INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
and out of lower-income countries in 2018, up 9% over 2017
And today, Remitly, one of the bigger startups providing these services, is announcing that it has raised $220 million in funding to ride
that wave.CEO and founder Matt Oppenheimer said in an interview that the startup will use the money both to help it continue to keep growing
that money transfer business and to catch new opportunities as they appear, in the form of new financial services for the immigrants and
migrants that make up the majority of its customer base.The money is coming in the form of equity and debt, specifically a $135 million
Series E led by Generation Investment Management, and $85 million in debt from Barclays, Bridge Bank, Goldman Sachs and Silicon Valley
Owl Rock Capital, Princeville Global, Prudential Financial, Schroder - Co Bank AG and Top Tier Capital Partners; and previous investors DN
As a point of comparison, that puts Remitly roughly on par with World Remit, another big player in remittances for emerging markets that
raised $175 million in June also at around a $900 million valuation
service localised on the receiving end to come in formats that are most popular in each specific market.The company said that average annual
revenue growth has been at around 100% each year for the past three
years.The plan for diversification is not surprising
getting even more so, with incumbents like Western Union accounting for less than 20% of the market today, bigger startups like
to transfer money also potentially disrupting the disruptors.That means pricing on money transfers for a section of that market that is
Remitly itself has varying rates for different markets based on demand: sending money for example to Kenya from the U.K
In its case, this means not only planet health but people health, in the form of services that improve their lives
Financial services for emerging markets is an important area for it in that regard.Lucia Rigo, a director in growth equity at Generation who
Remitly as a key company within it that ticked all the right boxes in terms of its mission, its journey so far, its numbers and, most
digital penetration is just at its early stages, and new markets will drive differentiation and that will expand the customer base, and
