Pesa expands India footprint with cross-border remittance services

By Gloria Mathias

Pesa, a Canadian cross-border financial services provider has announced its expansion into India following impressive results serving the West African diaspora (Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon).

Following a $2 million in revenue (and profitability) in its first year of operations, the Toronto-based company is doubling down on the even larger India remittance corridor, which receives flows of over $100 billion annually.

Masses in Canada can access Pesa’s new India remittance service by signing up or downloading the app via the company’s website. Approval takes only a few minutes, owing to Pesa’s efficient compliance technology. To support its India expansion, Pesa will hire local payment experts and open an office in India this year.

Founded in 2022 by immigrants, Tolu Osho and Yusuf Yakub, Pesa has rapidly grown to transaction volumes in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The founders bring industry experience in financial services from stints working with global leaders such as Interswitch, Coinbase, and Interac.

Since launching Pesa, Osho and Yakub have led the venture to scale tens of thousands of monthly users. They’ve achieved this by providing seamless services, better commissions, and more competitive money transfer fees (than competitors) to immigrants sending money to family and friends back home.

The company’s micro-pricing model and digital remittance rails have been successful, especially among younger, tech-savvy members of the African and Asian diasporas.

“Building a competitive remittance company is no small feat, but our relentless focus on the customer experience and compliance has allowed us to gain traction,” said Tolu Osho, CEO and co-founder of Pesa, who is licensed by FINTRAC – the national financial intelligence agency of Canada.

“We cannot be all things to all people, and we know large players exist. However, we concentrate on strong communities, like the Indian and Nigerian diaspora, where we can provide an unmatched experience at affordable rates. Our high customer retention is a testament to our differentiated product. We are excited to now make our affordable, fast, and secure remittance services available to the Canadian Indian diaspora,” added Osho.