Africa continues to conduct a significantly larger share of its trade with the rest of the world, according to a report by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
This translates to a constant need for major currencies like the U.S. dollar (USD), euro (EUR), and the British pound (GBP) and a demand for seamless international banking solutions.
Graph, a Canadian fintech company, looks to fill this need. By offering global banking solutions designed to simplify cross-border trade, Graph wants to empower African businesses to navigate the complexities of international trade with greater ease and efficiency.
One of Graph’s key offerings is its global payout solution, which allows businesses to make bulk payments in major currencies like USD, EUR, and GBP. An obvious use case is easily making payments to international suppliers and vendors.
The graph also offers USD bank accounts. Interested companies simply submit a few documents to Graph. Graph then leverages its partner network to issue a standard business bank account the same day, which can be managed directly on Graph.
This eliminates the traditional hurdles of opening foreign bank accounts, often riddled with paperwork and lengthy wait times.
So, how does this translate into real benefits for African businesses engaged in international trade? For importers, faster and easier payments to suppliers mean quicker access to the goods they need to keep their businesses running. The goal is to ensure they no longer have to navigate complex foreign exchange procedures or deal with slow settlement time.
Exporters also reap significant benefits. Faster settlements through Graph ensure they receive their money quicker, improving cash flow and allowing them to reinvest profits back into their businesses sooner.
Beyond quicker and easier transactions, businesses on Graph also enjoy lower transaction costs compared to what they incur when dealing with traditional banks. This means a bigger profit margin.
With more bank accounts denominated in foreign currencies such as EUR and GBP in the works, Graph looks to ensure businesses can manage all their international finances in one centralized location. This provides real-time access to transaction history and a consolidated view of global cash flow.
Corporate dollar cards complete Graph’s current product suite. The idea behind them is to enable businesses to create Visa dollar debit cards for corporate expenses and manage them in one place. So, a business can issue its marketing department a card with an advertising budget, for instance, track the expenses it incurs and close, freeze or unfreeze the card. This simplifies business expense management and provides a single source of truth for the company’s expenses.
The vision for Graph came from the founders’ unsatisfactory experiences with international banking solutions and conversations with other entrepreneurs. They found several options lacking in reliability and then set out to create the solution they wished was available to them.
“We wanted to build a reliable platform for streamlining international finance, based on the challenges we were facing and countless conversations with other founders. The idea was to nail down the reliability and convenience part when it comes to moving money abroad, so businesses can focus on their core operations without getting bogged down in complex international banking procedures,” Graph co-founder and CEO Paul Akubo noted.
“Graph streamlines the entire process, from account opening to currency conversions and international payments, all within a secure and user-friendly platform,” Paul added.
Based on customer reviews, Graph is succeeding with its plan. Beyond international traders, other types of businesses, ranging from startups to e-commerce enterprises, find the platform helpful. “As a startup with global operations, Graph’s simplified global payments product has been a lifesaver for us. The traditional hassles of cross-border transactions are now a thing of the past,” said Tunde Adewole, CEO of Bridgecard, one of Graph’s customers.
“The platform’s robust security measures and quick processing times have instilled confidence in our financial transactions. It’s not just a product; it’s a strategic asset for any startup aiming to expand its footprint internationally,” Adewole concluded.
So far, Graph, which has been in business for barely a year with much of that time spent in private beta, has hit the ground running. It has onboarded 100+ businesses and recorded over $100 million in processed transactions while getting into the Techstars Toronto Accelerator Program last year.
As for what’s on the horizon, Ebube Udochukwu, Product and Operations Lead at Graph, says the company is focused on adding more currencies and payout destinations. Expanding into Kenya and Ghana is also on the cards for the highly ambitious startup.
By simplifying cross-border transactions and offering a user-friendly platform for managing international finances, Graph is acting as a bridge between African businesses and the global marketplace, empowering them to participate more actively and profitably in global trade.
Ready to scale your business globally and streamline international transactions? Graph empowers you to manage finances seamlessly across borders — open and manage foreign currency accounts, make international payments, and issue corporate cards all in one place. Get started on Graph.
