For many Nigerians living abroad, sending money home is more than a financial transaction; it is a lifeline. Yet, cross-border payments are still riddled with high fees, poor transparency, and systems that often exclude immigrants and non-traditional businesses. For Chibuike Uzoukwu, a Nigerian immigrant and tech entrepreneur based in Sydney, this challenge was personal.
After navigating countless roadblocks while managing payouts for digital creators across Africa, he decided to build Sharperly, a cross-border fintech platform designed to fix the broken remittance infrastructure between Australia and Africa. With a unique bidding feature that gives users control over exchange rates, Sharperly is redefining remittance as a tool for sending money and building financial inclusion. In this interview, Uzoukwu shares the frustrations that sparked Sharperly’s creation, how it empowers users across continents, and why this innovation matters to Nigerians at home and abroad, and to Africa’s growing tech ecosystem.
Can you introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your background before founding Sharperly?
My name is Chibuike Uzoukwu, and I’m the Co-Founder and CEO of Soft Technology Limited, a Sydney-based media agency focused on helping digital content creators turn their creativity into sustainable income. We currently represent over 1,500 creators globally, managing content monetisation across various platforms. Since inception, we’ve generated over $3 million USD in revenue while serving as exclusive representatives for our creators in all matters related to monetisation and digital strategy.
What inspired you to start Sharperly, and what problem were you aiming to solve?
The idea for Sharperly was born out of real frustration. While managing payouts for our global client base at Soft Technology Limited, especially in countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa. We constantly ran into issues with traditional banks and fintech platforms that didn’t understand our business model. One major provider, WorldRemit, even froze and later permanently suspended our account after we processed over AUD800,000 in just two months, despite submitting all the requested documentation. This caused significant delays in payments to our creators, and local banks weren’t any better, from offering slow service to high transaction fees. Eventually, my own bank shut down seven of my accounts, both my personal and business accounts, without explanation, a painful experience that turned out to be common among immigrants and small businesses in Australia. That’s when the mission became clear: to build Sharperly as a standalone fintech platform committed to financial inclusion while banking the unbanked, supporting underserved communities, and removing barriers for individuals and businesses, regardless of their background or income level.
What gap did you observe in the remittance space between Australia and Nigeria that motivated this launch?
Despite growing demand, the remittance space between Australia and Africa lacks specialised, compliant, and inclusive cross-border payment infrastructure designed for immigrants, digital entrepreneurs, and non-traditional businesses, especially those operating from the Asia-Pacific region. Through my own experience trying to disburse funds from Australia to African countries like Nigeria, Ghana, and South Africa, it became clear that existing financial institutions weren’t built to serve this segment. Most financial institutions failed to accommodate our needs, leading to frequent disruptions, high fees, and exclusion. Sharperly was born out of this frustration to offer a smoother, more affordable, and reliable remittance experience for everyday people and businesses who’ve been left behind by traditional systems.
How did your own experiences (personal or professional) influence the design of Sharperly’s platform?
Sharperly’s design was shaped by my real-life experiences. As CEO of a global digital media agency operating across Asia-Pacific and Africa, I faced constant challenges from bank account closures to compliance hurdles and a lack of fit-for-purpose financial tools. These were not abstract market problems; they were deeply personal and professionally costly. I built Sharperly to be the kind of platform I desperately needed, one that understands the realities of cross-border payments, speaks to the struggles of immigrants, digital entrepreneurs, and non-traditional businesses, and prioritises financial inclusion. Every design choice reflects empathy, relevance, and technical insight into the needs of the underbanked.
For readers unfamiliar with Sharperly, how would you describe the platform in one sentence?
Sharperly is the cross-border banking platform for immigrants in the diaspora. Our vision is to be that platform that helps any immigrant to a new country settle into the financial ecosystem of that country with ease.
What makes Sharperly different from other remittance platforms in the market today?
We are working to stack up our differentiation as we have some interesting features on our roadmap, but for now, one key differentiation is our bidding feature, where users get to choose the exchange rates that work for them based on the different providers on our platform.
One standout feature is your “bidding feature.” Can you explain how it works and why it’s a game-changer for users?
One of the most overlooked challenges in cross-border payments is the imbalance of power between remittance service providers and users. Traditionally, remittance users have had little to no say in the exchange rate they receive; they are offered a fixed rate that almost always favours the financial institution. Our bidding feature was designed to disrupt that. By allowing users to choose their own preferred exchange rates, we are essentially giving them the opportunity to secure rates that reflect their own sense of fairness and value. The implications are significant and this model introduces true transparency, because exchange rates aren’t dictated by a single authority. It also enhances affordability, because users can often achieve better-than-market deals. And most importantly, it gives users control and creates a shift that rebalances the relationship between users and remittance service providers. .
What other unique or innovative features does Sharperly offer that users should know about?
No other for now, but we have our eyes set on cross-border credit for immigrants in Australia and on a global scale.
How can people sign up, and where can they find more information about the platform?
Our apps are available on the various app stores, and one can learn about us and what we are doing from our website – www.sharperly.com
Why did you decide to focus first on the Australia to Nigeria remittance corridor?
I decided to focus first on the Australia to Nigeria remittance corridor because it was the most urgent and personally impactful use case that exposed the broken nature of the current remittance and banking infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region. By focusing first on the Australia to Nigeria corridor, I was addressing a real-life problem I deeply understood and was already serving at scale through my client base at Soft Technology Limited. It allowed me to build Sharperly around an immediate need with real user pain points, while validating the product in a high-demand, underserved market. In doing so, I not only solved a personal business challenge but created a pathway toward broader financial inclusion for others facing similar barriers.
How are you reaching Nigerians in Australia, and what kind of response have you gotten so far?
So far, we’ve been able to reach our target audience via digital marketing, immigrant communities, and events. The response has been very interesting and insightful. One of such insights helped us redesign our onboarding flow as we monitored user interaction with the product and received feedback, because we are very particular about the immigrant experience.
Beyond Australia, do you have plans to expand Sharperly’s services to other corridors?
Yes, we do. We are looking to activate our MSB licence in Canada and go live in Kenya next.
Who is the typical Sharperly user, and what pain points are you solving for them?
Sharperly currently serves Nigerian immigrants in Australia who need a faster, cheaper, and more reliable way to send money home. Traditional remittance channels are slow, expensive, and lack transparency, causing frustration and emotional strain. Sharperly solves this with a seamless digital platform that offers low-fee transfers, fair exchange rates, and instant settlement.. It’s built with empathy for the diaspora, helping users support loved ones without any stress.
Can you walk us through what a user journey looks like from sending to receiving funds?
We’ve designed the user journey to be fast, simple, and intuitive, because we know speed, transparency, and ease matter deeply to people sending money across borders. After signing up and completing a quick ID verification, users can immediately initiate a transfer by entering the amount they want to send, and after adding a beneficiary, they choose their preferred exchange rates and transaction fees are shown upfront before funding the transaction through their preferred payment method. Settlement is typically instant, and once the funds are delivered, both the sender and the receiver are notified, closing the loop and providing peace of mind.
What kind of feedback have you received so far from early users?
Early users say Sharperly feels like it was built for them. They’ve praised the speed of transfers, the low fees, and how easy it is to navigate the app. Many also appreciate the option to pay bills or send funds directly to service providers in Nigeria, bringing peace of mind. Overall, the feedback highlights trust, simplicity, and emotional relief.
How does Sharperly contribute to the broader African tech ecosystem, particularly in fintech?
Our product contributes to the broader African tech ecosystem by addressing one of the continent’s most pressing challenges, which is financial inclusion through innovation in fintech. Remittances remain a lifeline for millions of Africans, yet the traditional system has long been burdened by high costs, inefficiencies, and limited accessibility. By introducing technology that brings transparency, choice, and affordability into cross-border payments, we’re not only solving a user problem but also strengthening the infrastructure of Africa’s digital economy. We see ourselves as part of a larger movement of African innovators reimagining how money moves, whether across borders, between businesses, or into underserved communities. By lowering barriers and empowering people with fairer financial tools, we create ripple effects that enable entrepreneurship, expand access to credit, and accelerate economic growth. In other words, our contribution isn’t just about helping people send money across borders; it’s about helping build the rails for Africa’s digital future and ensuring that the continent’s fintech story is written on its own terms, with solutions designed for its people, by its people.
What role do you think innovation like yours plays in reshaping Africa’s remittance narrative?
An innovation like Sharperly’s is more than just speed and convenience. It’s about fairness, access, and empowerment. For Africa, where remittance inflows are a lifeline for millions of households, innovation like ours ensures people get more value for every dollar sent home. By tackling issues like high fees, lack of transparency, and one-sided exchange rates, we are rewriting the narrative from dependency to empowerment. We’re showing that remittances can fuel entrepreneurship, education, and development when the process is affordable, transparent, and truly designed around the needs of the people.
