Wave Mobile Money: What It Does, Who Runs It, Funding and News
Wave (Wave Mobile Money) runs a mobile money app and agent network in Africa, charging nothing to deposit or withdraw and 1% to send money. It launched in Senegal in 2018, is led by co-founder and CEO Drew Durbin, is listed by YC in Dakar, and in July 2026 said it served over 25 million monthly users in 11 countries.
Wave, legally Wave Mobile Money Inc., is a mobile money company: people keep money in a Wave account on their phone, cash in and out at Wave agents, send money to other users and pay bills. It started in Senegal in 2018 and is led by Drew Durbin, its co-founder and CEO, as both YC's listing and Wave's about page show.
Wave Mobile Money is a different company from Wave Financial, the Canadian maker of bookkeeping, invoicing and payroll software for small businesses at waveapps.com, and from other businesses named Wave. This page covers Wave Mobile Money's key facts, products, leadership, funding and its announcements since mid-2025, as of October 27, 2026.
Wave Mobile Money key facts
Detail | Source | |
|---|---|---|
Legal name | Wave Mobile Money Inc. | |
Launched | 2018, in Senegal (YC lists the company as founded in 2018) | |
Founders | Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk, who earlier co-founded Sendwave | |
CEO | Drew Durbin, co-founder | |
Location | Dakar, Senegal, as listed by YC; TechCrunch described Wave in 2021 as based in the US and Senegal | |
Countries with offices | 11: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DR Congo, Gambia, Guinea, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone | |
Monthly active users | Over 25 million, as stated by Wave's Cameroon country manager in July 2026 | |
Agents | Over 150,000 (June 2025) | |
Employees | More than 3,000 (June 2025); YC lists 1,600 (undated) | |
Accelerator | Y Combinator; YC lists Wave under Winter 2012, the batch of the founders' earlier company, Sendwave (TechCrunch dates Sendwave's founding to 2014) | |
Valuation at Series A | $1.7 billion, September 2021 | |
Website |
Wave's user counts change with the date and the speaker. Wave's own June 2025 release gave more than 20 million monthly active users across eight markets; the July 2026 Financial Afrik interview gave over 25 million across 11 countries.
What Wave Mobile Money does
Wave offers a phone wallet for sending, receiving and storing money, backed by agents who swap cash for wallet balance. On its home page Wave lists free deposits and withdrawals, sending money for 1% of the amount, free bill payments, instant airtime top-ups and a toll-free support line. Its about page states the goal of making Africa "the first cashless continent".
When Wave raised its Series A in 2021, CEO Drew Durbin told TechCrunch that the 1% fee was 70% cheaper than telecom-led mobile money. Wave then operated in Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire and said it was Senegal's largest mobile money provider.
- E-money license. On April 14, 2022, the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) granted Wave Digital Finance, a Wave subsidiary, an e-money license for the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). Wave said it would issue e-money from Senegal first, and that the license let it offer products directly instead of through sponsor banks (Wave, April 2022).
- Cameroon. On June 11, 2025, Central Africa's banking regulator COBAC (decision D-2025/122) authorized Commercial Bank Cameroun (CBC) to offer an electronic payment service under the Wave name, in partnership with Wave Transfer S.A. (Digital Business Africa).
- Virtual card. Since January 23, 2026, Wave users in Senegal can create a virtual Visa card in the app for online payments, issued with Ecobank Sénégal (Financial Afrik).
Wave's share of mobile money in WAEMU grew from 34.0% of transaction value in 2023 to 38.2% in 2024, behind Orange Money's 41.3%, Launch Base Africa reported in March 2026, citing the central bank's annual digital finance report for 2024.
Who runs Wave Mobile Money
Drew Durbin, one of the two co-founders, runs Wave as CEO. He and Lincoln Quirk met as freshmen at Brown University, founded the remittance company Sendwave, sold it and then started Wave, per their answers on YC's company page. Leaders named on Wave's about page in October 2026 and in other sources:
Name | Role | Source |
|---|---|---|
Drew Durbin | Co-founder and CEO | |
Lincoln Quirk | Co-founder; Head of Product, per a June 2023 announcement by Effective Ventures, whose UK board he joined | |
Coura Sene | Regional Director (Regional Director and Head of Public Affairs, June 2025) | |
Ruth Lee | Chief technology officer | |
Kevin Odiorne | Head of Finance | |
Malick Gueye | General manager, Senegal | |
Katier Bamba | General manager, Côte d'Ivoire | |
Joël Bertrand Ndjodo | Country manager, Cameroon |
The about page also lists heads of agent operations, payments, business and people. Each title above is as its source states it.
Wave Mobile Money funding history
Wave's about page names Sequoia, Stripe, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, Ribbit Capital and Partech among its backers. Its one reported priced equity round is a 2021 Series A; since then it has borrowed in euros from banks and development finance institutions.
Round | Date | Amount | Leads, valuation or source |
|---|---|---|---|
Series A (equity) | September 2021 | $200 million | Led by Sequoia Heritage, Founders Fund, Stripe and Ribbit Capital, with Partech Africa and Sam Altman; $1.7 billion valuation (TechCrunch) |
Syndicated loan | August 2022 | €90 million | IFC €25 million; Symbiotics, BlueOrchard, responsAbility and Lendable €41 million; Finnfund and Norfund €12 million each (NextBillion) |
Debt financing | June 30, 2025 | €117 million | Led by Rand Merchant Bank, with British International Investment, Finnfund and Norfund (Wave, Norfund) |
Wave's own release states the 2025 round in euros, so dollar figures for it depend on the exchange rate used. No priced equity round after September 2021 has been reported.
Wave Mobile Money history in brief
- 2014: Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk found Sendwave, a low-fee remittance service from North America and Europe to countries in Africa and Asia (TechCrunch). YC lists the founders' batch as Winter 2012 (YC).
- 2018: Wave is piloted in Senegal inside the Sendwave group (TechCrunch). A post on Wave's blog says the company had earlier operated in Ethiopia (Wave blog, March 2022).
- 2020: WorldRemit acquires Sendwave for up to $500 million in cash and stock (TechCrunch).
- April 2022: Wave reports over 6 million active users in Senegal (Wave).
- Mid-2022: Wave cuts about 15% of staff and pulls back from Uganda, Mali and Burkina Faso to focus on Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire, citing the downturn in financial markets (WeeTracker, July 2022, citing TechCrunch). Mali and Burkina Faso are among its office countries again on Wave's careers page in October 2026.
Recent Wave Mobile Money news
- June 11, 2025: COBAC authorizes Commercial Bank Cameroun to offer the Wave payment service (Digital Business Africa).
- June 30, 2025: Wave raises €117 million in debt led by Rand Merchant Bank. It says it operates in eight markets with over 20 million monthly active users (Wave). Norfund named Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger as places the money would help reach (Norfund).
- January 23, 2026: Wave launches a virtual Visa card in Senegal with Visa and Ecobank Sénégal (Financial Afrik).
- March 2026: Reporting on the central bank's 2024 data puts Wave at 38.2% of WAEMU mobile money transaction value (Launch Base Africa).
- July 23, 2026: About a year after its Cameroon start, Wave's country manager says Wave serves over 25 million monthly active users in 11 countries and charges 1% for transfers there, with free deposits and withdrawals (Financial Afrik).
Before your next call with Wave's team
Meeting someone from Wave's team in Dakar or one of its other markets? Merlin's People panel gathers your own history with each contact: threads you've traded, past meetings and the notes you kept. It builds that from the Google email and calendar accounts you connect, runs on Mac, and you can start free. It holds nothing about Wave itself.
Get MerlinFrequently asked questions
Who founded Wave Mobile Money?
Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk, who met at Brown University and earlier founded the remittance app Sendwave, started Wave. It launched in Senegal in 2018.
Who is the CEO of Wave?
Drew Durbin, a co-founder, is Wave Mobile Money's CEO, per Wave's about page in October 2026 and its June 2025 funding announcement.
Is Wave a public company?
No stock listing or IPO filing for Wave Mobile Money had been reported as of October 2026. Its last priced equity round, in September 2021, valued it at $1.7 billion.
How much does Wave charge?
Wave lists free deposits, withdrawals and bill payments, and a fee of 1% to send money to another user, on its own home page.
Is Wave Mobile Money the same as Wave Financial?
No. Wave Mobile Money is an African mobile money company that YC lists in Dakar, Senegal. Wave Financial is a separate Canadian company that makes bookkeeping, invoicing and payroll software for small businesses.