Wave is a mobile service provider that allows unbanked people in Africa to access financial services such as saving and transferring money. Although Wave is a for-profit company, its founders—long-time members of the effective altruism community—launched it primarily with the goal of reducing global poverty.
Wave was founded in 2018 and quickly became the largest mobile money service provider in Senegal.[1] Ben Kuhn, Wave’s CTO, estimates that the company saves people in Senegal over $200 million every year—or around 1% of that country’s GDP.[2]
Further reading
Kosloff, Marshall (2022) Mobile money with Wave’s CTO Ben Kuhn, The Deep End, June 9.
Kuhn, Ben (2019) Why and how to start a startup serving emerging markets, Ben Kuhn’s Blog, November 5.
Quirk, Lincoln & Ben Kuhn (2020) We’re Lincoln Quirk & Ben Kuhn from Wave, AMA!, Effective Altruism Forum, October 27.
External links
Wave. Official website.
Related entries
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Finextra (2021) Wave closes largest Series A round for an African fintech with $200 million, Finextra, September 7.
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Kuhn, Ben (2021) Working at Wave is an extremely effective way to improve the world, Wave’s Blog, July 8.