Nigerian startup Timon is building a travel payments platform for Africans. The company serves people who increasingly live, work and move across borders. Tomi Ayorinde and Chizaram Ucheaga launched it in 2024. Together, they built an app that brings multi-currency wallets, payment cards, cross-border transfers and travel services like eSIMs into one place. Flight bookings are also in the works.
Notably, the idea did not come from a boardroom. Instead, it came from a frustrating experience abroad. During a trip to Germany, Ayorinde’s bank card failed him. He was left stranded without access to his own funds. That moment stayed with him for years. Eventually, it shaped the product he would go on to build.
With Timon, users can hold and spend money in multiple currencies. They can also make fast cross-market transactions and stay connected while travelling. Instead of juggling separate financial products for every country, travellers get one app that works everywhere. For example, physical cards can be funded directly in local currency. Users can pick them up at airports or have them delivered within 24 to 48 hours. Meanwhile, a virtual card option called Timon Black also supports Apple Pay and Google Pay.
Stablecoins have quickly become central to how the platform operates. In fact, nearly 70 percent of wallet funding on Timon now comes through stablecoins. This makes it one of the fastest-growing features on the platform. Overall, this shift reflects a wider trend across the continent. According to the International Monetary Fund, Nigeria has accounted for around 60 percent of stablecoin inflows into Sub-Saharan Africa since 2019.
Both founders bring experience from earlier ventures. Ayorinde previously founded CrowdForce, a Y Combinator-backed fintech. That company turned local merchants into banking agents. It later evolved into PayForce, which FairMoney acquired in 2023. Ucheaga, meanwhile, founded Clymb Technologies, a financial inclusion startup. As a result, their combined background in payments and financial access has shaped how Timon approaches the travel problem.
Since launching fully in September 2024, Timon says it has grown to more than 100,000 users across 16 African countries. Nigeria remains its largest market, followed by Kenya, Ghana and South Africa. So far, much of that growth has come organically through referrals rather than a planned market entry strategy. In particular, Kenya has become one of the platform’s fastest-growing markets simply because users kept inviting others.
ALSO READ:SpaceX Is Building a Second Starbase Before Starship Is Even Fully Reusable
Recently, Timon secured an undisclosed investment from Alliance, a crypto-focused startup accelerator, after joining its latest cohort. The company will use the funding to support product development, market expansion and stablecoin infrastructure. This is especially true as it deepens its presence in Kenya.
On the business side, Timon earns revenue mainly through transaction and service fees. It also benefits from revenue-sharing arrangements with partners across its payments and travel infrastructure. So far, the company has not disclosed specific revenue figures. However, Ayorinde says the current focus remains on growing transaction volume and building a sustainable business around that activity.
Looking ahead, the founders describe their long-term vision in simple terms. They want Timon to function as a kind of financial passport, something travellers carry alongside their national one. As more Africans move, work and spend across borders, that vision could shape how the continent thinks about travel payments in the years ahead.
