Cauridor, a cross-border payment infrastructure company based in Guinea, has appointed Awa Koné as its Chief Operating Officer. Koné, who previously served as the Global Head of Operations at Flutterwave, brings over five years of experience in building and scaling payment infrastructure across Africa, Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Her appointment marks a strategic initiative for Cauridor as it seeks to expand its operations throughout African markets. Before her tenure at Flutterwave, Koné was the General Manager at Swiss Re, where she led a greenfield expansion into Côte d’Ivoire.
Cauridor, founded in 2022 by Oumar Barry and Abdoulaye Bah, is transitioning from its initial phase of infrastructure building to active market expansion. The company aims to serve as the connective layer for cross-border payments by integrating mobile money providers, banks, and international money transfer operators through an Application Programming Interface (API). Currently, Cauridor operates in 36 African countries, including Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Senegal, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and The Gambia, and is preparing to enter the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The infrastructure developed by Cauridor is designed to cater to international money transfer operators, mobile network operators, banks, fintechs, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and payroll service providers. Barry expressed confidence in Koné’s leadership, stating, “We are building something significant at Cauridor, and having her lead our operations puts us in a strong position for what comes next.” Cauridor distinguishes itself from other infrastructure-only players through its hybrid model, which offers B2B rails for fintechs, banks, and money transfer operators, while also operating a B2C agent network under its consumer brand, BnB. This dual approach enhances the company’s last-mile reach across West and Central Africa, thereby strengthening the reliability of its B2B infrastructure.
Barry noted, “Most infrastructure players are purely B2B. Through our B2C brand, BnB, we also operate an extensive agent network across West and Central Africa. That gives us last-mile reach that strengthens the reliability of our B2B infrastructure.” This appointment follows Cauridor’s successful $3.5 million seed round last year, which aimed to bolster its infrastructure across Francophone Africa. With Koné at the helm of operations, the company plans to deepen its presence in existing markets while preparing for its entry into the DRC.
Barry highlighted the challenges of cross-border payments in Africa, stating, “They are fragmented, expensive, and inaccessible to the people who need them most. We bridge that gap, enabling customers to send from one mobile wallet across borders, into other wallets, or to cash pickup points in receiving markets.” Koné expressed her enthusiasm for the role, viewing it as an opportunity to leverage her experience in operations, risk, treasury, and cross-border payments to help shape the company’s infrastructure. “The opportunity to help build infrastructure that simplifies cross-border payments and unlocks real economic opportunities across the African continent is incredibly compelling,” she said.
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