TransferPace is a fintech company that makes it safer, faster, cheaper, easier, and more transparent for the African diaspora to move and manage money globally.
Entrepreneurs thrive on the ability to envision the grand tapestry of their industry, weaving innovation and strategy into the very fabric of their business.
TransferPace’s founders are not just building a company; they are creating a moonshot to transform financial services for immigrants, starting with the African diaspora.
Helmed by a cohort of Ivey MBAs—Aaron Olajide, Kenneth Kanlisi, Temi Adepoju, and Kuma Mede—TransferPace is at the vanguard of innovation, crafting an international money transfer mobile application poised to redefine the norms of cross-border transactions and domestic financial services for immigrants. With a focus on making it cheaper, faster, safer, and more convenient to move and manage money globally, they are on an important mission.
We are building the neo bank for immigrants.
Aaron Olajide, LLB, MBA ’24
The driving force behind their endeavor is the recognition of the myriad challenges plaguing the current remittance landscape. With transaction costs skyrocketing to as high as 8%, and in some instances, a staggering 15%, coupled with transfer times stretching up to five days, the status quo is not only financially burdensome but also glaringly inefficient for customers who are used to instant payments. Compounding these woes is the labyrinth nature of existing banking systems, necessitating engagement with multiple platforms—a cumbersome process that exacerbates the ordeal faced by customers. Little wonder then, that an overwhelming 75% of remittance transactions to Africa are routed through informal, albeit riskier channels, underscoring the urgent need for disruption in an industry shackled by archaic methodologies ill-suited to the evolving needs of the market.
While the global financial landscape seems abundant with solutions, Kenneth highlights a paradox: the glaring inadequacy of accessible financial services for immigrants, irrespective of their income levels, payment history, or career prospects.
Limited access to financial services has created a vast underserved market. With our solution, we're uniquely positioned to offer comprehensive payment and credit solutions to our customers, not only for their cross-border payment needs, but also for their domestic financial services needs.
Kenneth Kanlisi, MBA ’24
Aaron pushed the conversation forward on why traditional banks and major remittance players provide zero to limited cross-border payments to the African market and onerous credit solutions to immigrants.
"There is a clear mischaracterization of risk for the African market and immigrant customers, using traditional risk assessment frameworks without understanding the nuances of the market and immigrant customers," said Olajide.
Aaron recalls a conversation he had recently with a major Canadian bank that directly told him that they don’t have a payment corridor to the fastest-growing continent in the world; a continent that is scheduled to double its population by 2050. While large cross-border transactions can be accommodated by the current, albeit expensive and slow, correspondent banking systems, transactions under $250,000 fall into a gray area. Traditional banking systems are not designed to process these smaller transactions in a timely and cost-effective manner.
“We are developing a solution for immigrants who are moving to North America, starting with African immigrants, as well as organizations that constantly need to carry our international business but are hindered in their day-to-day operations due to expensive, inconvenient cross-border payment solutions.”, said Kenneth.
Despite the plethora of existing solutions, their implementation often proves prohibitive due to exorbitant setup costs and cumbersome documentation procedures. Alternatively, informal payment systems offer a workaround, wherein senders enlist acquaintances to facilitate transactions—a practice rife with logistical challenges and inherent risks.
Moreover, while there are some major players, their reach remains one-way for certain currencies or limited, particularly in rural areas where access to financial services is sparse. Adapting to changing dynamics requires a level of agility that traditional institutions struggle to attain—a fact not lost on TransferPace, with a team that understands the market and the pains of its customers.
Aaron elucidates another critical aspect of the equation: the evolution of customer expectations. As financial services burgeoned across Africa, so too did the demand for instant payments—a paradigm that now extends to cross-border transactions. 'Customers expect instant payment, irrespective of geographical boundaries,' Aaron emphasizes. 'If I wish to send money to my mother, I expect her to receive it instantaneously, without the need for meticulous planning days in advance.'
In response, TransferPace endeavors to bridge the gap between domestic and cross-border payment systems, seamlessly integrating the speed and convenience of the former into the latter. By leveraging cutting-edge technology and a customer-centric approach, they aim to deliver a transformative experience that transcends borders and empowers users with unparalleled efficiency and convenience.
Diverse expertise, one goal
Aaron, Kenneth, Temi, and Kuma are on a journey that transcends mere entrepreneurship—it's a quest to alleviate the very challenges that once plagued them personally as immigrants. All of them have stories about the stresses and headaches caused by the limited, expensive, inconvenient options when sending money back home for project, family, and business needs as well as the inadequacy of the domestic financial services to meet their needs.
Their odyssey began within the halls of the Ivey Business School during their MBA Program, where their shared vision crystallized amidst shared frustrations. “Instead of whining about our circumstances, we resolved to engineer a solution,” said Kenneth.
Their journey gained momentum through the Ivey New Venture Project, culminating in a coveted spot within the Western Accelerator—an accelerator for high-growth companies.
Apart from an intriguing problem, what really stands out with TransferPace is a team that has all its bases covered.
Aaron’s journey begins with his background in corporate law, where he advised clients across Africa, North America, and Europe, and demonstrated a knack for creating and commercializing ideas. His entrepreneurial path took a turn when he worked at one of Africa’s fastest-growing startups, which was later acquired by a leading global energy company. He subsequently founded two businesses in the consulting and real estate industries.
Kuma is an engineer with an eye on entrepreneurship. He got into several enterprises at a young age and founded a leading transportation business in Nigeria. He boils down his passion for entrepreneurship through a simple motto:
It’s about creating the world I want to live in.
Kuma Mede, MBA ’24
For Kuma, every business opportunity is born through the fact that he is a consumer looking for that solution.
That idea of making an impact was also what drew Kenneth to entrepreneurship as well. Working in the insurance space in Ghana, Kenneth didn’t feel like he was having an impact on the problems he was seeing around the country. He left the field to form a start-up that amongst other things, provided private credit to small-scale farmers. It was his desire to scale such solutions that drew him to the Ivey MBA program.
Temi completes the exceptional team as the finance expert. His personal journey is deeply intertwined with the challenges that TransferPace aims to address. As a student who moved to Canada, Temi relied on financial support from his family in Nigeria and personally experienced the inefficiencies of the payment processes. Despite these challenges, Temi persevered to become a trained economist. He has since amassed extensive transaction experience in the African, European, and North American markets.
What is common among our stories, whether in the businesses we founded in the past or at TransferPace, is that there is often personal pain. We can feel it. We were once unhappy customers who are now able to make ourselves and other customers happy. We are building financial solutions for immigrants like us and our customers.
Aaron Olajide, MBA ’24
TransferPace's mission beckons as a beacon of hope — a moonshot that beckons all to rally behind a cause greater than themselves.