Idorenyin Obong began his entrepreneurship journey with a simple yet frustrating experience. After earning a computer science degree in Nigeria, he built an impressive career in financial technology, holding positions at notable companies such as Busha Digital, Yellow Card Financial, and PayStack (now known as Stripe).
Ironically, despite his fintech background, it was during his time as a freelancer that he encountered a problem that would inspire his own company. Paid in US dollars for his freelance work, he needed to make an urgent payment in his local currency. The currency conversion process was so slow and complex that it consumed nearly an entire day.
That inefficiency planted the seed for what would become Aboki Africa, later rebranded as Grey.
The Birth of Grey
In 2020, Idorenyin Obong partnered with a university friend to found Aboki Africa, a product that addresses the exact pain point he had faced. Initially, the company targets African markets, intending to make currency exchange faster, more transparent, and more reliable.
However, Obong’s ambitions soon expanded. He envisioned a solution that could serve customers beyond Africa’s borders. In 2021, the company underwent a full rebrand to Grey, positioning itself as a global platform with a broader product range and international market reach.
Overcoming Startup Challenges
Launching Grey was not without obstacles. Africa’s startup ecosystem is still developing compared to tech hubs in the US and Europe, making venture capital difficult to access. For the first twelve and eighteen months, Obong and his co-founder relied solely on personal savings to keep the business afloat.
Their persistence paid off when a small pre-seed round was secured, followed by acceptance into the prestigious Y Combinator accelerator in 2022, after two unsuccessful attempts.
The three-month program proved transformative. “We met experienced partners and other founders who had built successful and failed companies,” Obong recalls. “It was a crash course in avoiding many startups’ mistakes.” This exposure, mentorship, and validation from Y Combinator unlocked $2.4 million in funding shortly after graduation.
Today, Grey employs around 50 team members and is steadily expanding its footprint into other existing regions. By innovating, Grey aims to remain competitive in a crowded fintech landscape.
