Oluwatomi Ayorinde and Chizaram Ucheaga founded a fintech venture called Timon with an initial capital of $47 million, aiming to eliminate the recurring problem they encountered as Nigerian travellers: the frequent failure of conventional bank cards when used abroad. Their service issues multi-currency travel cards specifically designed for Africans who cross borders regularly, and it has already processed more than $47 million in transactions since the company launched in 2024.
They channeled their shared frustrations—from rationing cash envelopes in India to watching bank cards fail in Paris—into building an independent multi-currency travel card, scaling to over 100,000 users across 16 African markets. When a United States-based crypto accelerator later offered to invest, the same visa obstacles that the duo had previously worked to avoid resurfaced, putting the new partnership at risk.
Founders’ own travel card nightmares
Ayorinde’s first experience with the problem dates back to 2010, when he left Nigeria for a study program in India. He relied on cash envelopes sent by family members and local pastors to cover everyday expenses, while his GTBank dollar-denominated card proved unreliable during a business trip to Germany, where it repeatedly declined at point-of-sale terminals. In 2011, he joined SAP, the German software company, and was sent to the country for a seven-day work event, where he spent a full day queuing at the German embassy to submit his visa application—only to arrive with a visa valid for just those seven days, missing the first two days of the program.
Ayorinde said he relied on a GTBank dollar card, issued by the Nigerian tier-1 lender, which he could fund by swapping naira for dollars through the bank, though some transactions still failed. Ucheaga faced a comparable setback in France in 2018, where his card also failed, forcing him to hand cash to another traveller who was using a foreign fintech solution. These personal setbacks highlighted the fragility of existing payment tools for African travellers.
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The two entrepreneurs turned those frustrations into the core concept for Timon. In 2021 they connected through a church-run entrepreneurship programme, where they began probing the market’s appetite for a dedicated travel card. Their research revealed that, despite the rapid growth of digital banking across the continent, many Africans still struggled to make cross-border payments without incurring high fees or facing card rejections.
By partnering directly with Visa instead of routing cards through traditional banks, a process that took more than 15 months with Visa and a bank, Timon’s product allows users to hold several currencies simultaneously and eliminates conversion charges. It’s almost like they can see into the future.” Then came the visa limitation, as Ayorinde faced in 2016. By the middle of 2026 the platform had attracted 100 000 active users spanning 16 African markets, demonstrating strong demand for a friction-free payment solution.
Alliance accelerator funding meets visa roadblocks
The rapid adoption of the service caught the attention of Alliance, a U.S. crypto accelerator that supports high-growth fintech startups. After two earlier attempts to secure funding fell short, Timon finally received a capital injection in July 2026. The accelerator disbursed the funds within a two-week window, a pace that is unusually swift compared with typical global venture deals. However, the funding round coincided with strict U.S. visa regulations that barred both founders from traveling to attend in-person meetings. Ayorinde, who had refreshed his U.S. visa several years before, was able to travel if needed, whereas Ucheaga’s B2 visitor visa had lapsed, leaving him unable to cross the Atlantic for the scheduled sessions.
“They move fast,” Ucheaga explained of Alliance’s approach. “They have a conviction. They move fast because they won’t lose this big opportunity.” His remarks showed the tension between the accelerator’s rapid execution style and the logistical barriers that still hampered the duo’s ability to engage directly with their new investors. Ayorinde had learned this lesson the hard way in 2016 when his previous startup, Mobile Forms, was invited to interview for Y Combinator’s California headquarters.
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Facing a backlog at the American Embassy in Lagos that threatened to run out of time for their interview window, Ayorinde and his team scrambled for help, with investor Kola Aina of Ventures Platform intervening to expedite their visa interviews at the embassy. The visas were granted with days to spare, but the experience left a lasting impression.
Relocating to Kenya to dodge visa delays
To mitigate the visa bottleneck, the pair decided to relocate their operational base to Kenya. Ayorinde initially weighed South Africa as an alternative but ultimately selected Nairobi after meeting several local founders who praised the city’s emerging tech ecosystem. Ucheaga highlighted Kenya’s more reliable electricity supply, where residents could call their power provider and have faults resolved, sometimes within 30 minutes, and the ease of networking with regional peers as additional incentives for the move.
Once in Nairobi, they pursued standard work permits with the assistance of an immigration law firm, deliberately avoiding Kenya’s newer digital-nomad visa route, which they felt did not align with their long-term expansion plans. Ayorinde had sold his previous business, PayForce (formerly CrowdForce), which later got him into YC and was acquired by FairMoney in 2023, so he had savings to make the move.
Visa openness index highlights broader challenge
The episode with Alliance brought a wider industry challenge into sharp focus. According to the African Development Bank’s 2025 Visa Openness Index, African travellers still require advance visas for 51.1% of possible continent-to-country journeys, a rise from 47.1% recorded in the previous year. This statistic illustrates that the cost of mobility extends beyond airfare and foreign-exchange fees; it also includes the time lost waiting for visa approvals, which can determine whether a founder is able to seize time-sensitive opportunities in person.
