I am a serial entrepreneur. I do not understand life, and less professional one, without innovation. And if it is disruptive, even better. At the age of 22 I founded my first company in the then incipient world of software that, years later and after a successful career, I sold to a German multinational. Only three years later, in 2003, I immersed myself in the almost unexplored field of big data and created another company that, a decade later, was acquired by another multinational, this time from the United States, specifically from Silicon Valley.

At 53 years old, already combing some gray hair, I decided that my next endeavor had to have a social impact, that it had to be focused on helping people in need. Investigating situations that required a solution, I learned about the problem of African migrants. Women and men who come to the so-called first world to work and help the relatives they left behind in their countries of origin and who must face commissions of 10% on average in the established operators to send the money. This is how Baluwo was born, a Mandingo name that says it all : basic things to survive . Our company offers African migrants living in Europe and the United States the possibility of supplying essential products and services to their relatives who remain in their country of origin. Instead of sending them money ( cash-to-cash ), we have developed a model that consists of exchanging money for products or services ( cash-to-goods ) that are received directly in Africa. From buying food to paying for the electricity connection, going through mobile recharging or the acquisition of construction material, among others.

With more than 150,000 monthly transactions, we strive every day to live up to our motto: Connecting African Families. We are already present in 14 African countries, where our teams are in charge of establishing agreements with local businesses and delivering to families what has been bought with them. And we work with enthusiasm and determination to continue growing, both in the number of countries in which we operate and in the services we provide and products we offer.

Baluwo is also a great family. Living here, there or elswhere, we are united by strong bonds, we learn from each other every day and, above all, we feel intimately committed to the project and to the challenge that lies ahead: to contribute our grain of sand to make this world a better place.

In this sense, one of the most genuine initiatives of Baluwo is Helping Africa , through which we try to provide food, electricity and construction materials to orphanages and schools for disadvantaged children in Africa ( https://baluwo.com/helpingafrica ). A little help that can change lives.

We know that the task is arduous, but that does not mean that we give up the effort. We are moved by illusion, trust and hope.