When he speaks about inclusion, he speaks as the payments leader who has built the corridors himself, on three continents, and who brings the culture with him.
What the diaspora corridor has taught the industry, and what it still has to fix: cost, speed, and the last mile to a family’s account or mobile wallet.
02
Why the corridor matters more than the app
Payments are built on licences, partners and trust across borders. A view from someone who has opened corridors on three continents.
03
Financial inclusion first, cultural inclusion follows
How money that moves safely lets families invest at home, and why culture travels the same routes.
04
Building trust across borders
Partnerships between banks, money transfer operators and mobile money: what makes them last.
Formats
Keynote20 to 40 minutes
PanelContributor or moderator
ConversationFireside, podcast, interview
LanguagesEnglish and French
Appearances
Stages and press
c. 2023 · SpeakerGlobal Forum on Remittances, Investment and Development (GFRID) SummitUnited Nations, Nairobi · Source: gfrid.org/speaker/richard-meseko
After more than twenty years building the corridors that carry money between Africa and its diaspora, now carrying its culture the same way.
Short · 66 words
Richard Meseko has spent more than twenty years in banking, payments and remittances across Africa, Europe and North America. He managed the launch of Ecobank’s Rapidtransfer, built Travelex’s African network from 3 to 34 countries, set up WorldRemit in Canada and led global sales for Africa Rapidtransfer in Paris. Fluent in English and French, he now focuses on his cultural work as a storyteller and musician.
Speaker card, programme listing
Long · 166 words
Richard Meseko’s career has followed the money that families send home. After his early years in Lagos and Niamey, he spent five years at Ecobank in Côte d’Ivoire, where he managed the launch of Rapidtransfer, later the group’s flagship remittance product. He built Travelex Money Transfer’s agent network in Africa from 3 to 34 countries, set up Ecobank’s operations in Congo Brazzaville, and from 2011 to 2019 established WorldRemit in Canada, taking it from its first transaction to a profitable multi-million-dollar business. Back at Ecobank, he ran Rapidtransfer group-wide from Lomé, opening its first corridor outside Africa, then led global sales for Africa Rapidtransfer in Paris. Nigerian and Canadian, he holds an MBA from the Université du Québec à Montréal and has lived in eight countries. Now based in Paris, he is moving from banking to focus fully on his cultural projects: a band that documents traditional music, the pan flute, and stories such as The Reflections of the Prince, now being adapted for the screen.
