How make existing online payment systems more accessible on the African continent ? In other words, what solutions can be found to payment problems in Africa? This is the question that Olugbenga Agboola wanted to answer by launching Flutterwavein 2016. It is a startup that offers a variety of payment services to African businesses through its API software. Present in more than 33 African countries and serving nearly 300,000 merchants, Flutterwave's goal is to facilitate the processing of payments in local currencies on the continent.
Flutterwave, a growth partner for companies
Launched in Nigeria by Olugbenga Agboola and Iyinoluwa AboyejiFlutterwave is a fintechA structure that provides innovative financial services based on digital technology.
It designs tailor-made digital payment solutions for its customers via its API. The aim is to simplify local currency transactions in Africa. The company provides the technology, infrastructure and services that enable global merchants, pan-African banks and service providers to process payments on mobile phones or on the weband in an efficient manner.
The structure has diversified with new and more innovative tools to better support businesses, freelancers and creators who plan to use paperless payment solutions to monetise their profession and grow their community.
What is a dematerialised payment solution?
With the arrival of new technologies, many changes have taken place in our lifestyles. Among other things, we have started to digitizeThis is reflected in the fact that there is no such thing as a "one-size-fits-all" approach to the payment system. And this is reflected in the dematerialised payment solutions. These are the means by which you can pay your bills, make your purchases without using cash. We know them in many forms:
- Bank cards
- Virtual payment cards
- Online payment
- Mobile payment
- Contactless payment (NFC).
Like benefitsdematerialised payment solutions facilitate transactionssave valuable time and are secured. Very flexible, they can be used anywhere and anytimeThis means that you do not need to have a bank account.
Make these means of payment accessible to all Africans, especially to underbanked people, is one of the reasons why Olugbenga created Flutterwave. Above all, the company wants to contribute to long-term financial inclusionThis is essential to increase the economic growth of the African population.
This ambition is to be welcomed when we know that in Africa, there are very low bank penetration rates. Developing these payment solutions and making them available to everyone goes some way to solving this problem.
A company boosted by COVID-19
Covid-19 had consequences such as the confinement and closure of several restaurants and shops. But this context also favoured the development of dematerialised means of paymentwhich have become indispensable. Flutterwave was able to seize this opportunity to make a name for itself in this market. By relying on innovative technology, it has been able to provide merchants, but especially companies such as banks, with transparent and secure payment solutions for their customers
Already in 2018, the company has recorded 20 million in the first round, then 35 million in Series B the following year. Its income thus showed an annual growth rate of up to 225%.
Between 2019 and 2020, the fintech Flutterwave welcomed giants such as Mastercard and Visa. Other clients included Facebook, Jumia, Uber and Booking.
Its collaboration with Paypal has removed a major barrier to cross-border trade, giving shoppers in Africa the option of paying directly on the Flutterwave platform.
In March 2021, the Nigerian startup obtained a 170 million fundraising with investors such as Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global Management. This capital injection will be used to to finance its expansion in North Africa, and which already allows it to pass the billion dollar mark in capitalization. This gives it the status of unicorn and makes it the third most successful African fintech, after Interswitch and Fawry.
A fine example of his meteoric rise !
Flutterwave, a company that partners with major brands
If there is one thing to be said for this African startup, it is that it knows how to offer services that attract the biggest brands.
In June 2021, it partnered with Uber to create Uber Casha digital wallet dedicated to users in sub-Saharan Africa. Users can now make and accept transfers via Flutterwave's Barter app, which it launched with Visa in 2019.
At the end of October 2021, the structure, in collaboration with the company TEMPO, launches two new remittance corridors, on the Stellar network between Africa and Europe. The aim is to facilitate remittances to Africa.
According to Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, " Sending money to sub-Saharan Africa is more expensive than to any other region in the world" . By launching his new payment corridors on Stellar, he intends to expand his startup's network to provide more tailored money transfer services to African businesses.
Flutterwave is still pursuing its expansion strategy across Africa with the acquisition of other structures such as Disha.
But do you know those who want to diversifying the financial sector in Africa ? Of Nigerian origin, Olugbenga Agboola is MIT graduate (The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an American research institute and university, specialising in science and technology. In addition to this training, he has attended the universities of Albuquerque in New Mexico and Westminster in London. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji is a Nigerian entrepreneur who has many years of experience in the field of technology.
