[BREAKING]: African remittance startup LemFi expands to Europe
By Joseph Olaoluwa
LemFi, an African remittance startup that announced its $33 million Series A in August 2023, has now expanded to Europe.
“LemFi is officially LIVE in Europe! Nigerians in Europe can now send money home with LemFi,” the company told its customers in an email notice on Wednesday evening.
“Your family and friends in Europe, especially Italy, France and Spain, can now enjoy quick and direct transfers home at the best rates with zero transfer fees.”
Remittances are a big deal for many migrants across the world, which is part of the problems that LemFi attempts to solve. Globally, remittance inflows surpassed $669 billion in 2023, according to the World Bank, and many low- and middle-income countries heavily rely on these funds to address fiscal shortfalls. For many African countries, these remittances are an important source of foreign exchange.
The volume of digital remittances is bound to reach $111.80 billion in 2025; growing annually at the rate of 2.58% and resulting in a projected total amount of $123.80 billion by 2029. LemFi would be looking to take advantage of this, following its latest expansion to Europe.
Since 2023, the remittance startup has embarked on a mass expansion strategy driven by the need to serve its current one million customer base. “The markets we serve will continue to need millions of immigrants yearly, so we want to be one of the first products introduced to the African, Indian, Chinese, or Pakistani communities,” said Philip Daniel, the company’s global expansion lead in a recent interview. “There are still ample opportunities for us to grow.”
So far, the company has spread its tentacles massively across Africa, Asia, South America and now Europe. In 2023, LemFi recorded over $2 billion in annual transaction volumes. It also recently expanded into the U.S., the largest source of remittances globally. The company has its eyes on more locations and a possible acquisition in the works.
LemFi is currently working on a card product that will serve customers in the United Kingdom, United States and Canada.
