African fintech LemFi hires ex-OPay COO

African fintech LemFi hires ex-OPay COO

Allen Qu will lead African Fintech Company LemFi’s attempts to grow among the Chinese diaspora. Qu, who has built billion-dollar firms in Africa, will be LemFi’s Vice President of Growth, focusing on the Chinese market. LemFi will benefit from his expertise tailoring its revolutionary international payment solutions to the Chinese diaspora.

Allen has been a businessman for over 14 years and has built multibillion-dollar companies in many countries. He was in charge of OPay’s growth and helped it become a unicorn as Chief Operating Officer.

Allen Qu will oversee the company’s expansion into China as Vice President of Growth, according to a recent announcement from LemFi, a financial technology company that creates cutting-edge international payment solutions.

Read also: Nigeria’s Lemonade Finance rebrands as LemFi

African benefits from the Chinese diaspora 

LemFi’s move highlights African financial innovation’s rise. LemFi positions itself to bridge the gap between African finance and the international arena, notably the enormous Chinese market, by hiring an African-savvy executive.

LemFi’s hiring Allen Qu and expanding into China benefits Africa in several ways:

Knowledge Transfer: Qu’s expertise in creating OPay, an African fintech business, can help LemFi expand in Africa. Knowledge sharing can improve the African fintech ecosystem.

Investment: LemFi’s success in China may increase African fintech investment. Investors may consider Africa as a source of global innovations.

Diaspora Connection: LemFi can tailor financial products and services to the Chinese diaspora. Africans in China can benefit from more accessible and appropriate financial solutions.

Global Recognition: LemFi’s success in China can boost African innovation’s global recognition. Other African finance firms can be inspired and empowered.

This news follows LemFi’s recent achievements, which included the US launch of its services and a US$33 million Series A capital raise spearheaded by LeftLane Capital.

Allen is experienced in building businesses in new areas. He has helped two companies grow to become “unicorns.” The first was ke.com, an online real estate company based in Beijing (NASDAQ: BEKE). The second was OPay, an online payment company in Africa that is a branch of Opera Software AS (NASDAQ: OPRA).

To establish essential alliances, expand LemFi’s clientele in the Chinese market, and further develop the product to appeal to the target market, Allen will leverage his extensive professional background.

“Over 60 million Chinese diaspora worldwide, and those traditional financial companies underserve many. As a fintech company with a deep understanding of immigrants, LemFi is uniquely positioned to combine its know-how and state-of-the-art technology to bring a real change into the market.” Allen said

LemFi CEO/Co-Founder comments

“We are excited to have Allen lead our China expansion. Because of his past successes, we are sure he will make a positive impact. His addition to the LemFi team is a significant step toward fulfilling our promise of international payments for everyone.”

Through its mobile app, LemFi brings new services and goods to many markets. It is still dedicated to providing easy-to-use and straightforward financial services to migrant communities worldwide.

Read also: OPay Nigeria’s CEO, Olu Akanmu resigns

About LemFi

Lemonade Finance, a Nigerian fintech business, rebranded to LemFi on May 29, 2023, to simplify and describe its vision and stand out in the financial services industry.

To assist immigrants to succeed, Lemonade Finance was launched in 2020 and is based in Maidstone, United Kingdom. Users can send money to over 10 countries using the company’s app. It’s available in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. Investors of LemFi include Y Combinator, Global Founders Capital, Olive Tree Capital, Zrosk, Left Lane Capital and 6 more.

First, we were Lemonade Finance. As our software gained popularity, we grew across various nations and became the vital link between families and loved ones separated by distance, said CEO and co-founder Ridwan Olalere.