CrowdForce

Overview

CrowdForce began as a way to collect reliable data from markets that lived offline. Its field agents ran surveys, retail audits, and identity checks in Nigerian communities. A government project then exposed a more valuable problem: after profiling millions of micro-traders, the program still struggled to put money in their hands. CrowdForce converted its local agent network into PayForce, a branchless-banking product that let merchants provide cash withdrawals, deposits, transfers, and bill payments.^[1]

FairMoney acquired PayForce in March 2023. The companies did not disclose terms, although TechCrunch sources placed the cash-and-stock deal at $15 million to $20 million. CrowdForce CEO Oluwatomi Ayorinde joined FairMoney to run the combined payments unit.^[2] PayForce later became FairMoney Business, preserving the merchant product inside a licensed bank.^[3]

CrowdForce's durable asset combined distribution and liquidity in a country where cash remained dominant and bank branches were scarce. The acquisition joined that last-mile network with FairMoney's deposits, credit, license, and consumer base. It was a strategic exit from an increasingly capital-intensive contest, not a public-market listing or documented shutdown.

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Founding Story

Oluwatomi and Damilola Ayorinde, cousins with engineering and operating backgrounds, started MobileForms in 2015. Companies, governments, and NGOs wanted information from low-income and rural markets, but economic activity happened through fragmented physical outlets. MobileForms recruited local entrepreneurs, students, and shop owners to complete mobile surveys and tasks for small rewards.^[4]

The founding model created an offline distribution layer before the company knew its best use. Clients could dispatch market research, retail audits, mystery shopping, and field verification to agents already embedded in their communities. In 2018, MobileForms used 20,000 agents to perform know-your-customer checks on 4.5 million traders for TraderMoni, a Nigerian government microcredit program.^[1]

Registration solved only half the job. Many approved traders lacked bank accounts or lived far from a branch, so digital records did not translate into usable cash. MobileForms rebranded as CrowdForce in 2019 and shifted from gathering data about offline commerce to distributing financial services through it.^[5]

Timeline

• 2015: Oluwatomi and Damilola Ayorinde start MobileForms.^[6]
• 2018: MobileForms supports KYC and enrollment for 4.5 million TraderMoni applicants through 20,000 agents.^[1]
• 2019: The company rebrands as CrowdForce and makes financial-service distribution its main business.^[5]
• Winter 2020: CrowdForce joins Y Combinator.^[7]
• December 2021: Aruwa Capital announces an investment in the company.^[6]
• February 2022: CrowdForce raises a $3.6 million equity-and-debt pre-Series A led by Aruwa, with HAVAÍC and AAIC participating.^[5]
• March 2023: FairMoney acquires PayForce; Ayorinde joins FairMoney to lead the unit.^[2]
• February 2024: PayForce by FairMoney becomes FairMoney Business.^[3]

What They Built

MobileForms was a field-work platform. Businesses created campaigns; agents received location-aware surveys or tasks on phones, completed them locally, and earned rewards. The network gave formal organizations a way to see and verify commerce that did not leave a rich digital trail.^[4]

PayForce turned those relationships into bank-like access points. A merchant received a POS device and app, accepted card or transfer payments, paid bills, and performed cash-in or cash-out transactions for nearby customers. Transaction fees gave the merchant another income stream. CrowdForce retained MobileForms for data work, but put PayForce at the center of the business.^[1]

Agent liquidity was the operating constraint. A cash-out agent can serve customers only while enough notes remain in the till; a cash-in agent accumulates cash it needs to convert into digital float. CrowdForce partnered with fuel stations and other cash-heavy businesses so nearby agents could rebalance without a long trip to a bank. It also distributed terminals through pharmacies and reseller networks. The product combined software, hardware, settlement, recruitment, support, compliance, and physical cash movement.