Lemonade Finance Year in Review 2021 - The Lemonade Stand

And it’s a wrap! Here’s our Year in Review

As the year draws to a close, there’s nothing better than looking back and sharing with you some of the most important lessons from 2021. While Lemonade Finance was founded in 2020, our experiences this year gave us a clearer sense of why Africans abroad need and use Lemonade Finance. Many Africans abroad have a hard time sending money home and are always on the lookout for better rates, instant transfer, and a company that understands the unique situation of African immigrants. We built Lemonade finance so that you can hold the currencies that matter to you, make instant transfers, and have a financial footprint on two continents.

In the first quarter of 2021, through mostly word of mouth, we shared the first version of the Lemonade Finance app with users in North America. We found that a lot of people were willing to try out the Lemonade app, and in no time, we hit the 10,000-customer mark. It convinced us that we underestimated how difficult it is for African immigrants to access financial services. We took our ambition to YCombinator, the most popular accelerator in the world, and raised funding from investors.

Our ambition wasn’t merely to raise funding but to expand our solution to Africans across the world. In Q3, the Lemonade app became available in the U.K, and today, we help thousands of Ghanaians and Kenyans send money to their loved ones instantly. Yet, we know we’re only beginning to scratch the surface, and in 2022, we want to enable African immigrants from across 16 countries to send money back home the Lemonade way: instant, efficient, and with zero fees.

Some exciting things we got up to in 2021

• We launched the Lemonade Student Ambassadors program, a brilliant way for students in Canada to become part of our community and shape financial services for African immigrants. Did I mention that we’re expanding the program to students in the UK? Sign up here.
• We also launched a referral program for Ghana, allowing people to earn 100GHS every time their friends or family members in the U.K send money back home.
• Did you miss our new look? Lemonade Finance got a makeover, with a new logo and brand identity which many customers have described as exciting and visually appealing.
• For Christmas, we worked on this story that reminds us that sometimes, adulthood means leaving things till the last minute- and finding a service that understands.
• Two of our brand influencers, TundeTash and Yvonne Ben were named Community Personality of the Year in Canada. Whoop whoop!
• We also saw an increase in the adoption of Open Banking in our U.K market. When customers select Open banking to make a payment, it makes their transactions faster and allows them to save up to 80% on card fees.

Looking forward: what do we have planned for 2022?

• We’re launching our debit cards, which will be available if you live in the U.K.
• We’re expanding our footprint to the United States, which is great news for Africans who live there. Our free and instant transfers will be available in the U.S by Q1 2022.
• A redesign of the Lemonade Finance mobile app to give you the best experience when you’re sending money home.
• Our blog, which we’ve teased and promised through 2021 will finally be ready in Q1 2022 and we’re excited for you to see it and become a frequent reader.

Think we missed anything? Email us at (growth@lemonade.finance) and tell us what product or feature you’d love to see in the Lemonade app next year; we’re always listening!

As we head into the New year, we’re excited that you were with us on our growth journey in 2021 and we look forward to sharing our progress with you in 2022. Here’s to a splendid new year!