NovaPay Raises $2.1M at FRI Demo Day — The Inside Story
How Amara Okafor built a cross-border payments platform in six months, walked onto the Demo Day stage, and walked off with $2.1M in commitments.
FRI Editorial
Founders Republic Institute
The Beginning
Amara Okafor arrived at FRI with an idea and a spreadsheet. Eighteen months earlier, she had been sending money home to Lagos through a service that charged her 8% per transfer and took three days to arrive. She knew there was a better way.
"I didn't come to FRI to learn theory," she says. "I came to build the thing I had been sketching on napkins for two years."
Six Months of Build
With mentor Marcus Obi guiding her on emerging market payment infrastructure and regulatory strategy, Amara spent Month 1 validating her assumptions with 40 potential customers. By Month 3, she had a working prototype. By Month 4, her first paying customer.
Demo Day
When Amara took the stage at the FRI London Demo Day, she didn't pitch an idea. She presented a company with real revenue, a regulatory roadmap, and a waitlist of 3,000 users. Within 48 hours, she had received commitments totalling $2.1M.
"FRI didn't just give me a programme. It gave me the structure to build something real."
— Amara Okafor, Founder, NovaPay