As 2019 draws to a close, we’d like to take a moment to review what has transpired and examine Eversend 2019 growth and the business outlook for the coming year.
Our journey in 2019
Our word of the year is sisu. We learned this Finnish word during Slush 2019, when leaving the warmth of a candlelit smoke sauna one frigid night to jump in the icy Baltic Sea. The word ‘sisu’ means to use extreme strength and perseverance — grit — to undertake what others think is crazy.
We started this year with no money and no product in the market but incredible resilience and a vision to create a bright financial future for people across Africa. And that kept us moving. Even as we got married, got a new baby, got engaged, the spirit of sisu just grew stronger and stronger.
We spent this year watching the African market move and change before our eyes. The population is on its way to double in the next twenty years. Six of the world’s ten fastest-growing economies are in Sub-Saharan Africa. The majority of people on the continent do not have a bank account. And nearly half of Africa’s 1.2 billion are already using mobile money for domestic P2P payments. The landscape is riper than ever for innovation.
We can feel we’re on the brink of something — and the time for that something is now. The excitement and urgency of what we are building keep us awake at night. It is a dream come true to be building Eversend. And we couldn’t do it without you.
Highlights of 2019
- We launched Eversend Android and iOS applications
- Stone was named to Institut Choiseful’s list of Africa’s Economic Leaders of Tomorrow.
- We got to meet President Obama. We warmed up the stage for him at the SAP CEO Summit, speaking on a panel about Eversend.
- Emma made the Forbes 30 Under 30 — Europe Technology List.
- Eversend won Slush 2019, the world’s leading startup/tech conference, out of 1700 startups.
- Eversend completed Google’s Launchpad Africa, building a strong community of the best founders, startups, and Googlers in Lagos, Kigali, and other cities around the world.
- We were featured on the Nasdaq screen in New York’s Times Square as we became Milestones Makers of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center.
- We landed up as Semi-Finalists in Web Summit’s Pitch Competition and got to present Eversend in front of 30K people.
- We participated in the Station F Founder’s Program, creating an amazing community of innovators in Paris.
- We spoke at over 25+ conferences, panels, and events. Highlights include the London School of Economics Festival, Paris
- Fintech Forum, and Forbes Israel Summit.
- We graduated from Techstars Berlin and Fast Track Malmo, gaining a strong network of potential partners and mentors.
- We got to explain Eversend to H.E. Museveni, the President of Uganda (the motherland of Ronald and Stone and the location of Eversend’s biggest office).
- We had a lot of coverage in the news, globally! Check us out on CNBC Africa or in China or in Italy.
- Our team grew! We moved to a new office in Uganda. We hired four new superstars — Parth, Kylie, Barbra, Mugeni — in product development, customer acquisition, and support. Plus three part-time champions. One developer and two ambassadors and quality assurance associates in Kenya and Tanzania. We also had Theresa, rockstar intern, join us to work on growth during her gap year from the London School of Economics.
Stone, Uganda’s ICT Minister Frank Tumwebaze and the Ugandan President, Y.K., Museveni.
Numbers of 2019 (9 months)
- We have moved 7 figures in transactions.
- We are growing at 35% month on month.
- A transacting user will do on average 7 transactions per month.
Gratitude
Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude due to the amount of help we got and instead of thanking you by name, we’ll do it by category: there’s the early believers, the challengers, the connectors, the inspirers. We are immensely grateful for each one of you and the many ways you’ve believed in us, helped us grow, showed generosity, and inspired us. We wouldn’t be here without you. It takes a village.
One more thing!
Eversend is the number 1 app on the Google Play finance charts for Uganda.
Eversend is number 1 in Google Play Store
If you’re in Paris or Kampala in the new year, do not forget to call on us at Regus Opera and Regus Acacia Mall respectively.
Happy new year,
The Eversend Team.
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