The Analysis: Jamboo
🇬🇧📲 Jamboo: Lifestyle banking for African expats, blending UK banking with seamless cross-border finance solutions.
Today, we’ll take a look at Jamboo, which has launched its Equity Crowdfunding Campaign last week at Crowdcube platform (already overfunded). Expect a 7-minute read, and please note this is not financial advice.
Founding Team 👨🏼💻
Takwana Tyaranini, Co-Founder & COO: A City, University of London alumnus, Tyaranini co-founded Senditoo, a fintech company specializing in remittances, e-commerce, and telecoms. Known for navigating complex markets, he expanded Senditoo’s reach to 39 African countries. Despite facing operational setbacks, Tyaranini led the company’s recovery through strategic partnerships, strengthening its network.
Innocent Chinyama, Co-Founder & CIO: An SDA Bocconi graduate, Chinyama brings a rich background in finance with roles across investment banking, private equity, and consulting. He previously led M&A and institutional equity sales at Macquarie Bank, developing strong expertise in deal-making and emerging markets. As CEO of AfriAxis, he built advisory frameworks promoting partnerships and investments across Africa.
Ciaran McSharry, CEO and Board Director: A seasoned executive with extensive experience in finance and leadership, Ciaran has held CEO First Capital Bank Zimbabwe, driving strategic growth and transformation. He was instrumental in rebranding from Barclays, listing on the Victoria Falls Exchange, and securing key international credit lines. His career reflects strong governance, regulatory insight, and board-level impact.
Funding 💰
Investors
Rutenhuro Moyo: $420k (2023)
Diaspora Kapita: $600k (2024)
Total Funding Amount: £855k
Last Valuation: £7.1 million
Business Model 🧩
Value Proposition
Jamboo offers a unique lifestyle banking platform tailored to African expats in the UK. Addressing the need for accessible cross-border finance, it combines UK banking services, easy money transfers, and home-country investment options, all on one app. Jamboo’s customer-centric design and focus on diaspora needs distinguish it from other digital banks, enabling meaningful connections back home.
Customers
Jamboo serves African expatriates in the UK, offering simple, low-cost financial services. They value easy transfers, transparent fees, and fast access to home-country investments, addressing barriers like high fees and complex processes.
Offering
App-based UK bank account
Local Transfers (UK): Faster Payments & CHAPS
Mobile Data Plans
Monetization
Mobile Data Plans (live)
Debit card transaction fees (planned)
FX (planned)
International transactions (planned)
Investments fees (planned)
Operations
Jamboo Limited, a co-brand of Payload Ltd., offers payment services in the UK via Transact Payments Ltd license (Gibraltar).
Growth 📊
Customers:
January 2024: 2k (people interested on the beta app test)
October 2024: 566 app downloads (soft launch)
Market Size 🌍
The UK fintech industry is expected to experience robust growth from 2024 to 2032, with the market size anticipated to expand from an estimated £9.79 billion in 2023 to around £26.49 billion by 2032. This growth reflects a CAGR of approximately 10.9%, indicating steady progress as more consumers and businesses adopt fintech solutions.
For the African diaspora in the UK, which makes up about 2.5% of the population, this market growth also presents notable opportunities. Assuming this proportion remains stable, the fintech market for the African diaspora could increase from roughly £245 million in 2023 to about £662 million by 2032. This estimate, however, is conservative; it doesn’t account for potentially higher usage of FX and international transfer services within the African diaspora compared to the general population, nor does it factor in migration and demographic shifts that could further contribute to market expansion.
The fintech market’s projected growth is underpinned by innovations in digital payments, personal finance management, and mobile banking, which continue to reshape the financial landscape. The strong growth outlook emphasizes both the mainstream appeal of fintech and its potential in niche markets, like the African diaspora.
Overall, these projections suggest substantial potential for fintech companies in the UK. With increased fintech adoption, the African diaspora segment represents a promising market, likely to benefit from more tailored financial products and services over the next decade.
Competition 🤼♂️
Eversend
Based in Uganda, Eversend offers a multi-currency e-wallet tailored to the African diaspora, enabling seamless currency exchanges, spending, and transfers at competitive rates. Licensed in the UK, France, Nigeria, Uganda, and the US, Eversend has a user base of +900k across multiple countries, supporting African expats in connecting financially with their home countries.
Revolut
Revolut is a digital banking app with +10 million users in the UK, primarily offering personal finance tools, currency exchange, and international money transfers. While it doesn’t specifically target the African diaspora, its global services provide accessible options for users looking to connect with various regions, making it a potential alternative for African expatriates seeking cross-border financial services.
LemFi
LemFi, with 1 million users globally, supports African expatriates with a focus on secure and fast cross-border transfers. Licensed in the UK, Canada, and the US, it addresses financial challenges for the diaspora, particularly in international remittances. LemFi is expanding into the EU and offers options for money transfers tailored to African expats, positioning it as a strong competitor to Jamboo in the diaspora market.
Flutterwave
Headquartered in Nigeria, Flutterwave serves +1 million users worldwide and provides comprehensive payment solutions aimed at businesses and the African diaspora. It operates under licenses in multiple countries, including the UK, EU, Kenya, and the US. With its robust payment infrastructure, Flutterwave supports global merchants and offers direct remittance options, making it a significant player for African expats managing funds across borders.
Competitiveness 💪🏼
Jamboo’s competitiveness is shaped by its planned digital banking and Africa-focused services, evaluated here based on anticipated short-term launches. Revolut is currently a leader in digital banking, but Jamboo shows potential to closely follow with offerings like debit cards, multi-currency accounts, and international transfers. In comparison to African-focused competitors such as LemFi, Eversend, and Flutterwave, Jamboo is well-positioned to address gaps in UK debit card availability and offer more complete digital banking functionalities.
In international services, Revolut and Eversend hold an advantage through robust SWIFT & SEPA transfers and seamless card usage abroad. Jamboo aims to serve similar global needs, while also catering specifically to the African diaspora. Planned investment features, like African stocks and bonds, would differentiate Jamboo among African-focused fintechs, as no competitors currently offer such options. For diaspora customers wanting broad financial access within Africa, this could be highly attractive, though those seeking comprehensive investment tools may still look to established platforms like Interactive Brokers or Saxo Bank.
On Africa-specific financial products, Jamboo’s proposed services—including African ESG investments, African currency holdings, and expanded transfer options—offer a notable edge. To further strengthen its competitive stance, Jamboo might consider broader African currency support and transfers to at least 15 African countries, areas where Revolut and LemFi currently excel. By enhancing these unique offerings, Jamboo can establish itself as a digital banking choice that connects convenience with African-focused financial engagement.
Roadmap 🧭
Launch more fintech solutions:
Account solution: Contactless Debit card, Virtual cards and BACs direct credit.
International services: Transfers (SEPA & SWIFT), Multicurrency account and FX.
Investment services: African Bonds, African ESG investments and Stock Trading (African stocks).
Launch in the EEA market
What we like 👍
Experienced Team: Strong founding team with extensive African financial services experience.
Growing Market: Attractive opportunity as African diaspora fintech gains competitiveness.
Strategic Partnership: Collaboration with D.Labs, builder of multiple unicorn startups.
Go-to-Market Boost: Partnership with Integrated Finance strengthens market entry strategy.
Industry Growth: UK fintech market projected to grow at a 10.9% CAGR by 2034.
What we don’t like 👎
Market Competition: High-street banks and competitors like Revolut could target indirectly the African diaspora market, limiting Jamboo’s potential growth.
High-Risk Transfers: Money transfers from the UK/EEA to Africa may face disruptions due to changing provider risk policies.
Growth Pace: A soft launch with only 566 downloads in three months suggests limited early traction and uncertain demand.
Exit potential: May face limitations as acquisition interest hinges heavily on niche appeal, growth, and user engagement.