Lemfi, a remittance startup serving African immigrants throughout 22 nations, has raised $53 million in a Collection B spherical to help its enlargement into Europe by the acquisition of a European agency.
The spherical was led by Highland Europe, a London-based growth-stage funding agency that solely backs startups with greater than €10 million in annualised revenues, and with follow-on funding from current traders like Endeavor Catalyst, Left Lane Capital, Palm Drive Capital, and Y Combinator. This spherical means the startup has obtained $85 million in funding because it was based in 2019 by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran.
Lemfi’s enlargement into Europe got here off the again of a partnership with Modulr, however its acquisition of an unnamed Republic of Eire-based firm will enable it to start its European operations independently from subsequent month. The startup makes cash from transaction charges and overseas trade spreads throughout the nations it operates in.
The funding will enable Lemfi to accumulate extra licenses and partnerships because it expands its choices to incorporate localised providers for patrons. Lemfi is ready to launch a card for patrons within the US, the UK and Canada. It is going to additionally rent employees because it continues to develop quickly.
Lemfi is now processing $1 billion in month-to-month fee quantity, a big leap from 2023 when it processed $2 billion in annual transaction quantity. The startup has additionally doubled customers, income, and transactions over the previous two years. Olalere credited the expansion to sturdy adoption within the Asian hall, which rakes in $160 million in month-to-month TPV and is rising 30% month-on-month because it launched final 12 months.
After increasing into the US in 2023, the startup entered massive remittance markets like China, India, and Pakistan in 2024. It entered these markets by poaching C-suite executives from home firms like Terrapay, DeliveryHero, and OPay.
