When Oumar Barry (Co-Founder & CEO) and Abdoulaye Bah (Co-Founder & CTO) talk about Cauridor, they don’t start with metrics or market share. They talk about people; the mom in Conakry who no longer has to walk hours to receive money from abroad, or the neighborhood agent earning consistent commission for the first time. That’s the heartbeat of Cauridor: people.

Longtime friends turned co-founders, Oumar and Abdoulaye grew up in Guinea, moved abroad for higher education, and eventually channeled their entrepreneurial instincts into a bold idea: making cross-border payments in Africa simpler, faster, and more reliable. Cauridor was born from the frustration of watching their families jump through hoops just to receive money. They decided to fix it.

Today, Cauridor connects mobile wallets, banks, and payment providers across some of Africa’s most challenging markets, enabling real-time transfers in places where infrastructure is often missing. They work across the UEMOA region and beyond, helping international money transfer operators, telcos, banks, and merchants move money in and out of the continent.

Cauridor is on a mission to accelerate the digitization of the financial industry in Africa.

Journey Into Tech

You both come from engineering backgrounds. What sparked the shift into entrepreneurship and building a tech & tech-enabled business?

Both: Entrepreneurship has always felt natural to us. We both come from entrepreneurial families and grew up seeing what it meant to build something from scratch. Funny enough, our moms share the same name, and our dads both worked in import/export. We’ve known each other since 10th grade. Even though we went to different high schools, we lived in the same neighborhood, and we both moved to Canada around the same time. The idea of building a business was something we were always talking about, even as students. Back in 2010, we’d spend hours in the university library reading business books and brainstorming ideas. After finishing university and starting to work, we realized that traditional 9–5 jobs just didn’t feel right for us.

Was there a particular moment or experience that inspired you to focus on solving cross-border payments for Africa?

Oumar: It really started with our personal experience sending money to family. The process was difficult. Back then, to send money from Canada to Guinea, we had to call someone in Montreal, who would then transfer the funds to someone else, and eventually to our family member. Sometimes, the person receiving the money had to travel for hours — often spending an entire day or more going back and forth — just to access it. It was exhausting, and we knew there had to be a better way.

Abdoulaye: We were actively looking for problems we could solve and build a business around. Cross-border payments became the clear opportunity because we’d lived the pain ourselves. It was personal, and it made sense to start there.

Would you say your engineering backgrounds have influenced how you approach problem-solving at Cauridor?

Both: Absolutely. Our engineering backgrounds have shaped how we think, how we make decisions, and even how we designed the business. We’re both highly analytical, most of our decisions are grounded in data. It’s never about who’s right between us. We look at the data, draw from experience, and decide what makes the most sense. That mindset also helps us stay rational. We’re not fixed on being “right” — when one of us presents a better argument or clearer logic, the other listens.

From a systems perspective, our engineering background helps us think about problems and solutions in terms of structure. Whether it’s building the platform or the company itself, we see it as designing interconnected systems, like components of an engine. That kind of structured thinking really defines how we approach building at Cauridor.

How are you navigating the co-founder relationship?

Oumar: AB and I have been best friends for years. That foundation of trust and mutual respect makes everything easier. I never feel the need to double-check what he’s working on, and he doesn’t have to check on me either. We know that when one of us commits to something, it’ll get done and done well.

We also complement each other. He’s more rational, slightly more risk-averse, and grounded. I tend to be more emotional, not in a negative sense, but in a way that reflects passion, vulnerability, empathy, and intensity. I am also slightly more outgoing, and comfortable taking risks. That balance really works for us.

Abdoulaye: It helps that we’ve known each other so well, for so long. We understand each other’s personalities, how we think, and what drives us. That familiarity makes communication smoother and helps us avoid unnecessary conflict.

What’s the story behind the name Cauridor?

Both: Naming the company definitely took a few rounds of back and forth. We had a bunch of ideas on the table, and as you’d expect, finding something that felt right and stuck was a process. Cauridor is actually a blend of meanings that reflect who we are and what we’re building. The name plays on the word corridor, which made sense because we’re building payment rails, literal corridors across African markets. But it also has a deeper cultural layer: cauri refers to cowrie shells, which were once used as currency across West Africa, and dor echoes d’or in French, meaning gold. It was an iteration of thoughts and suggestions from the team.

What do you love about building Cauridor?

Oumar: Building Cauridor has brought Abdoulaye and me even closer. We were already great friends, but working together on something this meaningful has deepened that bond. It’s rare to build a company with your friend and for it to actually work.

Beyond that, it’s seeing the real impact we’re making. When I go back to Guinea and meet some of the 10,000+ agents on our network, many of whom are earning monthly commissions that support their families — that’s what makes me proud. That kind of impact is personal.

We set out to make sending money easier, and now people can do that from their living rooms, no need for long wait times. Back in 2020, we made our vision of enabling direct transfers into mobile wallets from Canada a reality. Thinking about how far we’ve come, it means everything.

Abdoulaye: For me, it’s also the impact. As people, we’re all trying to find purpose, something that allows us to leave a mark. With Cauridor, I feel like we’re doing that by improving lives at scale. Every time I look at the transaction volumes, the commissions earned by agents, or just how many people are using the platform, it’s a reminder of why we do this.

Some people go into politics or public service to make a difference. For us, it’s through building companies; by hiring people, paying salaries, enabling small businesses, and giving people tools that make life easier. That’s the most fulfilling part of this journey.

What were some of the biggest hurdles you faced in the early days of Cauridor and how did you overcome them?

Oumar: In the beginning, we lacked experience, and there were things we simply didn’t know how to do better at the time. For example, when we first launched in Guinea, we used to pre-fund our agents and some of them took advantage of that. A few just disappeared with the money. We’d show up the next day and find their shops closed. Eventually, we learned not to pre-fund agents, and that change helped us tighten our operations.

Abdoulaye: Another major hurdle early on was building partnerships. It’s hard to get meetings when no one knows you. We eventually found a way in. We used our network in each country to get introductions and build relationships. That made a huge difference. Now, in every market we operate in, we’re recognized.

Also, just navigating the corporate world as first-time founders was a challenge. We had to learn a lot on the go about accounting, corporate law, regulatory compliance, things we hadn’t been exposed to before. We’re both big readers. We probably each read about 50 books a year. Mostly business, self-improvement, and founder stories. That habit of learning has been key to growing with the business. We still have a lot to learn, but we’re in a much stronger position than when we started.

Do you have a structured approach to reading, or is it more of an individual habit that supports your journey as founders?

Oumar: It’s mostly individual, but we tend to read the same types of books. We’ll often tell each other what we’re reading and end up picking up the same ones. Then we’ll share key takeaways and insights with each other. Abdoulaye’s into fiction a bit more than I am. He even tried to get me to read Atlas Shrugged, but I’m still working on that one.

We also share a lot of what we read with our team. We run training sessions for our middle managers and emerging leaders where we share concepts from the books we’ve read, senior managers sometimes join in and lead sessions too.

Abdoulaye: Definitely. One book that really stuck with us was Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink. We found it so valuable that we bought copies and gave them to our managers across all our markets in Africa. It’s that kind of hands-on learning that’s really helped shape how we lead and scale the company.

How do you handle rejection?

Both: Our default is to keep pushing until it’s absolutely clear that the door won’t open. A no today doesn’t mean no forever. Some of our partnerships started with multiple rejections. There’s one partner we followed up with for over three years, meeting their teams and coming back year after year until the timing was finally right. Now we’re actively working together across multiple countries.

We never take rejection personally. We see it as part of the process and try to go back, refine our value proposition, and present it in a way that makes it clear what they stand to gain or lose by saying no.

What’s your top advice for aspiring founders, particularly those building in fragmented markets like Africa?

Oumar: I was actually asked this recently by a founder doing really well just one year into her journey. My biggest advice was this: be extremely selective with the first 10 people you bring onto your team. They will either help you build or break what you’re trying to create. You need A+ players, people who think and act like founders. People who’ll pick up the phone at midnight if something’s broken, who show up on weekends, who take full ownership. These kinds of people are rare, but it’s worth being patient and finding them early on. Once you find those core team members, take care of them. Be generous with equity, with trust, with support. When your team knows you have their back, they’ll give their all for the company. That trust is what builds long-term loyalty and resilience.

Abdoulaye: Exactly. Before the business, it starts with the people, they’re the ones who will make the vision real. And alongside that, you have to be patient. In VC-backed environments, there’s pressure to move fast, but in Africa, things often move slowly. There’s less urgency in the culture, and you’ll need to push while also giving things time to take root. Results won’t come overnight. You might even feel like nothing’s working. But if you have the right people and you’re consistent, the impact will come. We’ve been there, we nearly gave up on one market after repeated setbacks. But we stayed with it, and last year, that same market made up 30% of our revenue.

Do you remember who your first hire was?

Oumar: Yes. Our first hire was Alpha, and honestly, we weren’t just hiring an employee. We were looking for someone who could take charge of finance and accounting, someone smart, full of energy, and above all, high in integrity. These three qualities have always been core to how we hire, and Alpha embodied all of them. To this day, we still use those same criteria when bringing new people onto the team.

How would you describe the team culture at Cauridor?

Both: At its core, our culture is about driving change; not just participating in it, but leading it. When we started in countries like Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, there was virtually no infrastructure for what we were trying to build. We had to create everything from scratch even before we launched the app. That mindset of building boldly and solving hard problems is central to who we are and that energy flows through the team. The people we’ve hired are ambitious and aligned with our vision. They see themselves not just as employees, but as part of something transformative.

At the same time, there’s a strong sense of family at Cauridor. We genuinely care about our customers and about each other.

How do you maintain this culture across such a geographically diverse team?

Oumar: It really starts with the hiring process. We’re very intentional about who we bring on board. From the beginning, we’ve looked for people who are not just smart and driven, but who align with our core values. Our hiring process is rigorous, especially for technical and leadership roles. We modeled it off how companies like Google do it — multiple interview stages, problem-solving tasks, and clear value assessments. Abdoulaye and I are still involved in the final stages of hiring for many roles, especially engineers and senior hires.

Abdoulaye: When you hire right, culture becomes self-reinforcing. People who align with our values naturally shape the environment. And when someone joins who doesn’t quite fit, it becomes obvious quickly, not in a hostile way, but in a “this isn’t the right match” kind of way. That clarity makes it easier to protect the culture we’re building. We also have annual retreats where people from different markets come together to bond, reinforce values and make sure everyone feels connected to the bigger mission.

Life Outside of Cauridor

If you weren’t building Cauridor today, what do you think you’d be doing instead?

Oumar: Probably still building, just tackling a different problem.

Abdoulaye: Definitely. One thing’s for sure: we wouldn’t be back in a classroom. Not because we’re done learning, but because we’ve figured out how to learn on our own. These days, everything is accessible online. If it weren’t Cauridor, it would be something else. Probably another company aimed at solving a big, foundational challenge. But for now, we’re focused here because the problem we’re solving is massive. In many of the countries where we operate, there was nothing when we started. We’re not just building a company, we’re building infrastructure from the ground up.

The truth is, we may never really see the “finish line.” This is the kind of work that stretches across generations. We’re laying the foundation now, but it’s possible the next generation will carry it forward. This is what gets us out of bed every morning.

What does work-life balance look like for you?

Oumar: We try our best. At this stage, it’s less about perfect balance and more about building intentional habits. I try to stay active, eat healthy, and drink lots of water. When I’m not traveling for work — which is about half the year — I make it a priority to dedicate my evenings to family. My kids play soccer, so I make a point of being the one to drop them off for practice.. If there’s one part of the job I don’t enjoy, it’s probably the constant travel, especially the jet lag and sleep disruption. But aside from that, I think we’ve done a good job of managing things in a way that works.

We also try to model that balance for our team. We’ve set up gyms in some of our offices in Guinea, Senegal, Sierra Leone, so people can take breaks and focus on their well-being.

Abdoulaye: As a founder, the line between work and life can get blurry. Your company becomes part of your identity. Your kids grow up hearing about it. But we do our best to avoid burnout. That means carving out time to be present with family, especially with our kids. Work is part of our life, but we also try to build routines that protect our energy and give us room to recharge.

On a lighter note, if business partners or investors visited Guinea for the first time, where would you take them to experience the city’s authentic cuisine or culture?

Both: We’d definitely make sure they try peanut butter sauce and fonio. One of the best places to enjoy that is at Africana Downtown.

We’d also treat them to a plate of attieke (cassava couscous) and grilled fish.

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To learn more about Oumar, Abdoulaye and the team at Cauridor, connect via:

LinkedIn: Oumar Rafiou Barry | Abdoulaye Bah

Cauridor: https://www.cauridor.com/

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