Built in Cotonou, Benin · West Africa

Money moves.
People shouldn't
have to.

West Africa's offline-first mobile money app.

I'm building iSend because of all the limitations we face sending and receiving money because we are Black African. iSend is here to end all of this — in every single locality, across West Africa.

Support the build Read the story
The problem
01

Two people standing next to each other in a market in Cotonou. One on MTN. One on Moov. They cannot send money to each other without switching apps, paying fees at every step, or giving up and using cash.

02

At churches. At taxi stops. Wherever there's no internet — which is everywhere, every day — people cannot pay each other at all. The infrastructure abandons them at the last metre.

03

Beninese diaspora in France and the US send money home through Western Union and Wave — paying 3–8% fees, waiting days. The money they earned abroad loses value before it arrives.

04

16 countries in West Africa. Dozens of mobile money operators. Zero interoperability. Every transaction is a negotiation with a broken system no one has bothered to fix — for us.

"I'm building iSend because of all the limitations we have to send and receive money because we are Black African. iSend is to end all this — in every single locality across West Africa. It will unify the West African area the way the Central and Eastern US are united."
— Michaël GBEKAN, Founder · Cotonou, Benin · 2026
What iSend does
📡
Nearby Transfer

Send money to someone within 2 metres — no internet needed. Bluetooth. Instant. Zero fee. Built for markets, churches, taxi stops, and every place where connection fails but life doesn't pause.

The differentiator
⇄
Cross-Operator Bridge

MTN to Moov. Moov to Celtiis. One app. Any wallet. iSend handles the routing and settlement invisibly — the user sends, the recipient receives. No friction. No workarounds.

Core flow
🌍
Diaspora Transfers

From France. From the US. From anywhere. Send directly to a mobile wallet in Benin at 1.5% — not 8%. Arrives in minutes, not days. The recipient gets an SMS the moment funds land.

Growth driver

Built in
The Altar.

Every morning I go to a room I call The Altar. Before I write a single line of code, I pray. After every session, I pray. The rules of the space are written and signed before God.

It is not a metaphor. It is a real room in Cotonou where iSend is being built. Where the server runs. Where the first commit was made. Where this plan lives.

I don't have a team yet. I don't have funding yet. I have a 90-day plan, a consecrated space, and the conviction that what West Africa needs, we will build ourselves.

Day 3 of 90-day build
16 target countries
1 founder, Cotonou
$0 raised so far
The 90-day plan
Days 1–30 · Foundation
Secure the Altar. Build the base.

Sign the office. Set up the server. Consecrate the space. Lock the IP, spin up the Docker stack, make the first commit. The physical and digital infrastructure must exist before anything else.

Days 31–60 · Activation
Choose, define, and start building.

Interview 10 real users in Cotonou. Define the MVP. Start with the offline nearby transfer — self-contained, no operator APIs needed, demonstrable in 3–4 weeks. Build the thing that proves the concept.

Days 61–90 · Launch
Test with real people. Iterate. Ship.

10 beta users. At least one successful MTN → Moov transfer. A working offline demo between two physical devices. Three beta users say unprompted they would use iSend instead of what they use today.

Back the
build.

This is being built by one person from Cotonou with a laptop, faith, and a plan. Your support — in any form — makes iSend real.

$0 raised Goal: $500
Payment link — coming soon

International payment infrastructure in Benin is one of the exact problems iSend is being built to solve. While we set up a reliable receiving method, the best way to support the build right now is to follow the journey and reach out directly. Every connection matters.

Follow the Altar Log Get in touch →
Get in touch
Want to support the build?

If you're in the diaspora and want to help fund the Altar and iSend — even a small amount — reach out directly. I'll explain how to send it and what it will be used for.

gbekansohn@gmail.com →
Want to collaborate or invest?

If you work in West African fintech, mobile money, or impact investing — or if you want to join the build — book a 30-minute call. I'll show you what we're building and where you fit.

Book a 30-min call →
Michaël GBEKAN
Backend Engineer · Founder · Cotonou, Benin
Portfolio → LinkedIn → GitHub → Email →