Building a $47 million fintech to repair cross-border funds for African travellers is an enormous feat. But getting previous embassy visas? That’s a bug no line of code can repair. Before launching Timon, co-founders Oluwatomi Ayorinde and Chizaram Ucheaga spent years navigating the frustrations of travelling on a Nigerian passport—from rationing bodily money envelopes in India to watching financial institution playing cards fail in Paris. They channeled these complications into constructing an impartial multi-currency journey card, scaling to over 100,000 customers throughout 16 African markets. But when US crypto accelerator Alliance backed the startup, acquainted border limitations resurfaced: whereas the funding funds arrived in simply two weeks, an expired US visa meant just one founder might board the aircraft to California. In this version of Digital Nomads, EMMANUEL NWOSU traces how two Nigerian founders relocated to Nairobi to engineer a $47M journey stack—and why bodily borders stay the last word bottleneck for African entrepreneurs.
Securing an invite to Y Combinator (YC), the Silicon Valley startup accelerator, is a milestone for any startup founder—till the logistical hurdle of securing a US visa threatens to derail it.
Oluwatomi Ayorinde, co-founder of Timon, a startup that points playing cards to frequent travellers, learnt this the arduous method in 2016 when his earlier startup, Mobile Forms, was invited to interview for YC’s California headquarters. It was his first time within the US, and he had little or no time to arrange.
Facing a backlog on the American Embassy in Lagos that threatened to expire of time for his or her interview window, Ayorinde and his workforce scrambled for assist. Investor Kola Aina of Ventures Platform, which had backed the startup, intervened, in keeping with Ayorinde, reaching out to contacts who might assist expedite their visa interviews on the US embassy. The embassy finally granted the visas with days to spare.
“Have you ever tried calling an embassy line? Nobody picks it,” Ayorinde stated.
Mobile Forms didn’t safe admission throughout that cycle, but the expertise left a long-lasting impression. It was one of many many friction factors Ayorinde would encounter whereas travelling on a Nigerian passport—a actuality that led him to resume his US visa even with out fast journey plans.
The journeys that got here earlier than Timon
In 2010, Ayorinde selected India over a grasp’s diploma. He had satisfied his dad and mom to let him pursue a three-month skilled course in Systems, Applications, and Products (SAP) software program, which he thought-about a profitable talent on the time. Relatively few folks had the certification, in keeping with him, and learning in India was cheaper than pursuing a grasp’s diploma.
Accessing cash was the issue. His mom relied on Nigerians travelling to India to deliver him money. On one event, her pastor delivered it. Ayorinde saved the money in an envelope and spent it step by step.
In 2011, he joined SAP, the German software program firm, and was despatched to the nation for a seven-day work occasion. He spent a full day queuing on the German embassy to submit his software, and the visa arrived so late that he missed the primary two days, in keeping with him.
“It was a seven-day event, and when the visa came out, they gave me a visa for that exact seven days,” he stated.
Germany additionally uncovered him to the difficulties of spending cash overseas. Ayorinde stated he relied on a GTBank greenback card, issued by the Nigerian tier-1 lender, which he might fund by swapping naira for {dollars} by way of the financial institution. Some funds went by way of. Others failed.
Chizaram Ucheaga, who would later turn into Ayorinde’s co-founder at Timon, had related experiences.
In 2013, he travelled to Kenya for per week to assist a US firm gather information for a medical facility it was supporting. He carried money and relied on his host to pay for issues. His GTBank greenback card labored inconsistently on later journeys to the UK and the US. In 2018, on a visit to France, the cardboard failed in the future, and he handed money to a different traveller who paid with a international fintech card.
By then, each founders had skilled the constraints of Nigerian financial institution playing cards overseas, though their travels had additionally opened them as much as new alternatives.
Travel additionally modified how each males labored. Ayorinde stated he conceived the concept for his first enterprise in Kenya, which introduced him again to Nigeria to construct it.
“My best ideas come when I’m not in Nigeria,” Ayorinde stated. “I think I started to realise that if I really wanted to rest, it was going out of the environment that I’m already used to and being in a whole different environment. That was rest for me, and that got my brain thinking, because the first idea for my first business was right there in Kenya.”
To afford extra journeys, he stopped planning separate holidays. He prolonged work journeys by three to 5 days and lined the additional prices from financial savings.
Building a enterprise for nomads
During a later go to to Kenya, Ayorinde started to understand what travelling did for his work. Being away from Nigeria gave him room to assume, meet folks, and expertise other ways of residing. It was throughout that journey that he conceived the concept for his first enterprise, which finally introduced him again to Nigeria to construct it.
Over the years, he additionally developed a option to journey with out spending an excessive amount of. Rather than plan separate holidays, he prolonged work journeys by three to 5 days, utilizing the additional time to discover whereas overlaying his private bills from financial savings. The UK was an exception. He had cousins who might accommodate him, making spontaneous visits comparatively reasonably priced.
Ucheaga stated travelling additionally modified his expectations of on a regular basis life. Beyond the issue of creating funds, he started to note the distinction in public providers and infrastructure between Nigeria and different international locations.
“It kind of opened my eyes to see how things work in different places,” he stated. “Sometimes Nigeria just sells you the short end of the stick. You just assume that that’s how it is and that’s how it will be forever. But then when you travel around, and you see that people could get a better quality of life, they can demand more from the government, and the government can do better for the people.”
Years later, these experiences would affect the founders’ determination to construct Timon and finally relocate from Nigeria to Kenya, the place they believed they might construct a enterprise serving travellers throughout a number of international locations.
Moving to Kenya
South Africa was Ayorinde’s first alternative when he thought-about leaving Nigeria. He had visited Cape Town, appreciated it, and secured a South African work allow. He needed someplace near house, a few six-hour flight away. He additionally thought-about the UK, but his software for a Global Talent Visa (GTV) was rejected.
Kenya received him over. He had offered his earlier enterprise, PayForce (previously CrowdForce), which later bought him into YC and was acquired by FairMoney in 2023, so he had financial savings to make the transfer. On a go to to Kenya, he met founders who satisfied him that Nairobi supplied higher alternatives.
“I felt that I connected better with people there,” he stated.
He additionally observed that many enterprise capital corporations had their predominant workplaces there. In Europe, America, or South Africa, he felt he could be “just another taxpayer”.
He returned together with his spouse for 3 weeks over Christmas to check it. By the tip, she was satisfied. The couple agreed to spend two to 3 years in Kenya, after which spend a number of years in a number of international locations.
Ucheaga was drawn by Kenya’s high quality of life and rising tech ecosystem. He had spent years constructing companies in Nigeria, together with Clymb Technologies, an agent banking startup. But he felt a world journey enterprise wanted a clearer head than Nigeria allowed.
In Kenya, he discovered a unique expertise. When electrical energy failed, he stated residents might name their energy supplier and have the fault resolved, generally inside half-hour. He additionally discovered that networking occurred outdoors formal enterprise conferences. After work, he might play padel and meet buyers or different founders on the court docket.
Relocating, nevertheless, got here with immigration hurdles. Ucheaga stated they initially thought-about Kenya’s digital nomad allow but finally pursued work permits with the assistance of an immigration lawyer.
The transfer additionally gave each founders proximity to buyers and a possibility to construct Timon, which they launched in 2024, past the Nigerian market.
A mobility drawback that wanted an answer
Ayorinde’s thought for Timon got here from a London foreign money trade store throughout a UK journey. He had gone there to alter money into kilos when he noticed an aged man being issued a journey card. Curious, he requested why the person couldn’t use his common financial institution card. The attendant defined that the cardboard let travellers maintain completely different currencies and trade cash earlier than a visit, avoiding repeated conversion charges.
It planted the thought that playing cards could possibly be issued for a selected function outdoors conventional banks.
“So I would say that travelling gives you better ideas,” Ayorinde stated. “You see how people live their lives very differently from what you’re used to. It also sparks conversations and ideas.”
He and Ucheaga had met in 2021 by way of an entrepreneurship programme at their church. According to Ucheaga, he was the primary particular person Ayorinde known as after promoting PayForce. They requested greater than 20 folks whether or not they nonetheless struggled to pay when travelling overseas. Many stated sure. Ucheaga stated Timon connects on to Visa, the funds large and card issuing community, somewhat than leaning on financial institution infrastructure, a course of that took greater than 15 months with Visa and a financial institution.
They launched Timon in September 2024. By the second quarter of 2026, it had processed greater than $47 million in transactions and crossed 100,000 customers throughout 16 African markets, Ayorinde informed Disrupt Africa. The startup earns income by way of transaction and repair charges, in addition to revenue-sharing agreements with companions.
Two founders, one visa
In July 2026, Timon secured an undisclosed funding from Alliance, a US-based crypto accelerator. According to Ucheaga, the founders had utilized unsuccessfully twice and practically deserted their third try till an Alliance founder personally inspired them to use once more.
They had been accepted inside hours of the interview. Alliance accomplished its due diligence and wired the cash inside two weeks, Ucheaga stated.
“They move fast,” Ucheaga stated of US buyers. “They have a conviction. They move fast because they won’t lose this big opportunity. It’s almost like they can see into the future.”
Then got here the visa limitation, as Ayorinde faced in 2016. Ucheaga couldn’t attend the in-person classes from Alliance within the US.
“I couldn’t go for the trip because my own B2 visa had expired years ago,” he stated. “Sadly, I didn’t have the foresight like Tomi [Ayorinde] did to rush when [US President] Trump was coming in to get his own, so I couldn’t make it. There were some online sessions, so I was able to join that, and it was helpful getting [in touch with] founders who Alliance funded before, who built great stuff, learning from them as well.”
Visa restrictions stay a broader impediment to African mobility. According to the African Development Bank’s 2025 Africa Visa Openness Index, African travellers nonetheless wanted visas prematurely for 51.1% of potential country-to-country journey combos inside the continent, up from 47.1% in 2024.
The price of travelling shouldn’t be restricted to flights, lodging, and international trade (FX) costs. Delays or restrictions on entry may decide which skilled alternatives a traveller can pursue in particular person.
Ayorinde and Ucheaga have constructed a enterprise that helps Africans spend cash overseas. But the Alliance expertise confirmed the bounds of what they might remedy. Both founders had secured a spot within the accelerator. Only one might make the journey.
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