Leading mobile payments company WorldRemit has entered into a definitive agreement to raise $175 million in a Series D funding round led by returning investors, TCV, Accel and Leapfrog Investments. Founded in 2010, WorldRemit is a global leader in smartphone and online payments – providing a convenient, low-cost alternative to expensive brick-and-mortar agents.

WorldRemit has disrupted an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by taking international money transfers online – making them safer, faster and lower-cost. We currently send from 50 to 150 countries and operate in 6,500 money transfer corridors worldwide.

On the sending side WorldRemit is 100% digital (cashless), increasing convenience and enhancing security. For those receiving money, the company offers a wide range of options including bank deposit, cash collection, mobile airtime top-up and mobile money.

WorldRemit handles a growing share of the $700 billion remittances sent each year by expatriates and migrant workers to their home countries. Today, the company serves almost 4 million customers transferring money from 50 “send” countries to 150 “receive” countries.

The Series D funding round comes at a pivotal stage in the company’s growth. In 2018, the USA became WorldRemit’s largest send market, following the company becoming one of the first UK financial service firms to secure licenses in all 50 states.

WorldRemit will use this new investment to further drive global growth and diversify the company’s product offering for both money transfer senders and recipients. The company is also set to launch a new money transfer solution targeting small and medium-sized business owners who trade internationally, especially in emerging markets. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including FCA approval.

Source: Company press release

President Trump read a prayer delivered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he joined world leaders in marking the 75th anniversary of D-Day – a pivotal moment in the Second World War. On June 6, 1944, Roosevelt went on national radio to address America for the first time about the Normandy invasion. The words:

“Almighty God: Our sons, pride of our nation, this day have set upon a mighty endeavor, a struggle to preserve our Republic, our religion, and our civilization, and to set free a suffering humanity … they will need Thy blessings.

“Their road will be long and hard. For the enemy is strong. He may hurl back our forces. Success may not come with rushing speed, but we shall return again and again; and we know that by Thy grace, and by the righteousness of our cause, our sons will triumph …

“Some will never return. Embrace these, Father, and receive them, Thy heroic servants, into Thy kingdom.”

This is how Francis Oguaju summarized this: “You see the kind of spirit people had, just for others and generations after them to live a better life”. Simply, an unbounded service to a nation! Nigeria needs that spirit and the mindset shift for the generations unborn.

By Nnamdi Odumody

Owing to the inadequacy of public transportation systems in Lagos State, provided by BRT and NURTW, the previous administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode conceived the Lagos Bus Services, a key component of the Lagos Bus Reform Project which will provide smart public transportation infrastructure to transform the commuters’ experiences in line with modern demands of smart cities. About one million commuters use the public transportation system in Lagos daily; the vehicles used in this system are supplied by both government and private entities.

The Lagos Bus Services is to provide an efficient alternative to the unregulated NURTW yellow buses, ride hailing taxis and the BRT. It will provide electronic ticketing to ensure prompt boarding of passengers and revenue protection from sharp practices as well as reducing the waiting time at bus stations. Its drivers and attendants will be trained and certified to offer passengers the best riding experience with safety and security guaranteed.

Lagos Bus Services Limited (LBSL) was incorporated on 1^st August 2016 as a Transport Asset Acquisition, Operations, and Advisory Services Company to provide a much-needed compass and guide to the operation of Bus Services in Lagos.

As Lagos evolves into a smart city, LBSL is positioned to create a very competitive space in the Transport Industry where urban mobility guarantees a market for mass transit transport operators; with availability and pricing as key decision drivers.  LBSL is tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the orderliness, proper coordination and progress of the Transport Industry in Lagos.

The buses will have special sitting areas for the physically challenged, aged and pregnant women providing inclusion in public transportation services which is non-existent in Nigeria and has six emergency exits, first aid kit, free Wi-fi, inbuilt television, CCTV cameras connected to a remote operations centre which will monitor each activity which takes place. Also, it has USB charging ports on all the seats.

Its operations will be anchored through an Intelligent Transport System which will provide real time information to passengers such as estimated time of bus arrival and departure times as well as nature and cause of service delays.

The buses will be leased to reputable private bus operators who will use 3 smart depots located at Anthony Village, Ilupeju and Yaba for proper deployment, sustainability and maintenance while they will run special routes with smooth operational infrastructure such as bus shelters, laybys, bus flags, terminals and depots at strategic points along these routes.

The Lagos transportation paralysis will in no time become a thing of the past if the vision and mission behind the Lagos Bus Services is sustained irrespective of whoever mounts the saddle as Chief Executive of the state as it is essential in making the state a 21^st Century Intelligent Economy.

The greatest mistake is over-fixation on past mistakes. Learn from your mistakes, make amends, and never allow them to define your state of mind. The best American Football quarterbacks are those without “memories”. Yes, they simply forget the last bad play, for a great new play even though they have learnt from that broken down series. Across human history, more empires have been built and won through optimism than pessimism. You make the mistakes, and mistakes must never be your boss; put them where they belong: learn and forget past mistakes.