The Build of: Migration-as-a-Service in Africa.
When secrets become services & data points fulfill dreams 🚀
Editor's Note
👋🏾 Hello, everyone. This is the second issue of our Build series exploring the Japatech ecosystem.
In the first issue, we talked about the rise of Japatech and its four main pillars.
Today, we're going deeper into the first and foundational pillar: Migration Services.
As always, we love to hear from you, so don't hesitate to write us. Enjoy!
— Dumss ✨
Picture this: You're having drinks with a friend, sharing life updates and laughing about work stress. Two days later, you discover they're in Toronto. You're happy for them, but also stunned. When you ask how it happened, they give you the classic African response: vague explanations capped with "Na God o! I still can't believe it myself."
This hush-hush culture around migration has been the norm for decades. Success stories were whispered in tight circles, visa strategies were passed down through exclusive networks, and opportunities hoarded like precious metals.
If you didn't have the right relationships, you stumbled in the dark, often straight into the arms of scammers promising what they couldn't deliver.
But something fundamental is shifting. The same generation that made banking apps mainstream and turned social media into a full-time job is now completely revolutionizing migration.
Welcome to Migration as a Service—where your friend's previously mysterious disappearance has become a transparent, tech-enabled journey.
What Exactly Is Migration as a Service?
In the traditional tech world, Migration-as-a-Service refers to cloud-based services that handle data migration between systems, taking care of the entire process from planning to execution.
When we talk about Migration as a Service in the African context, we're describing something entirely different yet oddly parallel. We're talking about platforms that handle the entire human migration process: from figuring out which visa route makes sense for your profile to actually landing in your destination country with a solid plan.
Think of MaaS as the backbone of everything we discussed in our first Japatech article. While the broader ecosystem serves Africans already in the diaspora, MaaS platforms focus specifically on getting you there in the first place.
They're tackling the visa applications, legal complexities, and logistical nightmares that have historically made migration feel like navigating a maze blindfolded.
The shift is pretty striking when you think about it. Where migration was once informal and risky (handled through word-of-mouth advice, personal networks, or unreliable agents), today's platforms offer verified sources, AI-driven guidance, and end-to-end support.
The "hush-hush" culture is giving way to radical transparency and data-driven migration strategies.
________
Why has MaaS Become a Thing?
This generation is digital: Unlike earlier emigrants who relied on physical consultants and paper applications, this generation expects seamless digital experiences. They've used apps to order food, find partners, and manage money. Why should migration be any different?
Internet + Decentralization of Information: Mobile phones and reliable internet provided the infrastructure we need for digital-first services. If you have data and a smartphone, you can research immigration pathways better than some traditional consultants. Even more, with platforms like TikTok these information can find their way to you, even if you're not actively looking.
Trust Issues with Traditional Agents: Let's be honest, the traditional immigration consultation space is messy. Migration "agents" and "consultants" operate in gray areas, often disappearing with clients' money or providing outdated advice. Scams were rampant, misinformation was common, and success felt like luck rather than strategy. This created demand for verified, reliable alternatives.
Global Talent Shortage: Global companies desperately needed skilled workers, particularly in tech. So countries started creating new visa categories and pathways, but information about these opportunities remained fragmented and confusing.
MaaS platforms identified this gap and built solutions to bridge it.
The MaaS Ecosystem:
There are two categories of MaaS platforms:
End-to-End Platforms:
These platforms claim to offer end-to-end support from the application stage to the settlement stage.
The only company I found that fits this bucket is Vesti.
What makes them fascinating is how they've reimagined what "migration services" can mean. Instead of just helping you get a visa, Vesti is building complete immigrant prosperity ecosystems.
They're offering financial products (virtual dollar cards that work before you even land), community building (connecting you with people who've walked the path), and long-term settlement support that goes way beyond just getting you through customs.
Their WorldForce program helped over 200 African professionals secure H-1B visas in 2024, which is honestly impressive when you consider how competitive that process is.
In my search, I didn't find any other platform that provided tech-enabled end-to-end migration services and I think that's really interesting. It suggests either that building comprehensive solutions is incredibly difficult, or there's a massive opportunity waiting to be seized.
____
The Specialists:
These platforms focus on a specific part of the migration process.
HumanSquad's Travooly focuses on helping people navigate the application process and has helped over 30,000 people with Canadian immigration specifically. Their Schooliply product on the other hand helps streamline the school & visa application process for international students across US, UK, Canada & Australia.
Blumefy & Guideli approach this differently by using AI to create personalized migration roadmaps. Instead of generic advice, they're analyzing individual profiles and recommending specific strategies based on your background and goals.
eMigr8 Tech Visa's focus is African tech professionals and entrepreneurs. They are a tech-enabled platform working to demystify the tech visa processes and access global opportunities through expert coaching and up-to-date immigration insights.
Then we have Boxpaper which allows you to check your UK Global Talent Visa Eligibility instantly and get real-time AI-powered feedback on your application.
The Alternative Route: E-Migration.
Not everyone who starts their japa journey intends to pack a suitcase. For a growing number of Africans, japa begins with a laptop and ends with foreign currency hitting their local bank accounts.
This is what I'm choosing to call e-migration: economic emigration without physical relocation.
____
The E-Migration Funnel:
This process usually follows a predictable pattern.
It starts with upskilling. First, people upskill in areas that are in-demand by international companies, for example: software engineering, product design, product management, marketing, virtual assistants, etc. This upskilling is usually done in a mix of bootcamps, communities and rigorous self-learning.
Next, they hunt for remote opportunities on platforms like Upwork, Toptal, LinkedIn, AngelList & niche remote job sites. Recently, there's been an uptick in remote job sites for Africans. Platforms like Scouthappy , RemoteAfrica and Remote4Africa have created spaces where people seeking such jobs can easily find them.
Finally, they get such jobs and transition to earning foreign salaries while maintaining African living costs.
____
E-migration: The End vs A Means to an End.
For some people, this is the destination. Why stress about visa applications when you can earn international money from your apartment in Nairobi, Lagos or Accra?
Zikoko's Money Life series has been documenting this trend beautifully. Recently, they featured a product marketing manager earning $7,800 monthly while working remotely from Nigeria, and a virtual assistant who went from ₦33k to almost $1,000/month
Their Money Life series specifically shares the stories of successful e-migrants who are earning five-figure dollar incomes, investing in foreign stocks and building wealth right from their home country.
These aren't just feel-good stories. These are people who have discovered that sometimes the best way to japa is to never leave at all. The ability to earn international salaries while enjoying lower local costs creates a lifestyle upgrade that physical migration can't always match.
But of course, not everyone believes in that approach. There are others who see getting remote jobs as strategic relationship building. They work remotely for international employers, prove their value, and may eventually get invited to relocate with visa sponsorship, all while earning foreign currency to fund their move.
Zikoko's documentation of these stories is so powerful because it's making these pathways visible and replicable. Where traditional migration relied on secret networks and whispered advice, e-migration is being systematized through storytelling. This is really moving the needle for Africans everywhere.
____
The Infrastructure Challenge:
But e-migration comes with uniquely African challenges. As one virtual assistant explains: "I can't legally transact with dollars in Nigeria. I am unable to transfer the money due to government restrictions."
So remote workers are having to navigate currency controls, exchange rate fluctuations, and the basic logistics of converting foreign earnings into money they can actually use locally. This is a major pain point for them.
Luckily, there is an ecosystem of products that are being built to support these big challenges. Platforms like LemFi , Raenest & Pesa ( Formerly Pesapeer) are working hard to help people receive international payments, with some even providing virtual dollar cards and multi-currency accounts.
What could be next with MaaS?
As the MaaS space grows, I'm hoping to see:
Smarter & AI driven personalization for migration and settlement pathways
The evolution of "Global Mobility as a Service" where platforms provide true end-to-end personalized solutions for migration, settlement, global career development and maybe even support for multiple relocations and potential returns.
Clearer pathways for people who desire to transition from e-migration to physical migration.
Clearer support for entrepreneurship/startup migration. Countries like Canada, the US & previously the UK have immigration pathways for entrepreneurs/startup founders, but that seems to be a sparsely supported by MaaS platform.
African Mobility, Migration Circulation (Reverse Japa) & Why it Matters:
Migration as a Service represents something bigger than just a better experience for people trying to emigrate. It's the systematization of African mobility. It's turning ad-hoc, risky journeys into strategic, data-driven systems.
Previously, these data points were stored in the heads of traditional migration consultants or in exclusive networks, but with the growth of Migration tech, we're seeing a mass decentralization of once inaccessible information. The playing field isn't fully levelled yet, but it is levelling.
The ability of systems to store and generate data about past migration wins & fails creates data points that helps the system get smarter and better refine guidance for future migrants, creating a feedback loop that possibly improves the success rate of future migrants.
Another crucial aspect is MaaS creating infrastructure for circular migration (or reverse japa as it's locally called).
Take Tayo Oviosu's journey: He lived and worked in the US for years, got his MBA from Stanford, and later came back to Nigeria to build Paga Group Ltd, one of Nigeria's first major fintech successes.
There is a huge opportunity for MaaS platforms to scale this pattern. In this model, migration stops being a brain drain and becomes resource multiplication. Instead of Africa losing its brightest minds permanently, we gain access to global networks, capital, and expertise that flows back when people return as African founders and funders.
The hush-hush era is truly nearing its end. In its place, we're building something unprecedented: a transparent, accessible, and intelligent system for African global mobility. This isn't just about helping people leave, it's about helping them fly.
The only question is; are we also building clear pathways and infrastructure when they decide to return because they are ready to build?
In the next write-up, we'll talk about the Finance and Remittances pillar of Japatech. We'll especially explore how platforms are reimagining the flow of capital between Africa and the diaspora.
The future of African innovation has no borders, and increasingly, it has no barriers either.