Migo

CEO and co-founder Ekechi Nwokah grew up in Nigeria and knew that the general population had little or no access to financial credit. The company's vision was to extend credit to small businesses and entrepreneurs, allowing them to achieve economic prosperity while creating a whole new market for banks. Migo started first in Nigeria and then expanded to Brazil, where more than 90 million adults in Nigeria and 100 million in Brazil don't have access to credit.

More traditional and established financial providers don't usually lend to consumers without bank accounts and regular income, but Migo's white-label service enabled these transactions to take place. By targeting the underbanked who don't have smartphones, Migo has created a whole new market of consumers. They are not the first to look at emerging markets. Other startups such as Nubank, Neon, and Kuda offer mobile banking solutions and have found success with agile systems that can more easily go where traditional banks cannot.