LemFi Rebuilds App and Expands into Savings, Credit, eSIM

In Short

LemFi has rebuilt its app and launched a new global brand as it expands beyond remittances into savings, credit and eSIM services.

What Happened: LemFi Adds New Products Beyond Remittances

LemFi is a Nigerian cross-border fintech. It says it has rebuilt its app “from the ground up” to support multiple products across different countries within a single account.

The company also launched a new brand platform, “Ambition has no passport”, which it says will roll out across its global markets.

LemFi was founded in 2021 by Ridwan Olalere and Rian Cochran. It lets more than two million customers send money to more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia, Europe and beyond. LemFi says it processes around US$2 billion in transactions every month.

As part of the expansion, LemFi has introduced savings and credit services in the UK, with other markets to follow.

It has also added eSIM connectivity. An eSIM is a digital SIM that lets people use mobile data without inserting a physical SIM card. LemFi says customers can buy mobile data in more than 100 destinations without changing SIM cards or paying roaming charges.

Olalere said LemFi started with remittances, but learned that “the harder problem starts after the transfer”. He added that customers often live and work in one country while supporting people in another, and that the financial system “treats them as if they can only exist in one place at a time”.

Why It Matters

LemFi’s move into savings, credit and connectivity suggests it wants to serve customers beyond single money transfers.

The company says it has raised more than US$85 million to date from investors including Highland Europe, Left Lane Capital, Palm Drive Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and Y Combinator.