The Nigerian founders who turned travel frustrations into a fintech
Facing a backlog at the American Embassy in Lagos that threatened to run out of time for their interview window, Ayorinde and his team scrambled for help. Investor Kola Aina of Ventures Platform, which had backed the startup, intervened, according to Ayorinde, reaching out to contacts who could help expedite their visa interviews at the US embassy. The embassy eventually granted the visas with…
Oluwatomi Ayorinde and Chizaram Ucheaga, two Nigerian founders, transformed their travel frustrations into a $47 million fintech venture. Their struggle with cross-border payments led them to create Timon, a multi-currency travel card for frequent travelers across 16 African markets. The idea for Timon was conceived during a trip to Kenya, where Ayorinde realized the value of being away from Nigeria to fuel creativity.
Before founding Timon, both founders faced numerous challenges while traveling on a Nigerian passport. They had to ration cash, deal with failing bank cards, and navigate visa complications. Ayorinde's first experience with visa issues occurred in 2016 when he was invited to interview for Y Combinator's California headquarters, but an embassy backlog in Lagos threatened to derail his plans.
Despite these obstacles, Ayorinde persisted and eventually secured the visas with days to spare. The visa issues Ayorinde faced are a common theme for African entrepreneurs, highlighting the ultimate bottleneck that physical borders create for the continent's business community.
Written by urgent.news from TechCabal's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
