the cost of sending money across borders in a move to challenge the prohibitive charges that individuals and businesses pay to transfer money within Africa, the company said.
Other countries targeted in the innovation’s rollout are Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
WorldRemit, which trades in all currencies in Africa, is estimated to transfer more than Ksh160 billion within the continent, an 80% year on year increase as per figures by the company.
Ismail Ahmed, CEO and Co-founder of WorldRemit said, “Just as WorldRemit has revolutionised the way people send money from developed countries, our vision is to do the same within Africa.”
The company was founded in 2010 by Ismael who had experiienced hassles in sending money from the UK where he schooled to his family in Somalia.
“Every transaction meant an epic journey across the city to an agent who charged a small fortune in fees to send modest amounts of money. It seemed wrong to Ismail that an industry handling billions of dollars every year should deliver such poor service to its customers,” a page on the WorldRemit website says.
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Having chanced around the idea while pursuing his PhD in London, Ismael eventually decided to launch the startup in 2010 after having already experienced the handing out of advice to money transfer firms, including being part of the United Nations Development Programme.
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