Founders Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk founded Sendwave in 204 to allow remittances between North America, Europe, and select African and Asian nations,. The venture gained traction and was acquired by WorldRemit in 2020 for $500M in cash and stock. During this journey, Durbin and Quirk initiated the development of Wve, a user-friendly mobile money service that champions simplicity and eliminates account fees.
Africa grapples with a lack of accessible and economical financial services, leaving around 57% of its population unbanked due to exorbitant charges, inconvenient branches, and limited card usage. Wave addresses this gap with innovative technology, offering a straightforward and cost-effective tool accessible to everyone via their mobile. The impact has been substantial; in 2021, a GSMA report indicated 562M registered mobile money accounts in Africa, facilitating transactions valued at US$495B.
Wave has already established its presence in Senegal, the Ivory Coast, and Gambia. Future plans involve expanding to regulation-friendly countries like Uganda and channelling investments to enhance product development, business operations, and engineering efforts.
Kirsty
Company Specialist at Welcome to the Jungle