Kolawole: Business Growth Depends on Workable Payment Solutions

CEO of Reeple, a cross-border payment infrastructure company, Oluwatomisin Kolawole, speaks about the growth of payment solutions across Africa and how Reeple is building infrastructure that will address the hiccups in cross-border payment, among other issues. Emma Okonji presents the excerpts:

Given your experience in building cross-border payment solutions for African businesses, how has Reeple enabled business growth across Africa?

Reeple has enabled business growth by removing one of the biggest barriers African businesses face: the difficulty of moving money quickly, affordably, and reliably across borders. Many SMEs, freelancers, agencies, and growing companies across Africa lose opportunities because payment delays, high FX costs, and fragmented banking systems make it difficult to serve international customers or pay global partners.

At Reeple, we are building infrastructure that helps businesses send and receive payments across more than 50 countries with greater speed, transparency, and confidence. Today, we are supporting scores of businesses across Africa with remittance and payout infrastructure for vendor payments, freelancer payments, business remittances, and recurring cross-border transactions.
Our growth has shown us that when payments work, businesses grow. They can hire better talent, serve global clients, expand into new markets, and operate with less fear around settlement delays or failed transactions. That is the impact we are building for.

What informed Reeple’s expansion plan from a Nigeria-focused payment solution into a broader platform, enabling seamless payments across 50 countries?

The expansion was driven by customer demand and by the reality that Africa’s payment problem is not limited to Nigeria. We started with a Nigeria-focused use case, but very quickly we saw the same pain points across the continent: businesses needed to pay suppliers, freelancers, staff, and partners in different countries, but existing systems were slow, expensive, and unreliable.
Our customers were not thinking only locally. They were already doing business across Africa, North America, Europe, and other international markets. So, we had to build for where the market was going, not just where it started.

That informed our move into broader cross-border infrastructure supporting payments to more than 50 countries. For us, the mission is clear: make African businesses globally connected. Nigeria gave us a strong foundation, but Africa is the opportunity. Our expansion reflects the scale of the problem and the ambition of the businesses we serve.

Trust is a major concern in cross-border payments. In what ways has Reeple been able to address the issue to boost operational confidence?

Trust is everything in payments. Businesses are not just sending money; they are trusting you with payroll, supplier relationships, customer commitments, and reputation. At Reeple, we address trust through compliance, transparency, partnerships, and execution.

We have secured 12 banking and payment partners, which gives us stronger corridor coverage and more resilient payout infrastructure. We also operate with a compliance-led mindset, including customer verification, transaction monitoring, partner due diligence, and clear internal controls. Our Canadian payment licence further strengthens our regulatory foundation as we scale North American corridors into Africa.

We also build trust through communication. Businesses want to know what is happening with their money. Reeple gives them clearer visibility, predictable fees, and faster settlement, reducing the uncertainty that usually comes with cross-border transfers.
Trust is not a slogan for us. It is built every day through reliable execution, responsible compliance, and a product that consistently delivers.

African countries face poor infrastructure challenges that limit cross-border payments. What are the implications and the way forward?

Poor payment infrastructure limits trade, investment, entrepreneurship, and financial inclusion. When businesses cannot move money easily across borders, they lose time, revenue, and competitiveness. SMEs struggle to pay suppliers, freelancers struggle to receive international earnings, and companies are forced into informal or inefficient channels.

The implication is that Africa’s digital economy cannot reach its full potential if money movement remains fragmented. We cannot talk about continental trade, remote work, exports, and startup growth without solving payments.

The way forward is collaboration. Fintechs, banks, regulators, and infrastructure providers need to build interoperable systems that are faster, safer, and more inclusive. We need stronger local rails, better FX transparency, clearer regulations, and more partnerships between traditional institutions and technology companies.

At Reeple, we believe the future is not about replacing banks; it is about connecting rails, improving trust, and making cross-border payments work for real businesses.

Fintech funding from foreign investors, especially in payment solutions, is dropping in Africa. How is this trend affecting the operations of Reeple as a payment solution company?

The funding environment has become more disciplined, and honestly, that is not entirely negative. It forces companies to focus on real fundamentals: revenue, margins, compliance, customer retention, and sustainable growth. For Reeple, that discipline aligns with how we are building.

We are a Techstars-backed company and have raised funding from external backers, including Techstars, Kaleo VC, Zenith Bank and other corporate and Angel investors. But we are not building a company that survives only on fundraising cycles. We are building around transaction volume, real customers, and infrastructure that solves an urgent market problem.

Today, we process over millions of dollars in payment volume, with over 50 businesses. So while the funding slowdown affects how quickly companies can hire or expand, it also creates room for serious operators to stand out.
Our response is simple: build with grit, prove traction, manage capital carefully, and earn investor confidence through execution.

How has Reeple’s platform helped in reducing the friction traditionally associated with African cross-border payments such as high transaction costs, settlement delays, complex banking processes, and fragmented payment corridors?

Reeple reduces friction by simplifying the payment experience from end to end. Traditionally, an African business dealing with cross-border payments may face multiple banks, unclear FX rates, long settlement timelines, manual documentation, and uncertainty around whether the payment will arrive on time. That is exhausting for businesses that simply want to operate.

Our platform brings multiple rails together so businesses can make payments more seamlessly across markets. We reduce settlement delays, provide clearer pricing, and support more dependable payouts into different countries. Our model includes transparent fees, including deposit fees into multi-currency wallets and FX fees typically within a controlled range, rather than hidden charges that surprise customers.

We also help businesses avoid the complexity of managing every corridor themselves. Instead of navigating fragmented systems alone, they can rely on Reeple’s infrastructure, partner network, and operational support.
The result is simple: businesses spend less time chasing payments and more time growing.

What payment support package does Reeple have for SMEs and companies that need dependable payment access across Africa and international markets?

Reeple supports SMEs and companies through a practical payment infrastructure package built around their real operating needs. This includes cross-border payouts, business remittances, vendor payments, freelancer payments, recurring payroll support, and multi-currency wallet functionality.

For businesses working with African talent or suppliers, Reeple helps them fund payments, convert currencies, and send money across supported corridors with greater speed and transparency. For African SMEs serving international customers, we help improve access to reliable payment rails so they can participate more confidently in global commerce.

We are especially focused on companies that need dependable access across Africa and international markets but do not have the resources to build their own payment operations. Our goal is to give them infrastructure that feels simple on the front end, even though the back end involves banking partners, compliance checks, FX, settlement, and reconciliation.
In short, Reeple gives SMEs the payment confidence usually reserved for larger companies.

What stands Reeple out from other payment solutions companies in Africa and what is your unique selling proposition?

What stands Reeple out is our corridor-first approach, our focus on African businesses and freelancers, and our ability to combine payments, compliance, partnerships, and financial access into one infrastructure layer.

Many payment companies solve one part of the problem. Some are wallets, some are remittance platforms, some focus on local payments, and others focus on enterprise clients. Reeple is building specifically for the cross-border realities of African SMEs, freelancers, and businesses connected to North America, Europe, and wider global markets.

Our unique selling proposition is this: Reeple helps African businesses move money across borders faster, more transparently, and more reliably through infrastructure designed for Africa’s real payment challenges.

We are also building a stronger long-term advantage through transaction data, partner relationships, compliance infrastructure, and future credit-building use cases for immigrant customers in the US and Canada who send payments to Africa. That gives us both a product advantage and a data advantage.

How will you compare the effect of government regulations on payments across various countries?

Government regulations vary significantly across countries. In some markets, regulation is clear, structured, and supportive of innovation. In others, the rules are still evolving, which can make it harder for payment companies to launch products, onboard partners, or scale quickly.

The challenge with cross-border payments is that one transaction can touch multiple jurisdictions. A payment from Canada to Nigeria, for example, may involve customer verification, FX rules, anti-money laundering requirements, settlement partners, and local payout regulations. So, companies like Reeple must think beyond one country and build compliance across corridors.
Good regulation creates trust. It protects customers, reduces fraud, and gives serious companies a framework to operate responsibly. But inconsistent or unclear regulation can slow innovation and increase costs.

At Reeple, our view is that regulation is not the enemy. The best fintech companies will be those that build with regulators, respect local requirements, and still deliver products that customers love.

What is your greatest challenge with government regulations on payments and what do you think governments should do to support business growth?

The greatest challenge is inconsistency across markets. Every country has its own licensing requirements, reporting obligations, FX rules, documentation standards, and interpretation of risk. For a company trying to support payments across many countries, this creates complexity and cost.

Another challenge is speed. Innovation moves quickly, but regulatory processes can be slow. When approvals, clarifications, or partnerships take too long, businesses and customers suffer because needed solutions are delayed.

Governments can support growth by creating clearer fintech frameworks, improving licence transparency, supporting regulatory sandboxes, and encouraging collaboration between banks and technology companies. They should also prioritise interoperability so payment systems can connect more easily across African markets.

Most importantly, regulators should distinguish between responsible innovators and bad actors. Companies that invest in compliance, customer protection, and transparent operations should have a clearer path to scale.
Strong regulation and innovation can coexist. In fact, Africa needs both.

How have your compliance policies helped businesses across Africa to send and receive payments seamlessly?

Our compliance policies help businesses because they create the trust foundation required for seamless payments. In cross-border payments, speed without compliance is dangerous. But compliance without good execution can become slow and frustrating. At Reeple, we try to balance both.

We use verification, transaction monitoring, partner due diligence, risk-based reviews, and internal controls to ensure that payments are processed responsibly. This protects our customers, our partners, and the financial ecosystem. It also gives banks and payment partners more confidence in working with us.

For businesses, the benefit is practical. Strong compliance reduces failed transactions, account issues, partner friction, and unnecessary delays. It also allows us to support more corridors responsibly and build long-term relationships with financial institutions.

Our Canadian payment licence and 12 banking/payment partners reflect our commitment to building properly, not cutting corners.
Ultimately, compliance helps us make payments smoother because it gives everyone in the transaction chain confidence.

As CEO and Co-Founder of Reeple, you are focused on solving the persistent barriers African businesses face in cross-border payments. What challenges did you encounter in solving the barriers and how were you able to overcome them?

The challenges have been real. We have had to deal with fragmented banking rails, slow settlement systems, difficult partner integrations, compliance complexity, customer education, and the pressure of building trust in a sector where mistakes can be costly.
One of the biggest lessons has been that payments are not just about technology. They are about relationships, regulation, operations, and resilience. You need strong partners, strong compliance, strong engineering, and the grit to keep going when things break.

We overcame these challenges by staying close to customers, building corridor by corridor, securing banking and payment partnerships, strengthening our compliance posture, and focusing on execution rather than hype. We also learned to be patient but relentless.

Today, Reeple has grown from a Nigeria-focused solution into a Techstars-backed company supporting payments to more than 50 countries. That progress came from persistence, focus, and a deep belief that African businesses deserve world-class financial infrastructure.