Poker-faced Verto founder bets on cash transfers

Ola Oyetayo threw in his protected and safe accountant’s job within the Metropolis of London to take an opportunity on the dangerous and costly enterprise of transferring a reimbursement dwelling to Africa. Ultimately, a lightbulb second with a distinction. You’ve all heard how tons of of entrepreneurs had their epiphanies in gyms, espresso retailers and their mom’s again backyard; then they grabbed a pen and paper to sketch out the enterprise that may make their fortune.

In contrast, Ola Oyetayo says his fast-growing cash switch enterprise emerged from a late-night poker sport.

It was over the flip of the playing cards that Oyetayo met his countryman and co-founder of Verto – Anthony Oduu – a former analyst who had labored within the capital markets with Barclays, Lloyds, Merrill Lynch and Financial institution of America. They pitted their wits towards one another in poker nights each fortnight.

“Individuals say I don’t bluff. I’ve a really straight face,” says Oyetayo.

“Don’t inform him this, however I feel you may learn Anthony very properly as a result of he might be fairly impulsive. I’ve a stern, critical face, so you actually don’t know what I’m doing. I feel I’ve a straight poker face.”

This straight face additionally took within the cash grumbles of the well-heeled poker faculty. All have been expatriate Nigerians plying their commerce in finance within the Metropolis of London. All complained about the fee and hassle of sending cash dwelling to Africa.

Expert Nigerians working in London are legion. In 2021, analysis firm Statista put the variety of Nigerians dwelling in London alone at 142,000. Within the bars of Nigeria you’ll hear London known as ”Lagos North”. Within the metropolis on the Thames the suburb of Peckham has the nickname “Little Lagos”.

Behind their poker faces, Oyetayo and Oduu listened and thought. They determined to stop their profitable jobs within the Metropolis and take an opportunity. Had been they playing, I ask. “I wouldn’t say that. I take calculated dangers, as most entrepreneurs do. I feel the idea of entrepreneurship is about risk-taking. You consider one thing and also you dare to truly go off and attempt to ship it. Most occasions, it doesn’t repay. Generally it does. And in very uncommon situations, it pays off spectacularly. The one cause we’re all within the sport is hoping for that spectacular payoff,” says Oyetayo.

With this in thoughts, the 2 got down to construct an organization – one which at this time employs 200 individuals and strikes $250m a month in 22 international locations in Africa from its London base. It has seven places of work all over the world.

Cashing within the chips

Alongside the way in which, Verto raised capital in two funding rounds: a 2019 seed spherical of $2m and a $10m Sequence A spherical in 2021. Iyin Aboyeji, one of many younger entrepreneurs behind Flutterwave and Andela, is amongst Verto’s angel buyers.

“It was actually simply the 2 of us [Oyetayo and Oduu]. I feel we have been each fortunate – we weren’t two youngsters and a storage. I had spent about ten years working in monetary companies, so I had a little bit of a nest egg. Anthony did as properly. We began off as two cheap adults in a WeWork workplace. It was a two-man WeWork workplace again within the day, and that’s the place we began. It was simply the 2 of us doing all the things,” he says.

“It was tremendous scrappy. We didn’t actually have something by way of a platform. Most of our early actions have been performed on WhatsApp. We had a bunch of shoppers, created a WhatsApp group, and have been basically working a foreign money alternate platform on WhatsApp! That’s how we began – digital. Ultimately, we transitioned what we have been doing on WhatsApp into an precise tech platform, which is what it’s now.”

Verto was born, in 2018, as a small frog in a really giant pond the place scores of lean and imply start-ups make fortunes. There are too many to depend in a market the place hundreds of thousands of Africans all over the world are ready both to pay onerous foreign money to ship onerous foreign money dwelling, or ready to make use of tech to purchase items and companies from small companies on the bottom. Of Verto’s enterprise, 70% is with small enterprises in Africa that transfer money the opposite means to purchase companies from abroad.

Nigerian-based start-up Flutterwave, which has greater than one million prospects, is by far the most important fish within the pond. It was based in 2016 and have become a unicorn in double-quick time- with the assistance of a $170m Sequence C funding spherical in 2021. It’s now valued at greater than $3bn in a rising, profitable, trade.

“We did some work on this not too long ago. By way of income, the market is about $5.5bn yearly – that is throughout 4 or 5 African markets, specializing in cross-border commerce that wants funds to be facilitated. I wouldn’t disclose our income, however we’re nonetheless a small piece of that. It’s an enormous market and underserved, with a number of upside. If you happen to take a look at simply Africa-China commerce, that’s about $282bn yearly. So the chance is very large once you consider different commerce corridors too,” says Oyetayo.

Within the face of this competitors for enormous reward, Verto’s first job was to garner what Oyetayo says is essentially the most treasured commodity within the enterprise.

“Belief. It had at all times been a business-to-business platform, serving to companies transfer cash internationally. It’s onerous for a enterprise to belief a reputation they don’t know once you’re saying, ‘Hey, I’m going that can assist you transfer $20,000 to China,’ regardless that you don’t have an internet site or something to show your legitimacy. So, it was about constructing belief and delivering on our guarantees. That’s nonetheless true at this time. Whilst an enormous firm, we have now to service our prospects properly and observe by on our guarantees to assist them transfer funds internationally. That’s the core of what we do,” says Oyetayo.

“Then we acquired into Y Combinator, the famed Silicon Valley accelerator. The most important lesson I realized from there was that all the things has to begin small, and also you additionally must do issues that don’t scale. Doing issues that aren’t fancy, or high-level, within the early days teaches you the fundamentals.”

These fundamentals noticed regular development. In March 2019, Verto celebrated shifting $5m-a-month, in complete processed quantity. That has reached $250m in June 2025, creating jobs alongside the way in which.

“It was simply myself and Anthony for the primary six months. The primary 12 months, we grew to 6 individuals. The 12 months after, about 15. Then as much as 30, then 50, then 70. Within the final two years, we’ve added round 130 individuals. So there’s been good development in each workforce and income.”

Like father, like son

Oyetayo was born and bred into an entrepreneurial dwelling again in Lagos. His mother and father have been concerned in healthcare. His late father, Jimmy, owned pharmacies and his mom, Bosede, was a nurse. Oyetayo listened and realized from his mother and father as he studied economics earlier than leaving for the UK, in 2005: there he educated as an accountant.

“My dad was additionally an entrepreneur. He constructed a sequence of pharmacies that did properly for some time however hit some powerful occasions. So, I perceive the entrepreneurial journey – making an attempt to do one thing by yourself. My mother, like many Nigerians, at all times had a aspect hustle. She bought garments, had a grocery retailer – there was at all times one thing. So that’s in all probability the place I get my entrepreneurial traits,” he says.

But, it was not all plain crusing for Oyetayo and Verto. He admits there have been occasions he contemplated dropping by the wayside.

“Oh, yeah. A number of occasions, within the first three or 4 years. All of us get snug, particularly should you’ve had a profession the place one thing is available in on the finish of the month. It’s uncommon to do something that causes the corporate to fail in an everyday job. However working your individual store means you carry lots of duty – individuals relying on you, making numbers, getting income in, elevating funding, closing financial institution partnerships, getting prospects. Generally you simply want you have been clocking in and clocking out whereas another person dealt with the stress,” he says with a smile.

“However then one thing occurs to maintain you believing within the dream – like closing a brand new buyer, having a terrific dialog with somebody who has a big level, or getting encouragement from an investor who sees your potential. Speaking to different entrepreneurs who’ve been by comparable struggles helps too. All that helps you get by it.”

Foreign money challenges

You want perception in abundance to recover from the best hurdles going through the enterprise together with regulation and a dearth of overseas foreign money.

“It’s onerous to transform native foreign money into overseas ones for funds. Capital controls additionally trigger liquidity challenges – usually there’s not sufficient overseas foreign money provide. That’s our greatest difficulty proper now” he says.

Verto offers in 50 currencies from the Nigerian naira to the Kenyan shilling. It tries to alleviate foreign money issues with tech and merchandise aimed toward serving to small companies, like its multi-currency pockets. Oyetayo says conventional banks usually contain a number of intermediaries and prolonged processing occasions, driving up transaction prices, delaying funds, and slowing down enterprise.

The reply, on the foreign money entrance, he says, could be fewer currencies. I ask Oyetayo if he thinks it is going to occur. “No, I don’t assume so – for lots of causes. However we do have profitable single currencies in Africa, just like the francophone international locations utilizing the CFA [Communauté Financière Africaine franc]. Exterior of the Euro, there haven’t been many profitable single foreign money circumstances on this planet. So the CFA zone [which comprises the West African CFA franc and the Central African CFA franc] is definitely one thing to be happy with. There was discuss of ECOWAS [the Economic Community of West African States] launching a single foreign money too, however I’m undecided how that’s going. Even when we don’t have a pan-African foreign money, having profitable regional ones is a win,” he says.

Oyetayo is cautious however a bit of extra optimistic in regards to the fledgling single marketplace for the continent, the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA), launched in 2021 and battling to realize momentum.

“Sure, items and companies can transfer, however can I am going to Rwanda or Angola on a Nigerian passport simply? Connectivity is one other difficulty – can I fly instantly from South Africa to the DRC? So many shifting components make implementation onerous. But when technocrats are dedicated, the frictions are surmountable. It’s a strong idea on paper, however we’re falling quick in implementation.”

The present layers of regulation are additionally a bugbear for the cash switch enterprise.

“We’d like to be in each African market. Egypt, for instance, is difficult to enter on account of regulatory necessities. It’s important to respect each nation’s sovereignty. Fee programs tie into steadiness of funds and foreign money reserves. Every central financial institution needs management over their very own currencies. So regulation is a big problem.”

It may well take corporations like Verto as much as three years to navigate the laws of only one nation.

“We’re a venture-backed enterprise. We’ve raised institutional capital exactly as a result of it is a massive drawback to resolve. A part of that capital goes towards securing regulatory permission – paying consultants, authorized consultants and so forth. It depends upon the regulatory framework. As soon as we enter, we have to get boots on the bottom, purchase prospects, construct a model, and earn belief earlier than we scale. However that course of additionally creates a moat; not everybody can simply launch in 20 international locations in a single day,” he says.

Verto and Oyetayo are optimistic in regards to the future and have expansive plans.

“We’re planning to develop into North Africa. The character of what we do means we want regulatory permission in most international locations. We’re engaged on Egypt – it’s a big market however has capital controls we have to navigate. We’re additionally doing extra work within the francophone area,” he says.

“All issues being equal, in 5 years’ time, we’ll be the first non-bank monetary establishment for cross-border funds out and in of Africa.”

A daring prediction. Oyetayo might not have a lot time to play poker within the evenings lately, as he has two babies. But, clearly, he nonetheless likes to guess on his future.