The Power of a 20-Meter Walk

When Juan Seco left Wall Street private equity for African tech, he realized that the biggest gap in financial services wasn’t complex software—it was what happened after money arrived. From auditing American Express to building JumiaPay and now scaling Mukuru’s neobank infrastructure across Southern Africa, Seco is focused on solving a fundamental challenge:

How do we ensure remittances quickly translate into real-world spending power for recipients?

This question came home for me personally when I transferred funds to my mother in Harare. Her response? “Don’t ever send money through your friends again.” The funds arrived instantly, allowing her to collect the cash after a brief 20-meter walk—a testament to Mukuru’s focus on frictionless distribution.

The “20-meter lesson,” as Seco calls it, highlights his belief that African fintech should prioritize eliminating friction rather than adding complexity. For him, this means building solutions that seamlessly connect digital inflows with physical spending needs.

From Wall Street to Nairobi

Seco’s journey wasn’t linear. He began in Madrid before studying finance at McGill University and working in New York private equity. The turning point came when he and his wife—a lawyer who grew up in Kenya—decided to prioritize family over high-powered corporate careers.

“We found ourselves working crazy hours with three kids under three,” Seco recalls, “so we asked ourselves: why not make a change?”

The answer was Nairobi, where he joined Jumia and later built JumiaPay, seeing firsthand how fragmented payment systems hindered e-commerce growth. This experience led him to realize that what was missing was an intermediary layer—a platform that could connect disparate mobile money services and create seamless digital payment experiences.

Remittances as the Foundation

Today, Mukuru operates across 60 countries, serving 17.6 million customers with a focus on remittances but expanding into broader financial services like wallets, cards, and payments. Seco defines Mukuru as a “remittance-led neobank” because he believes that by solving the fundamental challenges of cross-border money movement, they can build a platform for all digital financial needs.

What began as a solution for migrant workers sending money home is evolving into a comprehensive financial infrastructure that empowers individuals and businesses across Africa—one 20-meter walk at a time.