Grey partners with Cellulant for East Africa expansion

By Edlyn Cardoza

In partnership with Cellulant, Grey has expanded its services into East Africa, kicking off with Kenya to address the difficulties of sending & receiving money abroad. Grey, a Y-combinator backed FinTech start-up, offers a unique international money transfer service that enables its users to send and receive international payments without restrictions quickly. Cellulant is the company’s payments processor powering its payouts to thousands of Grey’s customers.

In an exclusive ceremony attended by senior management from Grey and Cellulant at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Upperhill, Nairobi, on 25 May, the company showcased how users could create a virtual foreign USD, GBP, and EUR bank account for free. Users can receive payments and convert directly to Kenya Shillings or the Nigerian Naira. 

Grey’s instant currency exchange service enables its customers to have virtual international bank accounts for free, helping small businesses, freelancers, remote workers, and content creators in Kenya to enjoy a seamless payment process.

Today, thousands of young Kenyans access work opportunities in a rapidly growing gig economy through digital platforms. The online gig economy is fuelled by a burgeoning young workforce, internet and smartphone penetration, and mobile money proliferation. With Africa having the youngest workforce yet with high unemployment rates, online gig work provides alternative and accessible employment opportunities and a path to economic prosperity for the youthful workforce.

It was in this environment that Grey was conceptualised. Idorenyin Obong, Grey’s CEO, worked remotely for international companies but faced numerous challenges in accessing the foreign currency in his accounts. Grey was launched in 2021 by Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo, who wanted to help Nigerians easily exchange to local currency and access the foreign currencies in their accounts.

Grey allows Kenyans to get paid in their preferred foreign currency and withdraw directly to M-Pesa or their local bank account. Suppose you’re a traveller on a trip to Nairobi; you can convert any supported currencies to Kenyan Shillings, pay for services directly to M-Pesa, or withdraw to a local bank account.

Grey’s services are now available in Kenya and Nigeria with this launch via their website and will soon be available on the app stores.