Our History

Mobile payments promise to transform the financial landscape of the developing world, and to change the lives of millions. For ordinary people in emerging markets, everyday transactions are painful, risky and expensive to complete – and access to more sophisticated financial services is a distant dream. Mobile payments will change all that.

The Splash story began in late 2007, as the potential of mobile money first became evident in East Africa. Ben Farren and Sheka Forna were brought together by a shared idea to bring this concept to the rest of the continent, starting with Sheka’s homeland in Sierra Leone.

Shortly afterwards, Ben and Sheka founded Splash Mobile Money and began work on realising their vision with seed capital from anchor investors, Manocap. After 18 months spent developing the technology platform and forging strategic partnerships in Sierra Leone, Splash was launched in pilot form in September 2009.

The Pilot proceeded with great success. The operating platform proved robust, and take-up of the service vastly exceeded expectations – so in early 2010, with a new injection of capital from Manocap and from the Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund, Splash was able to roll out nationwide.

In six months, the Splash network grew from 30 to more than 150 outlets, and from 10,000 to more than 50,000 registered customers, making Splash the financial institution with the greatest footprint and greatest reach in Sierra Leone.