Meet Mama Money: A South African fintech that grew 500% during the pandemic

In the heat of the pandemic when startups were folding up their venture, especially in South Africa; many startups lost their market grip -thanks to the long days of lockdown as enforced by the government.

Quite on the reverse, Mama Money, a South African founded digital money transfer operator grew its venture by 500% during 2020 pandemic.

The startup gained more than a million users who remitted charges processing international money transfers, as a result of its low transfer charges pegged at 3%.

The startup history:

• The South African fintech was founded in 2013 by Mathieu Coquillon and Raphael Grojnowski.
• Mama Money uses mobile technology to allow its users transfer funds safely.
• In 2019, it reportedly grew by 300%, going on to record consistent and exponential growth for its company and product offering.

The Mama Money App:

Mama Money App enables users to send money digitally to over 50 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

Following its most recent partnership with Western Union, Mama Money enables its customers to send money across the globe through Western Union’s Global Network.

The Fintech has one of its focal points as, to keep the cost of digital money transfer as low as possible for consumers.

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The problem discovered:

The founders observed the bottlenecks associated with money transfers in terms of ridiculous fees charged, speed and safety of such monies.

Mathieu aptly describes the scenario: “We saw that people were paying ridiculous fees of up to 20% or more for sending money to their families for essential needs like school fees and medical bills.

“Many were handing cash to a driver to physically transport it across the border to their mama. It was a slow and unsafe process and sometimes the money would never arrive.

“There was a clear need for a safe, low-cost, and reliable way to send money across borders using mobile technology that makes sending money as easy as sending a WhatsApp message. It’s now possible with Mama Money’s mobile app.”

How Covid-19 came as a success:

Commenting on the exponential growth experienced during the pandemic, cofounder, Mathieu Coquillon explained that the Covid-19 restrictions contributed significantly to the adoption of digital money transfers.

He said: “We’re incredibly grateful that 2020 was our best year yet. It’s terrible to see how tough the pandemic has been for so many people and businesses.

“We’re humbled and very lucky to have added over 70 permanent team members during this time. Lockdown restrictions spurred the adoption of digital money transfer services.

“While there is a large informal network for money transfers that operates predominantly in cash, services like Mama Money make it easier for people to transfer money from the safety of their homes, which became particularly appealing during lockdown.”

The 8 year old startup continues to grow its fortune, and the Mama Money app is available for download on Google Play or the App Store.

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