Until a few years ago it was difficult to make payments across borders almost everywhere in the world. But it is still a big problem in Africa, where fragmented, disconnected systems, high costs and poor infrastructure make it difficult for companies and individuals to move quickly and affordably.
The majority of people and companies still rely on outdated agent networks or struggle with mobile wallet integrations. But there is a tangible demand for cheaper and easier alternatives, especially in disadvantaged regions such as Francophone Africa.
Ivorian fintech Cauridor Is that going to be solved, and it recently collected $ 3.5 million in seed financing to continue to build its payment rails with which traders, banks, telecom operators and money transfer companies can move funds in and out of Africa.
Cauridor says that his platform supports mobile portfolios, bank transfers and cash pickups via a network of more than 25,000 agents in Guinea, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Liberia. These agents are part of a popular distribution method in the region-it-made are usually small entrepreneurs equipped with point-of-sale (POS) devices and make cash deposits, recordings and invoice payments possible.
Cauridor uses a hybrid approach for solving the problem of money transfer – in the same way as other fintechs in the region combine cash networks with digital infrastructure for local payment needs. Nevertheless, the approach has enabled it to exploit transfers to important markets such as Ghana and Nigeria, and to set up contracts at group level with large players such as Ria, Moneygram and Western Union, in addition to partnerships with Orange and MTN.
From transfer to B2B payments
Cauridor’s founders Oumar Rafiou Barry And Abdoulaye Bah Experience the challenges of first -hand to send money to Guinea while studying in Canada. They were confronted with slow, expensive transfer options in French -speaking Africa, a region that is long behind the global crossing industry, a region.
In 2019, this frustration led them to start BNB CashApp, a consumer -oriented transfer platform for users in Canada to send money to Africa. The app is directly integrated with banks, mobile portfolios such as MTN and an agent network equipped with a mobile portal to facilitate cash payouts.
But as the platform grew, the founders had a greater challenge: the fragmented and inefficient payment infrastructure of Africa. “We realized early on that the rails in Francophone Africa hardly exist. So we had to go and start building payment rails in the region since the payments there were fragmented, “CEO Barry told Techcrunch.
The team felt a chance and the team played in 2022 to build payment rails for the region. By 2023, the company had combined its consumer brake tance and B2B payment infrastructure under the Cauridor brand, just like the operational model of Tanzania and Rafiki.
The shift has paid off: more than 90% of the company’s income now comes from the business activities of the payment rails. In 2023, Cauridor processed 2 million transactions and registered the total payment volume (TPV) of $ 300 million, which grew to $ 500 million in 2024, the company said.
Competition and plans for the future
While Barry refers more prominent players such as Un Doorriq and Thunes as the most important competition of Cauridor, he says that his company has remained relevant because it has built payment rails in markets “No one looked at”, such as Guinea and Liberia.
He noted that hands-on customer service and prices have also helped to retain customers. The FinTech offers customer service to solve common problems, such as rejected mobile money transactions due to incomplete KYC. For example, if a recipient can only receive $ 10 from a payment of $ 700, Cauridor steps in to help upgrade his account and to ensure that the transaction goes through.
Barry thinks that the strong local presence of Corridor gives it a lead in securing better forex margins, which passes it on to its customers. He said that this advantage helped the company to attract large customers such as Moneygram, who have switched from competitors to better rates and improved customer support.
Interestingly, the competition in the cross -border payment space does not exclude the cooperation. Some competitors of Cauridor rely on his infrastructure in specific regions, just like working with companies such as Thunes for a global reach.
Cauridor employs around 200 people worldwide and has offices in Ivory Coast, Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.
The seed round was led by Pan-African VC company Oui Capital and saw participation of Rally Cap, BKR Capital and some Engel Investors.
With the new money, the company is planning to expand to new markets (it has new offices in Mali and Nigeria that are opening this year), to work out its teams and stimulate marketing efforts. Barry told Techcrunch that Cauridor also prepares for a series A-round and exploring blockchain integration to streamline settlements and use the growing acceptance of Stablecoins in the cross-border payment space of Africa.