LemFi Raises $33 Million In A Series A Round Led By Left Lane Capital

Fintech firm LemFi has secured $33 million in a Series A funding round. Left Lane Capital led the funding round. The other investors participating in the funding round include Global Founders Capital, Olive Tree, Y-Combinator, and Zrosk.

LemFi raises $33 million

LemFi is a fintech company that Rian Cochran and Ridwan Olalere started. The two worked together while working on another fintech known as OPay. LemFi was released in Canada in 2020 to facilitate seamless and cost-friendly remittance payments in Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria.

In 2021, LemFi expanded its operations to the UK before broadening its offerings to include ten new African remittance corridors. The platform facilitates payments for immigrants while ensuring they can easily access cross-border payments.

Users can adopt the LemFi platform to support their offerings when they move to a new residency. A user can adopt multi-currency offerings to send, receive, hold, convert, or save funds in the currencies of their origin and their country of residence.

The LemFi platform also seeks to support instant cross-border payments at the best exchange rates. Those using the platform are also assured of zero fees on the transfers. Users do not also have to pay for account maintenance.

According to the CEO, Olalere, the company wanted to create a platform where financial services would be readily available to many. As such, its offerings would continue expanding to achieve financial inclusion.

“Having lived on three continents and leading a multicultural team, our mission is deeply personal: creating a world where financial services are universally accessible. We’ve already made life easier for over half a million people, but we’re only just getting started,” Olalere said.

LemFi focused on a global reach

The fintech plans to expand its reach globally by securing the appropriate regulatory approvals. In 2021, it announced the acquisition of a UK-based startup called Rightcard Payment Services.

With this acquisition, the startup secured an Electronic Money Institution license from the UK regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), giving customers access to a wide range of services. Some of the offerings available to users on the platform include high transaction limits and access to e-money accounts.

Rightcard also received an International Monet Transfer Operator license from the Central Bank of Nigeria, enabling it to cement its presence in the continent. With this approval, LemFi received authorization to extend its services in partnership with Nigerian banks, making the remittance process easy for Nigerians.

At the time, the fintech said the milestone strengthened its position as a leading global money transfer operator. The offering also demonstrates the company’s goal of empowering individuals through a seamless and affordable offering.

The Acting Governor of the Nigerian Central Bank, Folashodun Shonubi, noted that LemFi’s offerings aligned with the goals of the Central Bank to enhance the availability of foreign exchange in Nigeria. The fintech will also ensure exchange rate stability.