Money transfer companies
WorldRemit and Zepz: the money app founded by Ismail Ahmed
WorldRemit is a London-based online money transfer company founded in 2010 by Ismail Ahmed, who was born in Hargeisa and came to Britain as a refugee, with Catherine Wines and Richard Igoe. Somaliland was its first market. It bought Sendwave in 2021 for about $500 million and now sits inside the group Zepz, sending money to more than 130 countries.
The founder
Ismail Ahmed was born and raised in Hargeisa (Financial Times, Start-up stories: WorldRemit breaks down borders). Before the civil war he won a World Bank scholarship to study economics in the UK; after war broke out he left Somaliland and reached the UK as a refugee (London Business School, Changemakers: Ismail Ahmed; Wired UK). He holds a PhD in economics from the University of London and an MBA from London Business School (Inclusive Boards, archived 2022).
As a student he sent money home to his family and found it slow and costly (CNN Money, 15 August 2018). He later worked on a World Bank project in Hargeisa and then for the UN Development Programme on a money transfer project. He reported fraud in its Somalia programme, lost his job, and was later found to have been unfairly treated and awarded compensation (The Guardian, 20 January 2017).
The company
Ahmed founded WorldRemit in 2010 with Catherine Wines and Richard Igoe (BBC, The man changing the world of remittances). The service moved money transfers onto phones, paying out to bank accounts, mobile wallets, airtime and cash pick-up (WorldRemit, About us). Somaliland was its first market, and it connects to Telesom's ZAAD wallet as well as M-Pesa in Kenya and bKash in Bangladesh (Africanews, 15 April 2021; Wikipedia, WorldRemit).
Funding and growth
- 2014: first outside investment, $40 million from Accel (TechCrunch, 11 March 2014).
- February 2015: $100 million round led by TCV (Forbes, 19 February 2015).
- December 2017: $40 million led by LeapFrog Investments, at a $670 million valuation (TechCrunch, 6 December 2017).
- 2019: $175 million round (WorldRemit, Series D).
- 2020 to 2021: agreed to buy the US app Sendwave for about $500 million (Bloomberg, 25 August 2020, archived); the group renamed itself Zepz and raised $292 million (FinTech Futures).
Regulators' findings
- In October 2023 the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered the operator of Sendwave to pay $1.5 million in refunds and a $1.5 million penalty over misleading claims about transfer speed and cost (CFPB, 17 October 2023).
- In November 2025 Australia's financial intelligence agency, AUSTRAC, found WorldRemit's monitoring of suspicious payments the weakest of 15 platforms checked and ordered an external audit (ABC News, 19 November 2025).
See also How to send money to Somalia and Somali business pioneers.
Sources
- Financial Times, Start-up stories: WorldRemit breaks down borders · ft.com
- London Business School, Changemakers: Ismail Ahmed · london.edu
- Wired UK · wired.co.uk
- Inclusive Boards, archived 2022 · web.archive.org
- CNN Money, 15 August 2018 · money.cnn.com
- The Guardian, 20 January 2017 · theguardian.com
- BBC, The man changing the world of remittances · bbc.co.uk
- WorldRemit, About us · worldremit.com
- Africanews, 15 April 2021 · africanews.com
- Wikipedia, WorldRemit · en.wikipedia.org
- TechCrunch, 11 March 2014 · techcrunch.com
- Forbes, 19 February 2015 · forbes.com
- TechCrunch, 6 December 2017 · techcrunch.com
- WorldRemit, Series D · worldremit.com
- Bloomberg, 25 August 2020, archived · web.archive.org
- FinTech Futures · fintechfutures.com
- CFPB, 17 October 2023 · consumerfinance.gov
- ABC News, 19 November 2025 · abc.net.au
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Where this matters
Same era
- Australia18,401 people of Somali ancestry and 8,101 born in Somalia lived in Australia at the 2021 Census, more than half in Victoria. History, work, issues.
- Birmingham (Somali diaspora)About 17,000 to 21,600 Somalis live in Birmingham (Census 2021), mostly in Nechells, Newtown, Small Heath and Alum Rock. History, work, health and ties home.
- Bristol (Somali diaspora)9,167 people in Bristol identified as Somali or Somalilander in Census 2021, the city's largest minority group. Where they live, work, housing, leaders and ties home.
- Calgary, Alberta, Canada2,845 people of Somali origin lived in Calgary at the 2021 Census, plus 890 in Brooks. How they came, who serves them and what they face.
- Denmark (Somali diaspora)21,885 people of Somali origin lived in Denmark in 2026, half born there. Numbers, history, work, permit reviews, and ties home.
- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
Keep reading
- Somali money transfer companies: directorySomali money transfer companies: the Central Bank of Somalia's licensed firms, Somali-run firms licensed in Kenya and firms in the UK, with founding year, base and source.
- Dahabshiil: the largest Somali money transfer companyDahabshiil in facts: how it began, its size, its bank and telecom interests, its regulators, and the 2013 Barclays case.
- Al-Barakat (Al-Barakaat): the Somali money and phone company shut in 2001Al-Barakat in facts: its founding in 1987, size by 2001, the US and UN listing after 9/11, what the 9/11 Commission found, the delistings and the relaunch.
- Amal group: Amal Express, Amal Bank and the 2020 to 2021 auditThe Amal group in facts: Amal Express and Amal Bank, licences, leadership, the GI-TOC report on arms payments and the Central Bank audit, and where sources differ.
- Kaah Express and KIMS: the money transfer firm and its microfinance armKaah Express and Kaah International Microfinance Services in facts: licences, the 2014 launch, branches, clients, awards, goals, and the separate Kaah Electric company.
- Tawakal Express: money transfer company based in GaroweTawakal Express in facts: head office, reach, its TPLUS app and SomBank, its US partner Banana Pay, and how studies of the remittance trade describe it.