WorldRemit targets 5m customers in Africa, raises $40m capital

WorldRemit has raised $40million to drive its next phase of global growth, aiming to serve 10 million customers connected to Nigeria and other emerging markets.

WorldRemit will enable customers in Africa to transfer money to 148 countries as easily as sending an instant message, using the WorldRemit app. This part of its expansion strategy.

Countries in Africa which now receive remittances through WorldRemit, will become send countries even as the new service will make sending money within Africa faster, easier and low cost.

According to the World Bank, inter-Africa transfers are amongst the most expensive in the world.

Money transfers to Africa account for more than half of WorldRemit’s total volume of transactions.

The company currently handles 74 per cent of remittances to popular mobile money services across Africa like MTN, Ecocash, TigoPesa, Vodafone M-Pesa and Airtel Money, making it the global leader in mobile-to-mobile international money transfers.

Ismail Ahmed, founder and CEO at WorldRemit, said, “This new funding will fuel our growth, and help bring our service to millions more customers across the globe. Africa is a crucial market for us and over the next few years, we will expand our services so customers can send and receive with WorldRemit, getting the benefits of our fast, secure online service.”

Since its last funding round in 2015, WorldRemit has launched 206 new services across the globe and has grown its transaction volume by 400 per cent.

Last month WorldRemit became Arsenal FC’s first-ever online money transfer partner.

The Series C round was led by LeapFrog Investments – a dedicated equity investor in emerging markets, supporting fast-growth firms that deliver social impact alongside commercial returns.

The round also had significant participation from existing investors Accel and Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV). This latest funding round follows a Series B investment raised from TCV in 2015 and a Series A from Accel and Project A in 2014 – then one of the largest ever Series A rounds in Europe.