MEET THE SOMALI REFUGEE WHO WENT FROM FLEEING WAR TO BUILDING A $5B FINTECH EMPIRE

THEVENTUREROOM MEET THE SOMALI REFUGEE WHO WENT FROM FLEEING WAR TO BUILDING A $5B FINTECH EMPIRE THE BREAKDOWN THEVENTUREROOM WELCOME TO BRITAIN 1988 In 1988, war reached Ismail Ahmed's home city of Hargeisa His family helped smuggle him out of the country in a tipper truck, beginning a journey that took weeks, eventually arriving in Britain as a refugee. EARLY DAYS THEVENTUREROOM Ismail began rebuilding his life from scratch. He worked low-paid jobs, including picking strawberries in Kent, while studying economics and sending much of what he earned back to his family. But transferring that money home was slow, expensive and unreliable. THE PROBLEM THEVENTUREROOM Traditional money-transfer services depended on banks, cash agents and physical stores. For migrant workers, sending money home often meant high fees, long queues, slow transfers and very little transparency. CRAZY MOMENT THEVENTUREROOM Years later, Ismail worked on a United Nations money-transfer programme in East Africa. While there, he uncovered alleged fraud and corruption inside the programme and chose to report it. He was warned that speaking out could damage his career. Then he lost his job. TURNING POINT THEVENTUREROOM Ismail challenged the way he had been treated and was later awarded £200,000 in compensation. Rather than simply protecting the money, he used it to build the solution he had wished existed years earlier. In 2010, he co-founded WorldRemit in London. THE BUSINESS worldremit money hands THEVENTUREROOM WorldRemit allowed people to send money internationally through a website or smartphone, without relying entirely on physical transfer shops. For millions of families, sending money across borders suddenly became faster, easier and more accessible. THE RISE THEVENTUREROOM WorldRemit expanded across more than 100 countries and attracted hundreds of millions of dollars in investment. The company later became part of Zepz, the group behind WorldRemit and Sendwave. NOW THEVENTUREROOM In 2021, WorldRemit's parent company rebranded as Zepz and raised $292M, taking the company $5B valuation. For Ismail, the success created the freedom to step away from running the company and focus on his next chapter. THE LESSON THEVENTUREROOM Ismail didn't escape the system. He rebuilt it. The same process that made it difficult for him to support his family eventually became the foundation of his company. His refugee experience was not separate from the business idea. It was the reason the idea existed. THANKS FOR READING