Caleb Maru is the Founder of Tech Safari, one of Africa’s leading tech newsletters and communities where he shares his insights into the burgeoning African tech ecosystem. He is also Partner at Proximity Ventures, an early stage VC firm investing in founders solving Africa’s most pressing problems.Uncovering Tech in Africa. In this piece he shares a remarkable idea, asking: “You’re probably familiar with Software as a Service (SaaS), but have you heard of Migration as a Service (MaaS)?
“Every year millions of people migrate to a new country.
Globally, there are 281 million migrants across the world.
That movement of people is a goldmine of opportunity, and it’s started a new class of companies building for migrants.
We’re coining it ‘Migration as a Service’
But first, why are so many people moving?
If we zoom in on Africa, 440,000 Africans leave their homes each year for better opportunities.
It stacks up – the average Nigerian who migrates earns 1,000 times more over their lifetime than someone who stays home.
Most migrants leave by three main routes – school, work, or family.
But these paths are expensive, complicated, and can take years.
For example – moving abroad to study can take seven months just to apply for – and cost up to $6,000 to process.
That’s about equal to the average annual income in Africa – and for many, moving abroad can mean selling their assets or taking a loan.
But money is one-half of the question
The other half is figuring out how to migrate. With different visa categories, and migration laws change all the time.
The process is so complex that an economy of ‘visa agents’ has popped up.
These agents help migrants create a winning profile, apply for visas, and even book flights – and in 2022, $14.2 billion was paid to visa agents.
But visa agents are trust-based and the process can be opaque.
Which is where tech comes in.
A class of startups are building tools, products and services that make the move easier.
Take Vesti for example.
Vesti started as a Telegram community by Olusola called Moving Abroad in 12 Months.
The community grew – and so did the problems he started to see.
As they came up, he started building solutions:
‘Which country should I move to?’ turned into a personalised roadmap for different migration paths and goals.
‘It takes months to set up a bank account abroad’ turned into a digital wallet that lets migrants swap currencies and make payments abroad.
And it’s not just Vesti pushing the Migration as a Service field.
– Craydel helps Africans win study scholarships
– Getin helps Africans get into foreign schools
– Pay4Me App helps migrants pay for all their travel-related fees
Startups are turning the move into something easier and more transparent.
We call it migration-as-a-service.
And as migration grows, I think we’ll see the space grow too.
What do you think of Migration as a Service?
Do you know any startups building for migrants?“
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