From 17 Credit Card Rejections to Building Global Payment Infrastructure
The Nigerian-born founder of Kredete is rewiring how money moves between the developed world and emerging markets — one settlement at a time.
Kredete: Rewiring the Infrastructure of Global Capital
When Adeola Adedewe arrived in the United States, he did everything right. He earned multiple degrees from the City University of New York, secured stable employment, paid his taxes, and consistently sent money home to family in Nigeria.
And yet, despite all of that, he was rejected 17 times when he applied for a credit card. No credit history. No pathway in.
That experience — shared by millions of immigrants across the US, Canada, and the UK — did not just frustrate him. It became the foundation for a deeper question: how many financially responsible people are excluded from the system simply because the system was not designed for them?
Later, while working at JPMorgan processing cross-border payments from markets including Nigeria, Hong Kong, and Singapore into New York, that question expanded. He saw firsthand how global settlement systems relied on SWIFT correspondent banking chains — slow, expensive, and layered with intermediaries, each taking a cut. Today, the average cost of sending money to Sub-Saharan Africa remains close to 8%, nearly three times the UN's target.
In 2022, he founded Kredete.
Kredete stood out in the selection process as a company addressing one of the most structurally broken layers of global finance — the movement of capital from developed economies into emerging markets. What began as a remittance and credit-building product has rapidly evolved into a settlement platform re-architecting how money moves across borders. The combination of strong consumer traction and growing enterprise adoption signaled clear potential to scale into critical financial infrastructure.
A Different Kind of Fintech
Kredete is not another remittance app. It is a settlement company built on proprietary stablecoin rails that collects hard currency in the US, Canada, and Europe and settles payouts in local currency through direct integrations with banks and mobile money providers across more than 50 countries — bypassing the traditional SWIFT correspondent banking system entirely.
For consumers — the more than 5 million users on its platform — the experience begins with a flat $1 transfer fee. But each transaction does more than move money. It is reported to US credit bureaus, turning a familiar behavior — sending money home — into a credit-building event.
Users typically see their credit scores improve within months, unlocking access to financial tools that were previously out of reach, including savings products, debit cards, and loans through a network of more than 1,200 US lending partners.
The ambition is both clear and expansive: to become the primary financial platform for immigrants from the moment they arrive in a new country through every stage of their financial lives.
We want to process one-third of global payments within the next five to ten years. It is an ambitious goal, but that is the scale we are building for. If we can touch one third of global payments either through our consumer platform or through enterprise partners moving away from SWIFT, then we have done something meaningful.
Infrastructure, Not Just an App
Beyond its consumer product, Kredete is building an institutional infrastructure layer — API-driven platforms that enable banks, fintechs, and enterprises to move capital into emerging markets without the capital lock-up required by traditional pre-funding models.
Today, the company serves more than 9,100 institutional clients across Africa, Europe, and the Americas.
This evolution — from a product-led solution to a broader financial infrastructure platform — positions Kredete at the center of a critical global shift: the modernization of cross-border payments.
Backed by $25 million in funding from investors including Partech and AfricInvest, the company is building with both technical depth and long-term intent.
A Rigorous Path to Endeavor
In April 2026, Adeola Adedewe was selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur following the organization's multi-stage selection process, which culminates in the International Selection Panel — a global forum where experienced founders, investors, and business leaders evaluate high-impact entrepreneurs.
The Endeavor process is rigorous in the best possible way. Every conversation pushed me to sharpen not just what we are building at Kredete, but why it matters and why now. What stood out was the caliber of the people on the other side of the table — operators and founders whose questions made our thinking better.
Welcome to the Endeavor Network
During the April 2026 International Selection Panels, Endeavor selected 22 entrepreneurs leading 11 companies. The organization now supports more than 3,100 entrepreneurs leading over 2,000 companies worldwide.
Building a global financial platform for emerging markets is not something you do alone. I went through the process to plug Kredete into one of the most thoughtful entrepreneurial networks in the world at a moment when the decisions we make will shape the next decade of the company. I hope to gain sharper thinking and long-horizon counsel — and to contribute back to other founders building boldly from and for emerging markets.
Adeola now joins this global network — a community of founders building some of the most consequential companies to emerge from high-growth markets.
Adeola is building a company with both commercial strength and systemic impact. Kredete reflects a new generation of companies redefining how global systems work.
Learn more about Kredete at kredete.com