E-Financial
WorldRemit Mulls Massive African Expansion
Digital money transfer service, WorldRemit, has lofty ambitions for its major expansion plans for other African countries.
“Globally, the remittance industry is valued at about $600 billion [per year]; that is not business payments or corporate payments, it is individuals sending money to individuals,” Andrew Stewart, WorldRemit MD for Middle East and Africa, told journalists.
“In an African context it’s valued at about $65 billion. That is the African diaspora that are living and working abroad and sending money back home to family and friends, and that has grown at about 27% on an annualised basis,” he said.
WorldRemit already allows money to flow into Africa but has big plans to expand its business on the continent, so that local users can send money through the platform as well. South Africa is the second country in Africa where the company has launched its send service, following Somaliland eight months ago.
“That was our pilot; it was just a lot quicker from a regulator perspective to get a licence and it’s going really well so far. Our founder [Ismail Ahmed] is a Somalilander so that was the priority, to be honest. We felt Somaliland would be a really great test bed for us. Actually it’s a slightly different market as we are targeting SMEs there.”
Next on the launch list is Rwanda, followed by Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. He said the second phase of expansion will focus on West Africa and the company already has a licence in Zimbabwe.
He added that the current Internet shutdown in Zimbabwe is a worry.
“We are concerned; the Internet is down, banks are shut but our international customers can still send money. The transactions will be pended and held until such time that our partners are open for business again. If customers don’t want to go through with the transaction they can get a full refund. Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a wait-and-see situation at the moment in Zimbabwe but we are still very much open for business.”
The company traditionally focuses on customers who are already banked in some form because the whole platform is digital, which keeps costs down for users. Bank accounts, credit and debit cards are the most usual way for transactions to be funded; however, in Africa, Stewart acknowledges that a lack of financial inclusion could call for other options.
When asked whether it’s problematic that the company is leaving out the large unbanked sector in Africa, he agreed that it is.
“The challenge for us is that we don’t deal with cash, nor do the regulators want us to deal with cash, that is why our licences are predicated on digital.
“We are looking at other alternative, creative ways but I think it’s a little bit down the road. So, for example, we could partner with an institution that offers prepaid. So they might not be physically banked but we could offer them a prepaid top-up proposition. That’s the thinking for some other African countries.”
He pointed out that for most African countries, receiving money via remittance is more important than sending.
“If you look at a net inflow-outflow, Africa is a net receiver. But Africa is still big; we estimate that formal outflows or intra-flows is about $14 billion, but if you look at the informal it would probably be about $140 billion. But people receiving into Africa is about $64 billion formal and informal probably $200 billion so it’s always going to be a net inflow region,” he concluded.
The next currency crisis could accelerate the shift of the roughly $315 billion global stablecoin market into a digital-dollar alternative for citizens in emerging economies, notably in regions like sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
As local fiat currencies face devaluation and high inflation, citizens and businesses are increasingly utilizing smartphone-based stablecoins (such as USDT and USDC) as hedges and primary mediums of exchange.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the rapid adoption of dollar-linked digital assets—particularly in countries heavily affected by inflation like Nigeria—poses significant risks to monetary sovereignty.
With up to 95% of surveyed individuals in some African markets preferring to receive payments in stablecoins over local fiat, the rising volume of these decentralized, cross-border channels weakens domestic currency demand and dilutes the effectiveness of local monetary policy.
IMF observed in a report titled “Stablecoins in Nigeria: A Growing Cross-Border Channel” noted that the widespread use of stablecoins poses risks to monetary sovereignty, particularly as more individuals and businesses turn to digital dollar-linked assets for savings and transactions.
Nodding in agreement is Future Investment Initiative Institute (FII Institute), a non-profit organisation run by the Public Investment Fund, Saudi Arabia’s main sovereign wealth fund.
FII Institute said that central banks face structural challenges.
And according to the institute, when citizens move savings out of national banks and into private digital wallets, conventional capital controls lose their grip.
Institutions like the Bank for International Settlements warn that interest-bearing stablecoins compete directly with domestic-currency deposits, complicating financial oversight and making smartphone-based transfers incredibly difficult for authorities to monitor.
In Nigeria, Naira depreciation has pushed users toward dollar-stablecoins, according to report by Gino Matos in cryptoslate.com.
A stablecoin is a type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a steady value by pegging its price to a reserve asset, such as a fiat currency (e.g., the U.S. dollar) or a commodity (e.g., gold).
They act as a bridge between traditional money and the digital asset world, providing the speed of crypto without the extreme price swings of assets like Bitcoin.
Federal government has reopened three federal government of Nigeria (FGN) bond issues valued at N1.2 trillion for subscription as part of efforts to raise long-term funds from the domestic debt market.
The Debt Management Office (DMO), which announced the offer on Tuesday, said the three reopened bond issues are each valued at N400 billion.
According to the DMO, the first offer is the January 2035 FGN Bond, a 10-year reopening, carrying an interest rate of 22.60 per cent per annum.
The second is the May 2028 FGN Bond, a 15-year reopening, with a coupon rate of 15.45 per cent per annum, while the third is the June 2037 FGN Bond, a 20-year reopening, also valued at N400 billion.
The office said the bond auction is scheduled for July 20, while successful subscriptions will be settled on July 22.
It explained that the bonds are offered at N1,000 per unit, with a minimum subscription of N50 million and additional investments in multiples of N1,000.
For the reopened bonds, the DMO said successful bidders would pay a price based on the yield-to-maturity that clears the auction, in addition to any accrued interest on the instruments.
Interest on the bonds will be paid every six months, while the principal will be repaid in full on the respective maturity dates.
The DMO reaffirmed that FGN bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal Government and constitute obligations chargeable on the general assets of the federation.
It added that the bonds qualify as trustee investment securities under the Trustee Investment Act and enjoy tax exemptions for eligible investors, including pension funds, under the Company Income Tax Act and Personal Income Tax Act.
The bonds are listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and FMDQ Securities Exchange and also qualify as liquid assets for banks in computing their liquidity ratios.
FGN bonds are long-term debt instruments through which investors lend money to the Federal Government in exchange for periodic interest payments and repayment of the principal at maturity.
Gigbanc, Nigerian fintech startup, has announced it is winding down operations, after three years, citing a tough fundraising climate.
Paul Omoregie Okundaye, and Babatope Oni, co-founders of Gigbanc
The company, which set out to build cross-border financial infrastructure for African freelancers, creators, entrepreneurs and businesses, confirmed the decision in a statement signed by its co-founders.
“After careful consideration, Gigbanc’s leadership has made the difficult decision to wind down operations,” the company said, adding that the move “reflects the broader funding environment affecting early stage startups in Africa, a challenge that has been widely documented across the ecosystem.”
Since its founding, Gigbanc grew a community of more than 150,000 people across multiple countries and processed over $7.28 million (N10 billion) in payment volume, helping thousands of users receive their first international payment.
The company also ran conferences, fellowships and community events aimed at connecting entrepreneurs and creators across the continent.
`Despite the shutdown, Gigbanc said it is not walking away emptyhanded.
The company disclosed that it is in active acquisition discussions with a prominent financial infrastructure firm, with further details to be shared once the process closes.
Paul Omoregie Okundaye, co-founder and CEO, and Babatope Oni, co-founder and CTO, framed the closure as the end of a chapter rather than the erasure of Gigbanc’s impact.
“While Gigbanc is winding down operations, we don’t see this as the end of what we built together. Instead, we see it as the completion of an important chapter,” the founders said. “The relationships, lessons, community, and impact we’ve created will continue to outlive the company itself.”
The founders thanked users for their trust throughout the company’s run, citing everything from transactions and feature requests to bug reports and criticism as forces that shaped the product
“We leave this journey incredibly proud. Proud of our team, who gave everything they had.
Proud of the community that rallied behind us,” they said.
Gigbanc’s exit adds to a growing list of African startups that have shut down or scaled back operations in recent years as venture funding on the continent has tightened, with founders increasingly citing capital scarcity as the primary driver behind closures and consolidations.
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