Introducing a fairer way to send money to Africa
Growing up in Nigeria as a young boy, I know first-hand how vital every penny sent by mum was to pay my school fees and how far it extended to other family members.
Going to school in Nigeria I got sent home a lot. Back then, you could be the brightest student, but if you didn’t pay your school fees you’re getting sent home.
I got sent home a lot. I loved it! What kid doesn’t want to go home early and play football with his friends? It was when my mum moved to the UK in early 2000 that I got used to being at school more regularly and I would have clothing items sent.
My mum knew how vital education was going to be, so she moved to the UK with my brother, and I got used to being at school more. I missed her a lot, but at least I got to show off the trendy t-shirts and trainers she sent home.
When I turned 15, I joined my mum and brother in the UK. Mum was working two jobs, 18 hours a day. I began to realise the reason she did was not just to put food on our table. She had to provide for people back home as well.
But this is hardly news, this is the migrant story. Remittance is not just a transaction — its a lifeline, it keeps children in school, lifts households out of poverty, and stimulates the local economy.
Africa has the highest Remittance costs in the world
According to the World Bank, “Remittance costs across many African corridors and small islands in the Pacific remain above 10 per cent.”, and well above the 3 per cent target of the Sustainable Development Goal 10.c.1.
That means in 2018, hard-working African migrants, households in Africa and the African economy lost $4.6 billion to unfair remittance charges — This is a continent where half the population live on less than $2 a day.
A decade ago, the average total cost of remittance to Sub-Sahara Africa was 11.7 per cent. Today, it’s just above 10 per cent.
It seems not much has changed.
Building a fairer remittance solution for Africans and the world
My interest in Remittances began in 2010 when I started travelling to Nigeria more frequently and needed to exchange pounds (GBP) to Naira (NGN). Like most Nigerians, I wanted the best rate possible.
It is now easier than ever to send money to developing economies like Africa. Senders have more choices of providers to choose from and compare with.
The sad news is that it is increasingly difficult and time-consuming for Senders to know where to find the best deal.
The “best deal” is of course, subjective but generally, the final receiving amount by the recipient is a tremendous deciding factor. In some situations, transfer speed and fee, convenience and brand recognition matters. But, what matters more to most Senders is the final amount received on the other end.
Since the inception, I’ve always felt that the current dictatorship model adopted by many Remittance providers is unfair to hard-working customers — At least for African migrants.
There is this tired ethic in the Remittance industry where providers are not always transparent and fair with their pricing. This is an industry that is well known for promising “zero transfer fee” to lure senders in and then stab them in the back with a high exchange rate.
To completely eliminate unfairness in the remittance industry, I knew we would have to design a new business model. A solution that takes the power away from providers and hands it back to the Sender.
In summer 2018, I invited three of my dear friends to join me to tackle one of the biggest challenges facing African migrants today.
We ask ourselves these questions; How do we make sure Senders always get a fair deal? How do we build a company that looks after the interest of Africans in the diaspora? How do we compete against unfairness?
Our answer is Zazuu.
Introducing Zazuu
Today, money transfer providers offer what they claim is the best rate on the market.
Like you, we know there must be a better way.
So we created a smart tool that allows you to find unbeatable rates and avoid greedy providers.
We called it, Zazuu.
With the Zazuu app, you have the power to search hundreds of providers, compare rates and get unbeatable deals in seconds.
Let’s face it. You can probably do all the hard work yourself. It’s just that Zazuu is super-fast, gorgeous and it gets smarter the more you use it.
To put it simply, our algorithm is constantly doing all the heavy lifting work so you can feel more confident knowing that you will always get the best deal for your money.
Zazuu is our solution to reducing remittance costs to less than 3 per cent as laid out by Sustainable Development Goal and making sure that hard-working African migrants have more money to send home.
We’ll start giving out invites to the Zazuu app from June 30, 2020. Tap here to join our waiting list.
Want to join the conversation? Join us here.
Update: Zazuu is now available to everyone.
