Africa Day 2022: Tulix Is Reimagining Remittances for a Connected Africa
Tulix Team
Africa Day honours the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1963 which later became what we know today as the African Union (AU).
It started with a goal to push for the independence of African countries and years later it provides an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of the peoples and governments of Africa.
Some of those achievements include Kenya’s diaspora sending home on average KES 8.11 billion every week in 2021 during a pandemic that ground the world to a sudden halt.
Another massive achievement is that as Africans we’re no longer merely consumers of the West but leading innovators standing tall with tools like Mpesa and, coming soon, the Tulix App.
Investors on the continent are funding startups led by individuals who are “tackling Africa-wide problems” as described by Melalite Ayenew, a partner at Antler East Africa.
Brian Muriu & Alistair Gould are such founders. As two Kenyans who have received money from friends and family over the years, they are familiar with:
- Late-night phone calls involving the secret codes needed to collect the cash from a money transfer agent
- Early morning rides to different banks in search of said agent
- Long commutes to distribute the cash to various businesses
We also know what our fellow Kenyans sending money from the diaspora experience:
- Delayed payments
- Uncertainty as to whether the intended recipient actually received the money
- Little control over how and where the money is spent
Africans in the diaspora have been looking for new, smarter ways to send money home without losing control over how and where the money is used.
That’s why we’re building Tulix, a fintech startup looking to enhance the potential and impact of diaspora remittances for both senders and recipients in Africa.
Our first product is the Tulix App which makes it easier for Africans living abroad to make instant direct C2B payments to businesses accepting mobile money in Kenya. Everything from food, daily upkeep, medical bills and school fees.
Other key features on the app include a shared wallet that you can add your beneficiaries to, a jar system that allows you to share money for specific things and automatic in-app payment notifications.
This year’s African Union (AU) theme touches on strengthening food security and economic capital development in Africa and remittances provide an excellent pathway to achieve these goals.
How so?
Remittances are the leading foreign exchange earner for the Kenyan government and over 36 million Africans in the diaspora support close to 200 million beneficiaries back home through remittances.
In fact, the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) Diaspora Remittances Survey revealed the top three reasons most Kenyans in the diaspora send money home are:
- To buy food and other household items
- Settle medical bills
- Pay for school fees
And 74% of Africans in the diaspora are willing to send more money home if they have a convenient channel to make direct payments which is where Tulix App comes in.
By increasing inward remittances the Tulix App directly contributes to SDGs 1, 8 and 10 which are No Poverty, Decent Work and Economic Growth and Reduced Inequalities respectively.
“We believe in a future where Tulix will impact millions of lives globally by significantly reducing the cost of transferring and transacting money across borders. We will be the preferred partner for all financial needs between Africa and its global citizens by reimagining remittances and digital payments for a connected continent.” -Alistair Gould, Co-founder at Tulix
There you have it, a product built by Africans for the African diaspora. Let us walk this journey together.
#HappyAfricaDay2022