Africa Business Communities

[CEO Interview] Ismail Ahmed, WorldRemit

Ismail is the Founder and CEO of WorldRemit – the world’s leading online money transfer service. For Ismail, founding WorldRemit was the culmination of 20 years’ experience in the money transfer industry - spanning academic, consulting and in-house roles. Before setting-up his own business, he worked for the United Nations East Africa Remittance Programme, helping money transfer companies comply with tough anti-money laundering rules introduced after the 9/11 attacks.

Ismail has published widely-cited research on the effect of remittances in Somaliland following the country’s civil war. He holds an MSc and PhD from the University of London and an Executive MBA from London Business School.

His Interview with Africa Business Communities:

Can you give us an insight into the history of what birthed World Remit?

From my personal experience, two things really showed me the need for an innovative online money transfer service – the idea that today is WorldRemit. First, when I came to the UK and had to send money home, I regularly faced the inconvenience of having to travel across town and queue up at transfer agents to send money. It was time-consuming and at the same time extortionately expensive

Second, working at the UN East Africa Remittance Programme I realised that only a digital, online-only remittance service can comply with the strict anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations put in place after the 9/11 attacks. WorldRemit addresses both these problems – we offer a far more convenient service and are inherently better placed in terms of compliance than traditional agent-based money transfer companies.

What was the most difficult thing to overcome in getting World Remit off the ground?

Building a money transfer service requires building trust – both among our customers and among partners like banks or telcos. We spent a lot of time at the outset explaining how only a digital service can enable money transfers fit for the 21st century – with great success: Today we work in close partnership with major banks and telco partners like MTN to deliver a convenient, secure, and trusted service all over the world.

Money transfers have evolved and has become more sophisticated, how  does World Remit sets itself apart ?

It’s true that the money transfer sector has become more sophisticated – but only because new services like WorldRemit started putting the customer first. The industry has for too long remained dominated by legacy players like Western Union or MoneyGram, whose vast-agent network structures have precluded them from innovating.

In contrast, WorldRemit is an online service which offers a seamless customer experience through our mobile apps and website. More than any other player, we also focus on connecting to telco-operated Mobile Money services around the world, which allow our customers to send money directly to a mobile phone. This is where we see the future of remittances – people are increasingly sending money from mobile to mobile, through services like WorldRemit.

Where does World Remit see itself in terms of growth in Africa in some years to come?

At the moment, the majority of the world’s Mobile Money services are in Africa, and they are growing fast. Globally, the number of active Mobile Money users grew from 30 million in 2012 to more than 100 million last year.

The growth of Mobile Money also presents a huge opportunity for recipients of remittances – if you previously had to travel to a convenience store or bank to pick up cash, you can now receive a money transfer from abroad directly into your Mobile Money account.

Founding a business can't be easy, any tips for young entrepreneurs looking to start their own businesses?

Look for where the real problems lie, where the pain points are and how you can build a solution that puts the customer first. The bigger the problem, the bigger the opportunity.

www.linkedin/profile

www.worldremit.com

 

Africa Business Communities is conducting a series of interviews with CEO's and high-end professionals in Africa. Are you interested in an interview? Please send an e-mail to Afia Owusu-Nyantakyi: afia@africabusinesscommunities.com

 

Share this article