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The fintech is turning diaspora remittances into collective investments in African businesses and property
July 04, 2025 | Staff Reporter | UK, Africa | PropTech
When Joe Kinvi joined Touchtech Payments in 2017, the Irish startup couldn’t afford his full salary. He accepted equity instead—an investment that paid off when Stripe acquired the company 18 months later. That windfall gave Kinvi the freedom to bootstrap a side project, which eventually led to the creation of Borderless, a fintech platform enabling diaspora communities to co-invest in African startups and real estate.
Founded in the U.K., the PropTech has processed over $500,000 in transactions since launching in beta last year. It was born out of Kinvi’s personal experience forming Hoaq, a collective of diasporan and local African angel investors. Their early challenges—frozen accounts, regulatory red tape, and manual legal processes—shaped the infrastructure Borderless offers today.
“The diaspora sends billions of dollars in remittances, but very little of it goes into productive assets,” Kinvi said. “We think that there is a world where, if we can bring the right collective to the right type of investment opportunities, it’ll make it a lot easier for them.”
Borderless digitizes everything from onboarding and compliance to capital deployment, allowing collectives to invest in verified opportunities without relying on informal networks. It currently focuses on startups and real estate, with minimum investments of $1,000 and $5,000 respectively, and has already supported 10+ startups and 2 property deals in Kenya.
The startup operates under U.K. regulatory oversight, giving it the legal authority to market to diaspora investors. To prevent misuse, funds are routed through verified parties—never through individual managers.
Backed by investors including DFS Lab, Ezra Olubi (CTO of Paystack), Olumide Soyombo, and executives from Stripe and Google, Borderless raised $500,000 in pre-seed funding. Revenue comes from transaction fees, FX spreads, and membership dues.
The platform now has 100+ diaspora communities on its waitlist, and while scaling poses legal and identity verification challenges, Kinvi sees a massive opportunity: unlocking the $30 billion in migrant savings that remain idle annually. “Most Africans in the diaspora want to go back home someday,” Kinvi said. “To do that, they need a way to invest securely and confidently at scale. That’s what we’re building.”
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