OVERVIEW

It is no longer news that a lot of African businesses have emerged as major players in the global economy. Over the past few years, we have witnessed an explosive growth in the creation of new startups and SME’s, and even the more established corporations have expanded their business across the continent and around the world. All this progress has largely been made possible by widespread integration of ICT in the business process and availability of robust online payment solutions.

Flutterwave easily stands out as one secure payments gateway for businesses in Africa to carry out B2B transactions both locally and internationally. With an array of innovative products, Flutterwave has made it easier for Africans to build global businesses that can make or accept payments from anywhere around the world. It is therefore not surprising that this online payment technology solution is being hailed as a revolutionary payment processing software, with Flutterwave carting home the ‘Best eCommerce Payments Company‘ award at the maiden Ghana eCommerce Awards ceremony in December 2018.

THE BEGINNING

Flutterwave was founded in 2016 by Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, an inspiring young man who’s listed on Forbes Africa’s 30 under 30, in partnership with Olugbenga Agboola, the current CEO, and a team of African payments, technology and banking veterans. Since inception, Flutterwave has processed up to $2.5 billion in payments, over 100 million transactions, and partnered with 50 African banks with over 1,200 developers that build on the platform. Its services have been trusted and accepted by top global companies like Uber, Arikair, Jumia, marketHub, and Booking.com. Similarly, popular payment service providers in Nigeria such as Paystack, Amplifypay, and many more build on Flutterwave platform, and it also supports some payment methods which include Visa, MasterCard, ApplePay, Verve, American Express, Android Pay, etc.

Flutterwave has raised over $20 million in investments from Series A round of funding, with participation from key investors such as Green Visor Capital, Greycroft, CRE Ventures, MasterCard, Fintech Collective, 4DX Ventures, Raba Capital, among others. Former CEO of Visa and Green Visor Capital Chairman, Joseph Saunders, also joined Flutterwave Board of Directors as part of the funding agreement.

THE PRODUCTS

One of Flutterwave’s groundbreaking products is Rave, a payment service that has opened up more opportunities for businesses by allowing them to accept a range of payment methods from customers around the world. This payments solution provides secure and reliable tools that ensure your business is set up with ease, speed, and functionality, for overall satisfying customer experience.

Another equally important product is GetBarter, a consumer payments app launched in partnership with Visa. The product was designed to facilitate individual payments among people within African countries and across its borders. GetBarter creates a means for clients on multiple financial platforms, such as Kenyan mobile money service M-Pesa, to make seamless transfers across each other, as well as being able to shop online. Through GetBarter, Flutterwave has been able to bring their services directly to the local consumers and not just big businesses alone.

CONCLUSION

Since its inception 3 years ago, Flutterwave has successfully positioned itself as the foremost online payment technology solutions company in Africa. It currently provides digital payments infrastructure and services for close to 24,000 businesses and individuals, who use its solution to process payments across the world. As a proudly Nigerian product, it has firmly placed Africa on the global fintech map and opened the gateway to limitless opportunities for aspiring African businesses. Indeed one can easily concur with the folks at Flutterwave that although Africa is not a country, they have made it feel like one.