Introducing TRANSFAST, Africa “Dual Entrepreneurship”

African entrepreneurs are known the world over for their smarts, ambition and grit. What people don’t realize is that African entrepreneurship benefits not just Africa, but also the global economy.

We call it “dual entrepreneurship”: Members of the African diaspora in the U.S. who have businesses here, and who are simultaneously sending money home to fund businesses in Africa. The result of the grit and determination of these dual entrepreneurs is increased economic development in both the U.S., and back home.

The new breed of dual entrepreneurs is exemplified by Bola and Funke Ogunjinmi, owners of Houston’s Finger Licking Restaurant. The Ogunjinmis have two Finger Licking restaurants in Nigeria as well, and split their time between Houston and Lagos. This is far from uncommon: fellow Nigerian restauranteur Lookman Mashood, owner of Buka Restaurant in Brooklyn, sends money back to Nigeria to support his local business ventures, and on and on.

Global money transfer firm Transfast’s #TransfastPromise campaign is a grassroots effort focused on the dual entrepreneurs of the African diaspora. As a money transfer firm, Transfast provides a platform for sending money home to fund businesses in the most efficient and cost-effective manner, but it’s taking that a step further, by showcasing dual entrepreneurs, and reinvigorating their efforts through grassroots community building.

Transfast’s Global Marketing Director Jay Vix is on a crusade to personally meet with Africa’s dual entrepreneurs. His journey began in New York this fall, where Transfast sponsored a series of events around Nigeria’s 55th Independence Day celebration, and then moved on to Houston, which has a large Nigerian population. In everything Transfast does, the goal is to showcase Nigerian culture through food, music and traditions — and most importantly, to infuse more funding into entrepreneurship back home.

Vix’s efforts now continue in Africa, where he and his team spent 10 days forging relationships and providing resources to the Africa-based enterprises of entrepreneurs who are bolstering the economy with vibrant and healthy businesses. Vix had a series of interviews with entrepreneurial recipients of money transfers from U.S.-based Transfast customers in Nigeria and Ghana, as a way to connect the African diaspora globally. Transfast also met with business incubators and banking partners, all in an effort to help entrepreneurs create a larger global footprint.