What is Kruma's primary value proposition for users?

Kruma promises to provide currency exchange at the 'True Exchange Rate,' which they define as the mid-market rate plus a transparent 1% fee. According to Slide 5, this results in significantly higher payouts for users compared to traditional banks, which often hide costs in the spread. The platform also emphasizes convenience through instant access via mobile money and debit cards.

How does Kruma handle cash withdrawals without a traditional bank branch network?

As shown on Slide 3, Kruma utilizes a 'Vendor Partner' model. This allows users who do not have a physical Kruma card to receive cash through established mobile money ecosystems and local vendors. The slide specifically features logos for M-Pesa, MTN Mobile Money, and Tigo Cash, suggesting a heavy reliance on existing telecommunications-based financial infrastructure.

What role does cryptocurrency play in the Kruma ecosystem?

Slide 5 explicitly mentions that the platform provides access to multiple currencies using BTC (Bitcoin), ETH (Ethereum), and LTC (Litecoin). This suggests that Kruma uses digital assets as a bridge currency to move value across borders or to maintain liquidity in various fiat currencies without relying solely on traditional correspondent banking networks.

What specific market segments is Kruma targeting?

The deck targets two main segments: international travelers and users in emerging markets. Slide 4 highlights the $246B spent by 75.6M travelers to the US, while Slide 3’s inclusion of African mobile money giants indicates a focus on the remittance and local exchange needs of users in regions where these services are dominant.

What critical investor information is missing from this deck?

The deck is missing several standard components required for a formal fundraise. There is no slide detailing the founding team's background or expertise. Furthermore, the deck lacks financial projections, current traction metrics (such as user growth or volume), a competitive landscape analysis, and a specific capital request or 'ask' slide.

Kruma Pitch Deck: 11-Slide Pre-Seed Deck

See all 11 slides of the Kruma pitch deck — a Fintech deck — with a slide-by-slide teardown of what the deck does well and where it falls short.

Kruma presents a fintech solution designed to bypass the high fees and inefficiencies of traditional currency exchange, specifically targeting travelers and emerging markets. The deck outlines a product ecosystem including a mobile app, virtual and physical debit cards, and a network of vendor partners for cash access. A significant technical differentiator mentioned is the use of BTC, ETH, and LTC to provide affordable access to multiple currencies, suggesting a crypto-backed liquidity layer. While the market opportunity is framed globally at $5.1T daily, the specific focus on partners like…

Key takeaways

The company identifies four primary pain points in current solutions: expensive airport fees, slow processes, hidden fees, and limited currency availability (Slide 2).
Kruma's product suite includes a free app for bank transfers, virtual and plastic Visa debit cards, and a vendor partner network for cash (Slide 3).
Strategic integrations with M-Pesa, MTN Mobile Money, and Tigo Cash are highlighted as key components of the cash-out infrastructure (Slide 3).
The total addressable market is cited at $5.1T in daily global currency trades, with $49B specifically in US currency exchange fees (Slide 4).
Kruma claims to offer the 'True Exchange Rate' by utilizing a 1% fee on the mid-market rate, compared to traditional banks that use non-mid-market rates (Slide 5).
The platform utilizes cryptocurrencies (BTC, ETH, LTC) to facilitate affordable access to multiple global currencies (Slide 5).
The deck omits a dedicated team slide, though contact emails for 'Ali' and 'Theo' are provided on the final slide (Slide 6).
There is no explicit funding ask, valuation, or use-of-funds breakdown included in the provided slides (Slide 6).

Slide-by-Slide Analysis

Slide 1: Title Slide

The opening slide introduces the company name, Kruma , accompanied by a logo featuring a stylized globe focused on the African continent. The tagline is clear and functional: "Exchange money at the True Exchange Rate." This immediately positions the company within the fintech and foreign exchange (FX) sector, focusing on price transparency as the primary hook.

Slide 2: Today's Solutions

This slide serves as the problem statement, identifying four friction points in the status quo of currency exchange. It lists "Expensive Fees at Airport," "Slow and Inconvenient," "Hidden Fees," and "Limited Currencies." The use of stock imagery (an airport exchange booth, a bank teller, and a bank building) reinforces that the target competitor is the traditional financial institution and physical exchange bureau.

Slide 3: How it Works

Kruma outlines a three-step user journey. First, users "Download the Free App, Add Money with a bank transfer, card and Exchange." A screenshot shows a mobile interface with a balance of $37,567.48 . Second, users can "Request your Free Kruma Virtual or Plastic Debit Card to spend when abroad." The visual shows a branded Visa Signature card. Third, for those without a card, they can "Get Cash now with Kruma Vendor Partner." This section is critical as it displays logos for M-Pesa, MTN Mobile Money, and Tigo Cash , indicating that Kruma acts as a bridge between digital balances and local mobile money ecosystems.

Slide 4: Market Opportunity

The deck uses three data points to illustrate scale. It cites $5.1T as the amount of "Currency Traded Worldwide daily," sourced from Broker Notes. It then narrows the focus to $246B "Spent by 75.6M Travelers to US only," sourced from the National Travel & Tourism Office. Finally, it identifies $49B in "Currency Exchange Fees in US." While the daily trade volume is a massive headline figure, the $49B in fees represents the actual addressable revenue pool Kruma is targeting.

Slide 5: Why we are better

This slide provides a comparative case study between two fictional users, John and Jane. John uses Kruma at the "Mid-Market Rate" with a 1% fee , receiving $779.43 for 1,000 CAD. Jane goes to a bank at a "Non-Mid Market Rate" and receives $737.20 after hidden fees. The slide also reiterates the convenience of the solution suite and introduces a technical element: "Affordable, easy to use and access to multiple currencies using BTC, ETH, LTC." A circular diagram shows various global currency symbols (USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, etc.) surrounding a globe, suggesting a decentralized liquidity model.

Slide 6: Call to Action

The final slide invites the viewer to "Join us to bring affordable currency exchange to world." It provides a link to a prototype and social media icons for Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Contact information is limited to a website ( www.kruma.co ) and two email addresses for ali@kruma.co and theo@kruma.co . There is no mention of a specific funding round or dollar amount requested.

What Kruma Does Well

The deck is highly effective at distilling a complex financial process into a simple value proposition: saving money through transparency. By using the "John vs. Jane" comparison on Slide 5, the founders make the abstract concept of "mid-market rates" tangible for a general audience. The specific dollar difference ($779.43 vs $737.20) provides a clear ROI for the user.

Furthermore, the integration with mobile money providers like M-Pesa and MTN is a significant strategic signal. It suggests the founders understand the infrastructure of emerging markets, particularly in Africa, where traditional banking penetration is low but mobile money usage is ubiquitous. This gives the "How it Works" slide much more credibility than a generic app-only solution.

What is Missing from the Deck

The most glaring omission is a Team Slide . While two names are implied in the contact emails, there is no information regarding their professional backgrounds, previous exits, or technical expertise in blockchain or finance. For a fintech company handling user funds, establishing trust through the team's pedigree is essential.

The deck also lacks Traction Metrics . There is no mention of how many users are currently using the prototype, the volume of transactions processed to date, or any regulatory licenses obtained. In the FX space, compliance (KYC/AML) is a major hurdle, and the deck does not address how the company navigates these legal requirements.

Finally, there is no Business Model slide beyond the mention of a 1% fee. It is unclear if Kruma generates revenue from card interchange fees, vendor partner commissions, or the crypto-liquidity spread. The lack of a Financial Ask or a Roadmap makes this feel more like a product pitch than a venture capital investment deck.

Founder Takeaways: What to Copy

Visualizing the Savings: Use a side-by-side comparison (like Slide 5) to show exactly how much better your product is than the incumbent. Specific numbers beat vague adjectives every time. · Infrastructure Partnerships: If your product relies on an ecosystem, show the logos of the partners you are integrating with. It proves you aren't building in a vacuum and that you understand the local market's plumbing. · Market Layering: Start with a massive "Total Addressable Market" (the $5.1T daily trade) but quickly narrow it down to a specific, reachable revenue pool (the $49B in fees). This shows you understand both the scale of the industry and the reality of your niche. · Clean Design: The deck uses a consistent color palette (purple and white) and avoids clutter. Each slide has one clear message, which is vital for maintaining investor attention during a quick flip-through.

Frequently asked questions

What is Kruma's primary value proposition for users?: Kruma promises to provide currency exchange at the 'True Exchange Rate,' which they define as the mid-market rate plus a transparent 1% fee. According to Slide 5, this results in significantly higher payouts for users compared to traditional banks, which often hide costs in the spread. The platform also emphasizes convenience through instant access via mobile money and debit cards.
How does Kruma handle cash withdrawals without a traditional bank branch network?: As shown on Slide 3, Kruma utilizes a 'Vendor Partner' model. This allows users who do not have a physical Kruma card to receive cash through established mobile money ecosystems and local vendors. The slide specifically features logos for M-Pesa, MTN Mobile Money, and Tigo Cash, suggesting a heavy reliance on existing telecommunications-based financial infrastructure.
What role does cryptocurrency play in the Kruma ecosystem?: Slide 5 explicitly mentions that the platform provides access to multiple currencies using BTC (Bitcoin), ETH (Ethereum), and LTC (Litecoin). This suggests that Kruma uses digital assets as a bridge currency to move value across borders or to maintain liquidity in various fiat currencies without relying solely on traditional correspondent banking networks.
What specific market segments is Kruma targeting?: The deck targets two main segments: international travelers and users in emerging markets. Slide 4 highlights the $246B spent by 75.6M travelers to the US, while Slide 3’s inclusion of African mobile money giants indicates a focus on the remittance and local exchange needs of users in regions where these services are dominant.
What critical investor information is missing from this deck?: The deck is missing several standard components required for a formal fundraise. There is no slide detailing the founding team's background or expertise. Furthermore, the deck lacks financial projections, current traction metrics (such as user growth or volume), a competitive landscape analysis, and a specific capital request or 'ask' slide.

Cover slide of the Kruma pitch deck — Pre-Seed / Prototype — Kruma pitch deck, slide 1

Kruma pitch deck: the facts

Company: Kruma
Year: Not stated
Stage: Pre-Seed / Prototype
Slides: 11
Sector: Fintech / Currency Exchange
Deck type: Pitch Deck
Outcome: Not stated
Headquarters: Not stated (African focus implied)

Kruma pitch deck PDF

The full Kruma deck is embedded on this page and can be read slide by slide in the browser — no download or account required. Each slide is covered in the breakdown above.

What the Kruma pitch deck was used for

This is a **Kruma pitch deck** published on SlideShare in December 2017, presenting a **pre-seed / prototype-stage** fintech startup focused on low-cost currency exchange for international travelers using a debit card and mobile money integrations. The deck positions Kruma as enabling users to exchange travel money at the true/mid-market rate and spend via a Kruma-branded card, with additional cash-out options through mobile money and vendor partners. The founders use the deck to seek **$1 million** in funding to launch the product around July 2018 and scale to roughly **35,000 monthly active users within 12 months**. The slides emphasize the pain of high FX costs (8–15% loss on typical exchanges), a pricing model with 1% maximum fees, and the team’s prior digital/wealth management experience at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan.

Business model: Kruma proposed a **currency exchange and travel money service** that allowed international travelers to exchange money at the mid/true exchange rate and spend via a **Kruma debit card**, with additional options to withdraw to **mobile money services (e.g., M-Pesa, MTN Money)** or pick up cash via Kruma vendor partners.

Founders: Ali Farah, Theo Denanyoh
Industry: Fintech – currency exchange / travel money / card-based FX

Round: Pre-seed (prototype stage, pre-launch, as indicated by the deck’s focus on raising to fund a July 2018 launch)

Year: 2017–2018 timeframe (deck published December 2017 with launch target of July 2018).

Raising: $1,000,000 (as stated funding ask in the pitch deck’s SlideShare description and slides)

Use of funds as presented: The deck indicates the $1M raise is intended to finance **product launch targeted for July 2018** and to grow the user base to around **35,000 monthly active users within 12 months**, implying use of proceeds for productization, licensing/operations, and customer acquisition.

What the Kruma deck got right

Strongly articulated pain point and value proposition. The deck offers a **clear and compelling value proposition**: enabling travelers to exchange money at the true exchange rate and pay only up to a 1% fee, explicitly contrasting this with the 8–15% loss from traditional FX providers.
Transparent pricing and monetization structure. Kruma presents a **simple, tiered pricing model**—a pay-as-you-go plan with ATM withdrawal caps and a $9.99/month premium plan with higher limits and fee waivers—making monetization and upsell pathways straightforward for investors to understand.
Clear user journey and product flow. The **How it Works** slide and description explain a multi-rail product (card spend, ATM withdrawals, mobile money, vendor cash pickup) in a sequential, user-centric manner, helping non-technical investors quickly grasp the product experience.
Relevant and mission-aligned founding team. The team slide highlights the founders’ backgrounds as **first-generation immigrants** with **7+ years at Morgan Stanley** and **experience at JPMorgan Chase**, which bolsters credibility on both empathy with the target users and understanding of financial services operations.
Explicit competitive positioning. The deck directly names **major banks and Travelex** as competitors and criticizes their high fees and lack of transparency, which helps position Kruma as a differentiated, customer-friendly alternative.
Concrete funding ask and milestone targets. The deck includes a **specific fundraising ask ($1M), launch date target (July 2018), and 12‑month MAU goal (~35k)**, which gives investors concrete expectations and milestones for capital deployment and early traction.

What could have been stronger

No externally validated traction metrics in the deck. The public SlideShare deck describes the **funding ask ($1M)** and user growth target (~35k MAUs in 12 months) but does not present any **historical traction metrics** (e.g., users, pilot results, transaction volume) or concrete evidence of demand beyond general market statistics. This makes it difficult for investors to assess product–market fit at the time of the deck.
Limited visibility into unit economics and profitability path. Although the deck describes **fees, plans, and cash-out options**, it does not provide detailed **unit economics** (e.g., cost of issuing/servicing cards, FX spread economics, interchange revenue splits, or projected contribution margins per user), which are critical for a low-fee FX business.
Regulatory, licensing, and partnership execution risks not addressed in detail. The deck references integration with **mobile money services like M-Pesa and MTN Money** and cash pickup via vendor partners, but does not detail **regulatory licensing, compliance strategy, or partner agreements**, all of which are central risks in cross-border payments and card issuance.
Lack of externally verifiable follow-on information. Search results did not surface any **independent news, funding announcements, or corporate filings** confirming successful fundraising, launch, or later-stage milestones for Kruma beyond the SlideShare deck. This absence of external validation makes it harder for an investor to corroborate progress or current status.

How an investor would read this deck

What draws attention

Clarity of the **value proposition**: offering the true/mid-market exchange rate with a 1% fee cap directly addresses a widely recognized pain point for travelers who typically lose 8–15% on FX.
The **pricing and plan structure** (free/pay-as-you-go vs. $9.99/month premium with fee waivers and higher limits) gives a straightforward monetization narrative that investors can model.
The **team’s background**—multiple years in digital and operations roles at Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan—adds credibility for building a compliant, financial-services-grade product.
The **product flow** (load funds, exchange, spend via debit card, withdraw via ATM or mobile money) is clearly articulated in the “How it Works” slide, making the user journey easy to understand.
The **mission alignment with migrant and international traveler communities**, plus mention of mobile money integrations, positions Kruma in a socially resonant and rapidly growing segment of cross-border payments.

Risks that stand out

**Regulatory and compliance risk** in cross-border FX, card issuance, and mobile money integrations, especially if licenses or banking partners were not yet secured.
**Margin compression risk** from offering true exchange rates with a 1% fee cap and fee waivers on premium plans, which could limit profitability if scale or ancillary revenue (e.g., interchange) underperforms.
**Competitive risk** from established banks and FX providers, and from modern fintechs offering low-cost travel cards, potentially eroding Kruma’s differentiation on price and experience.
**Execution risk** in simultaneously building card infrastructure, FX infrastructure, and mobile money/vendor networks while targeting launch within roughly half a year of the deck’s December 2017 publication.
**Market adoption risk** if international travelers do not readily switch primary travel spend to a new card brand, especially in regions where trust and brand recognition are critical.

Questions this deck invites

Is there any **evidence of a completed fundraise** corresponding to this $1M pre-seed ask (investor names, close date, or amount raised) and what are the current capitalization details?
What **regulatory licenses** (e.g., money transmitter, e-money, card program approvals) did Kruma secure or plan to secure, and in which jurisdictions did it intend to operate first?
What were the **acquisition channels and customer economics** (CAC, expected LTV, payback period) for reaching the targeted ~35k monthly active users within 12 months?
How did Kruma expect to **sustain profitability** with a 1% fee cap on FX and waived fees for premium subscribers, given card issuance, compliance, and FX liquidity costs?
Were there any **formal partnerships or contracts** with mobile money providers (e.g., M-Pesa, MTN Money) or vendor networks in place at the time of the deck, and what were the commercial terms?

What founders can take from the Kruma deck

A pitch deck for a low-fee FX startup benefits from **explicitly quantifying the current customer pain**—in this case, travel FX losses of 8–15%—to frame the size and urgency of the problem.
Clearly outlining **plan tiers and pricing (pay-as-you-go vs. premium subscription)** within the slides helps investors quickly understand monetization and segmentation.
Showing a **step-by-step “How it Works” user flow** makes a multi-rail payment product (card, mobile money, cash pickup) more tangible and easier to evaluate.
Highlighting **founders’ directly relevant experience** (e.g., digital operations roles at major banks) in the team slide can mitigate concerns about execution in a regulated industry.
Combining **traditional fiat rails (cards, ATMs) with mobile money and digital assets** in the narrative can position a startup as forward-looking, but investors will expect corresponding detail on compliance and partnerships.
Including a **specific funding ask, launch timeline, and 12-month user targets** (e.g., $1M to launch by July 2018 and reach ~35k MAUs) gives investors concrete milestones to evaluate.

Kruma pitch deck: common questions

What does Kruma do according to the pitch deck?

Kruma is a proposed fintech platform that lets international travelers **exchange travel money at the true/mid-market exchange rate** and then spend those funds using a **Kruma debit card**, with options to withdraw cash via ATMs, mobile money services (e.g., M-Pesa, MTN Money), or Kruma vendor partners in select regions.

What customer problem is Kruma trying to solve?

The deck states that **international travelers lose an estimated 8–15% when changing currency**, due to poor exchange rates and opaque fees from banks, airport kiosks, and traditional FX providers. Kruma proposes to reduce this loss by offering the true exchange rate plus clearly capped fees (1% or less on exchanges and withdrawals).

How does Kruma’s business model work in the deck?

According to the SlideShare deck, Kruma’s business model is based on a **Kruma debit card** linked to balances exchanged at the true rate. It offers a **pay-as-you-go plan** with capped ATM withdrawal limits (e.g., about **$150/month** with a small per-withdrawal fee after the cap) and a **premium subscription at $9.99/month** with higher limits and fee waivers on FX and certain withdrawal types.

Who are Kruma’s competitors according to the deck?

The deck identifies **big banks** (Citibank, Bank of America, PNC, Wells Fargo) and **traditional FX companies like Travelex** as its main competitors, criticizing them for high costs, lack of fee transparency, and not adequately serving migrant and international traveler communities. Kruma positions itself as the “future of fiat and cryptocurrency exchanges” with transparent, low fees.

How much was Kruma trying to raise, and what were its goals?

The SlideShare description and deck indicate that the founders were **raising $1 million** in what is effectively a **pre-seed round**, aiming to **launch in July 2018** and grow to **around 35,000 monthly active users within 12 months**. There is no externally sourced confirmation in the search results that this raise was completed or on what terms.

Sources

Funding and outcome facts on this page were researched on 2026-08-22 from the pages below.

Kruma pitch deck slides

Kruma pitch deck slide 1 of 11 — Kruma pitch deck — slide 1 of 11

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Kruma pitch deck slide 3 of 11 — Kruma pitch deck — slide 3 of 11

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Kruma pitch deck slide 5 of 11 — Kruma pitch deck — slide 5 of 11

Kruma pitch deck slide 6 of 11 — Kruma pitch deck — slide 6 of 11

What each slide of the Kruma pitch deck says

Slide 2

Ee ] International Travelers ’ = a ) lose an estimated 8 to : \/ 15% when changing > / currency. - -

Slide 3

; : Today's Solutions = TE - 8 Fw Expensive Fees Slow and Hidden Fees Limited at Airport Inconvenient Currencies

Slide 4

. Our Smart Solution ol — Gass 9:41AM + 100 mm Exchange travel money at the coin True Exchange Rate anywhere in the world and spend with your TH Kruma Debit Card. \ ) = Pay as you go plan with capped ATM = withdrawal limits at $150 a month ($1 per Exchange Complete! withdrawal after) = Premium plan at $9.99 a month with extended limits and benefits ==USD 2 mGHS = 1% Fee maximum on all Currency Exchanges 1,000.00 4,360.00 (waived on premium plan) = 2% fee to withdraw cash to a Mobile Money | @xuma Oxruma like MPesa or MTN Money (waived on Beng premium plan) | = i = 4% fee to pickup cash via Kruma Vendors (in Srik Lou Sop ae] . icku via Krui i = select regions) (2% on premium plan) | vise cli…

Slide 5

How it Works Download the Free Request your Free Kruma App, Add Money with Virtual or Plastic Debit a bank transfer, card Card to spend when and Exchange abroad N = 'OKRUMAI I . . Don't have your Kruma Card? Get Cash now with Kruma Vendor Partner

Slide 6

Our Team Ali Farah Co-Founder 15t generation Somali-American immigrant. Spent 7 years at Morgan Stanley leading the Digital line of business for operations on the Wealth Management side Theo Denanyoh Co-Founder 1t generation Ghanaian-American immigrant. Spent 5 years at Morgan Stanley in Digital on the Wealth Management side and 2 years at JP Morgan Chase in retail Risk

Slide 8

Competitors The Big Banks and companies are expensive with no fee transparency citibank ™% &E Bankof America %% (5 PNCBANK [Shank FARGO Travelex Not enough currency options and not solving problems for migrant communities. RQV% Kruma is the future of fiat and cryptocurrency exchanges. We are on a mission to make exchanging money convenient and affordable! O KRUMA

Slide text above is read directly from the Kruma deck PDF embedded on this page.

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