Baluwo is a Barcelona-based fintech operating a "cash-to-goods" remittance platform that lets African migrants in Europe and the US pay for food, electricity, mobile top-ups, construction materials and health services for family members back home, instead of sending cash. Founded in 2016, it partners with over 1,000 local shops and utility/telecom providers across roughly 14-17 African countries and expanded to Latin America in 2024, processing millions of transactions annually.
SectorsFintech, Remittances, Cash-to-goods payments
Start-up MapFintech › Cross-border payments & remittances
Founders
J
Josep Arroyo
Founder & CEO
Global models 5
SSendwave (Wave Mobile Money)
USA · www.sendwave.com ↗
Digital remittance platform focused on sending money to African countries, the same diaspora-to-Africa transfer corridor Baluwo targets.
$220M+Comparable
WWorldRemit (Zepz)
United Kingdom · www.worldremit.com ↗
Digital remittance company serving diaspora communities sending money and airtime/goods to Africa, Asia and Latin America, closely matching Baluwo's cross-border transfer model.
$940M+Comparable
CChipper Cash
USA/Africa · chippercash.com ↗
Cross-border mobile money and payments platform for the African diaspora, overlapping with Baluwo's remittance-to-utility-payment use case.
$300M+Comparable
NNALA
Tanzania/UK · nala.money ↗
Digital remittance app enabling diaspora users to send money directly for bills, airtime and goods in Africa, mirroring Baluwo's cash-to-goods approach.
$50M+Comparable
TTaptap Send
USA · taptapsend.com ↗
Mobile remittance app built specifically for immigrant diaspora communities sending money and mobile credit to family in Africa and Asia, a direct model comparable to Baluwo.
$150M+Comparable
In the same niche 8 others
See all in the Start-ups Map →
Notes: Most funded first
Investors 14
Open as list →
CCabiedes & Partners
cabiedes.com
CCreas
creas.es
44Founders Capital
www.4founderscapital.com
BBig Sur Ventures
www.bigsurventures.vc
DDozen Investments
thecrowdangel.com
LLanai Partners
lanai.vc
VViriditas Ventures
viriditasventures.com
I
Institut Català de Finances
www.icf.cat
G
G8i
J
Jordi Conejos
OOpen Value Foundation
P
Pep Casas
FFinRebel
OOpes Italia SICAF EuVECA
Funding rounds 3
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-03-10 | Seed (estimated) | €2M |
Creas
+4 more
|
| 2021-02-17 | Seed (estimated) | €483K |
Lead not disclosed
+1 more
|
| 2017-11-15 | Seed (estimated) | €600K |
Cabiedes & Partners
+4 more
|
News 1
Open as list →| Published | Article |
|---|---|
| 2024-12-25 |
Los business angels más activos en startups de 2024 ↗
El Referente
2024-12-25 |