Grey, a Nigerian fintech startup, has selected Kenya as its East African hub as it expands operations in the region. The move comes after the firm raised $2 million in seed funding to expand into the East African market, with plans to seek opportunities in Uganda and Rwanda in the near future. Currently, the firm’s platform is live in Tanzania and Kenya, with over 300,000 users.
According to Grey’s CEO, IIdorenyin Obong, opening offices in Kenya will help the firm navigate its planned operations in other countries in the East African Community. Obong notes that Kenya’s diaspora remittance is vibrant, as remittance inflows to Kenya have increased tenfold in the last 15 years, reaching an all-time record of USD 3,718 million. This phenomenal growth points to the importance of remittances as a source of foreign exchange to the country, equivalent to more than 3 percent of Kenya’s GDP.
A World Bank report released last year ranked Kenya among Africa’s top three recipients of diaspora remittances, behind Nigeria and Ghana. Additionally, Kenya’s gig economy is on the rise, with the growth of digital platforms that connect workers and traders to potential customers. According to a 2022 report by Mercy Corps on the gig economy, the Kenyan online gig economy is valued at $109 million and employs a total of 36,573 workers. It is estimated to grow at an annual rate of 33 percent, with the total size reaching $345 million and employing 93,875 workers by 2023.
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Obong notes that more Kenyans are working remotely for companies abroad, where payments tend to be tedious and expensive. Grey’s solution allows African freelancers to have foreign accounts and seamlessly receive money worldwide, enabling them to be globally competitive.
Last year, Grey partnered with Cellulant as the company’s payments processor powering its payouts to thousands of Grey’s customers, and Moringa School to increase awareness and empower digital nomads on financial literacy in collaboration with Safaricom, Antler, and Nairobi Garage.
The company has also privately launched Grey Business, a borderless business banking platform for startups, where they can get instant international payments and currency conversions for their business. Companies can also open US bank accounts online with no minimum balance, monthly fees, or hidden fees.
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Founded in 2021, Grey, a Y-combinator-backed fintech startup, offers a unique international money transfer service that enables its users to send and receive international payments quickly without restrictions. Grey enables its customers to have virtual international bank accounts and cards for free and enjoy a seamless foreign payment process. Users can create a foreign USD, GBP, and EUR bank account for free, send money to the UK and Europe, and receive payments from over 88 countries. The company also offers conversion directly to your local currency so that you can spend it easily on the app. Grey allows users to receive foreign payments in their preferred foreign currency and withdraw directly to mobile money or their local bank account.
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Grey’s seed funding round included participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Heirloom Fund, True Culture Fund, angel investors Alan Rutledge, Samvit Ramadurgam, Karthik Ramakrishnan, and other high-profile investors.
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer, who has several years of experience working in Africa’s burgeoning tech startup industry. He has closed multi-million dollar deals bordering on venture capital, private equity, intellectual property (trademark, patent or design, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, in countries such as in the Delaware, New York, UK, Singapore, British Virgin Islands, South Africa, Nigeria etc. He’s also a corporate governance and cross-border data privacy and tax expert.
As an award-winning writer and researcher, he is passionate about telling the African startup story, and is one of the continent’s pioneers in this regard