Info
Borderless is an all-in-one infrastructure for global diaspora communities, enabling community managers to start, engage, and scale their communities effectively. Whether the community members want to co-invest or stay organized, Borderless provides comprehensive investment and community management tools.
🚀 Impact (May 2025)
→ Processed about $500k in transactions.
→ Launched the webapp with over 100+ communities with an average of 200 members each.
→ Raised over $500k in pre-seed investments.
→ Short-listed by the Africa Development Bank Group - Expression of Interest (EOI).
Read more about the launch in this article by TechCrunch.
Borderless is an all-in-one infrastructure for global diaspora communities, enabling community managers to start, engage, and scale their communities effectively. Whether the community members want to co-invest or stay organized, Borderless provides comprehensive investment and community management tools.
🚀 Impact (May 2025)
→ Processed about $500k in transactions.
→ Launched the webapp with over 100+ communities with an average of 200 members each.
→ Raised over $500k in pre-seed investments.
→ Short-listed by the Africa Development Bank Group - Expression of Interest (EOI).
Read more about the launch in this article by TechCrunch.
Services
Services
Website Design
Web Design
Web Design
Webapp Design
Webapp Design
Role
Role
Lead Product Designer
Lead Product Designer
Year
Year
2024
2024
Industry
Industry
Fintech | Venture Capital
Fintech | Venture Capital
Build Together. Invest Together. Anywhere.
Build Together. Invest Together. Anywhere.
As the sole product designer at Borderless, I led the design of the all-in-one infrastructure platform that empowers African diaspora communities to build wealth together, across borders, asset classes, and trust networks. I was responsible for the end-to-end product strategy, UX architecture, and visual design of a system now powering two communities in venture capital, real estate with over 900 members since our launch in June 2025.
🚀 As of the launch in May 2025, Borderless raised over $500K.
Why Borderless — The Problem To Solve and Why It Matters
Why Borderless — The Problem To Solve and Why It Matters
The African diaspora is the continent’s largest, most widespread, and most passionate investor base with over 41 million people. They send $96B in remittances annually, yet most of that money lands as one-off remittances or ad-hoc WhatsApp syndicates.
Because there is no shared infrastructure:
Community leads juggle Telegram chats, Google Sheets, and manual wires.
Members lose 8 %+ in bank fees and opaque FX spreads.
Regulators see fragmented trails, freezing accounts and slowing deals.
Collective ambitions stall long before the first cheque clears.
That is why Borderless is being built.
To empower diaspora and local communities to invest, build and grow together. Because Africa’s future isn’t confined within its borders. It will take a global, united effort to unlock its full potential.
The African diaspora is the continent’s largest, most widespread, and most passionate investor base with over 41 million people. They send $96B in remittances annually, yet most of that money lands as one-off remittances or ad-hoc WhatsApp syndicates.
Because there is no shared infrastructure:
Community leads juggle Telegram chats, Google Sheets, and manual wires.
Members lose 8 %+ in bank fees and opaque FX spreads.
Regulators see fragmented trails, freezing accounts and slowing deals.
Collective ambitions stall long before the first cheque clears.
That is why Borderless is being built.
To empower diaspora and local communities to invest, build and grow together. Because Africa’s future isn’t confined within its borders. It will take a global, united effort to unlock its full potential.
The African diaspora is the continent’s largest, most widespread, and most passionate investor base with over 41 million people. They send $96B in remittances annually, yet most of that money lands as one-off remittances or ad-hoc WhatsApp syndicates.
Because there is no shared infrastructure:
Community leads juggle Telegram chats, Google Sheets, and manual wires.
Members lose 8 %+ in bank fees and opaque FX spreads.
Regulators see fragmented trails, freezing accounts and slowing deals.
Collective ambitions stall long before the first cheque clears.
That is why Borderless is being built.
To empower diaspora and local communities to invest, build and grow together. Because Africa’s future isn’t confined within its borders. It will take a global, united effort to unlock its full potential.
Stephen Deng - Co-Founder & GP @ DFSLabs
Stephen Deng - Co-Founder & GP @ DFSLabs
Stephen Deng - Co-Founder & GP @ DFSLabs
Key barriers
Fragmented tooling – Telegram, Google Sheets, and manual transfers
Compliance drag – KYC, accreditation, FX controls per member
Transparency gap – no live status or audit trail for contributions
Key barriers
Fragmented tooling – Telegram, Google Sheets, and manual transfers
Compliance drag – KYC, accreditation, FX controls per member
Transparency gap – no live status or audit trail for contributions
Key barriers
Fragmented tooling – Telegram, Google Sheets, and manual transfers
Compliance drag – KYC, accreditation, FX controls per member
Transparency gap – no live status or audit trail for contributions
Who is Borderless For
Who is Borderless For
Community Managers who need flexible tools to raise capital, engage members, and scale operations.
Community Members looking to join trusted groups, invest with purpose, and grow with their community.
Diaspora Entrepreneurs building capital bridges to their home country.
Community Managers who need flexible tools to raise capital, engage members, and scale operations.
Community Members looking to join trusted groups, invest with purpose, and grow with their community.
Diaspora Entrepreneurs building capital bridges to their home country.
Community Managers who need flexible tools to raise capital, engage members, and scale operations.
Community Members looking to join trusted groups, invest with purpose, and grow with their community.
Diaspora Entrepreneurs building capital bridges to their home country.
Understanding the product and requirements, and working to create the desired solution
Understanding the product and requirements, and working to create the desired solution
Research
Competitor & analogue audit: Reviewed AngelList Syndicates, Republic, Roundtable, Fractional
Live-user ethnography: Shadowed HoaQ (250-member VC syndicate) for 10 days: observed deal calls, payment chasing, and member onboarding friction.
Close collaboration with Founder: Ran weekly sessions with Joe Kinvi (founder & ex-Stripe). Mapped step-by-step flows to create the MVP and iterate ideas.
Research
Competitor & analogue audit: Reviewed AngelList Syndicates, Republic, Roundtable, Fractional
Live-user ethnography: Shadowed HoaQ (250-member VC syndicate) for 10 days: observed deal calls, payment chasing, and member onboarding friction.
Close collaboration with Founder: Ran weekly sessions with Joe Kinvi (founder & ex-Stripe). Mapped step-by-step flows to create the MVP and iterate ideas.
Research
Competitor & analogue audit: Reviewed AngelList Syndicates, Republic, Roundtable, Fractional
Live-user ethnography: Shadowed HoaQ (250-member VC syndicate) for 10 days: observed deal calls, payment chasing, and member onboarding friction.
Close collaboration with Founder: Ran weekly sessions with Joe Kinvi (founder & ex-Stripe). Mapped step-by-step flows to create the MVP and iterate ideas.
Currently, Borderless will launch with live assets in Venture Capital and Real Estate assets with plans to expand to Debt Capital, Diaspora Bonds, Films & Movies, Assets Financing, Commodities and Sports. within a year of post-launch.
The Solution
The Solution
Borderless replaces Telegram threads, spreadsheets, and manual transfers with a single Collective Hub that shows live deal timelines, and an always-on chat in one dashboard. Investors can explore opportunities first and complete a 45-second KYC check after they choose to Commit, while multi-currency inputs with live FX tooltips let them pay iin 10+ currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, NGN, XOF, XAF, UGX, KES, ZAR, GHC).
Real-time reporting has replaced end-of-month PDFs. Investors see a schedule of upcoming distributions, and a wallet that securely saves their personal and collective funds.
Borderless replaces Telegram threads, spreadsheets, and manual transfers with a single Collective Hub that shows live deal timelines, and an always-on chat in one dashboard. Investors can explore opportunities first and complete a 45-second KYC check after they choose to Commit, while multi-currency inputs with live FX tooltips let them pay iin 10+ currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, NGN, XOF, XAF, UGX, KES, ZAR, GHC).
Real-time reporting has replaced end-of-month PDFs. Investors see a schedule of upcoming distributions, and a wallet that securely saves their personal and collective funds.
Borderless replaces Telegram threads, spreadsheets, and manual transfers with a single Collective Hub that shows live deal timelines, and an always-on chat in one dashboard. Investors can explore opportunities first and complete a 45-second KYC check after they choose to Commit, while multi-currency inputs with live FX tooltips let them pay iin 10+ currencies (USD, EUR, GBP, NGN, XOF, XAF, UGX, KES, ZAR, GHC).
Real-time reporting has replaced end-of-month PDFs. Investors see a schedule of upcoming distributions, and a wallet that securely saves their personal and collective funds.
Timeline
Timeline
Creating a Collective
Creating a Collective
Completing the Sophisticated Investor Form
Completing the Sophisticated Investor Form
Collectives Page
Collectives Page
Investing in an Opportunity
(First time)
Investing in an Opportunity (First time)
Investing in an Opportunity (First time)
Managing Assets
Managing Assets
Managing Wallet
Managing Wallet
Mobile Screens
Mobile Screens
Feedback from Collective Manager, HoaQ
Feedback from Collective Manager, HoaQ
Learnings and Next Steps
Learnings and Next Steps
Working on Borderless took me into venture finance for the first time. I learnt about Africa’s investment paths, the regulatory issues, and merged those rules to fit into each flow. Supporting engineers, I ensured every screen had a clear process to make money movement clear. Shifting the KYC process to the moment of commitment improved the first-deal completion and removed friction.
Next, we will track the full journey from first visit to first investment to spot drop-offs post-launch, add Paystack and M-Pesa to reach West and East Africa, offer new asset options, and build a native mobile app for on-the-go use.
