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Neobank for African migrants in Europe
Key people at Moneco.
Moneco was founded in 2022 by Jimmy Kuassi KUMAKO (Co-Founder) and Bilal Dahlab (Founder) and Shams Radjabaly (Founder).
Moneco is a neobank targeting the migrant communities in Europe, starting with the African diaspora. We are making banking easier and more affordable for underserved communities, starting with a current account, a payment card and free remittances. The long term vision is to turn Moneco into a one-stop-shop where all of their financial needs will be addressed.
Moneco is a Paris-based neobank built specifically for African migrants in Europe, starting with the African diaspora. The company offers a mobile-first financial platform that provides users with a European (Irish) IBAN, a U.S. account, and a USDC wallet—all within a single app. Its core product suite includes a current account, an international Visa debit card, and low-cost or free cross-border transfers, with a strong focus on remittances to Africa. Moneco aims to solve the pain points of high fees, slow transfers, and complex onboarding that many migrants face when sending money home or managing multi-currency finances.
Since its founding in 2022 and participation in Y Combinator’s Summer 2022 cohort, Moneco has raised around $1.15 million in prior capital and recently closed a $146,700 RegCF SAFE round on Wefunder at a $20 million valuation. The company reports explosive revenue growth (up over 65,000% YoY as of FY2023) and is actively expanding its product set beyond basic banking into a full-stack financial solution for underserved migrant communities.
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Moneco was founded in 2022 by three African tech entrepreneurs: Bilal Dahlab (Algerian), Jimmy Kuassi Kumako (Beninese), and Shams Radjabaly (Malagasy). The idea emerged from their shared experiences and observations of the financial challenges faced by African migrants in Europe—particularly in France—where traditional banks often exclude or overcharge newcomers. Bilal Dahlab, who grew up in Geneva in a multicultural environment, combined his background in strategic consulting, finance, and blockchain to build a solution tailored to diaspora communities.
The founders recognized that African migrants frequently juggle multiple accounts across continents, pay high remittance fees, and struggle with fragmented financial services. Moneco was created to simplify this reality by offering a single, accessible app that combines European and U.S. banking capabilities with crypto-native features like USDC wallets on Solana. Early traction came through strong adoption in the African diaspora in France, with thousands of downloads on Android and a growing user base relying on Moneco for daily banking and cross-border transfers.
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Moneco sits at the convergence of several powerful trends: the rise of neobanks in Europe, the global expansion of embedded finance, and the growing importance of remittances in emerging markets. With over $100 billion sent annually from Europe to Africa, the remittance corridor is both massive and ripe for disruption—dominated by legacy players charging high fees and offering slow settlement times.
By targeting African migrants in Europe, Moneco is tapping into a highly motivated, digitally native, and financially active segment that has long been underserved by mainstream banks. At the same time, the company is riding the wave of open banking, instant payments (SEPA Instant), and stablecoins, which are lowering the cost and complexity of cross-border value transfer.
Moneco also reflects a broader shift in fintech: solutions built *by* and *for* specific communities, rather than one-size-fits-all products. As more founders from emerging markets build for diasporas and frontier economies, Moneco exemplifies how localized insight can drive global scalability. Its hybrid fiat-crypto model further positions it as a bridge between traditional finance and the next generation of digital financial infrastructure.
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Moneco is well-positioned to become a leading pan-European financial platform for African migrants, with potential to expand into other diaspora communities and eventually into Africa itself. The next phase will likely involve deepening its product stack—adding savings, credit, insurance, and localized payout rails in African countries—while leveraging its growing user base to improve unit economics and extend runway.
The company’s recent fundraising at a $20 million valuation suggests strong investor confidence in its mission and early metrics, but sustaining hypergrowth will require scaling operations efficiently, navigating regulatory complexity across multiple jurisdictions, and continuing to differentiate in an increasingly crowded neobank landscape.
Looking ahead, Moneco’s success could influence how fintechs approach inclusion: not just as a compliance or CSR goal, but as a core product and business strategy. If executed well, Moneco won’t just be a neobank for African migrants in Europe—it could become the default financial operating system for a generation of globally mobile Africans.
Key people at Moneco.
Moneco was founded in 2022 by Jimmy Kuassi KUMAKO (Co-Founder) and Bilal Dahlab (Founder) and Shams Radjabaly (Founder).
