A tale of an African giant: Flutterwave
Published: 2019-09-26 22:26:36

Nigeria happens to be one of many least developed nations globally in terms of technology, even with the rise of numerous technological solutions, one can still point to the fact that a lot needs to be done in due time. Today, many intriguing startups, within the areas of financial services, have given life to ease in the aspect of making payments across regions in Nigeria.

Over time, the case of payment has become a huge hassle for Nigerians, checking through various iterations of payment portals that have come over this period include: Jumia Pay and Konga Pay, both which by measures and online comment sections,haven’t reached certain expectations.

So, in the words of a wise young port Harcourt individual: here comes the African Giant, but this time not just any proclaimed African giant, here we are focused on a system that allows for various iterations of payment, namely Flutterwave.

Co-founded by one of Nigeria’s leading serial entrepreneur and our very own iteration of Iron Man, in person of Iyin Aboyeji stated in his departure mail to Andela; “Despite all the entrepreneurial spirit and expertise in Lagos, businesses still have trouble conducting transactions that are an afterthought in most of the world, it’s a problem that is prohibitive to the future growth of the continent, and one that I felt I could no longer ignore. So I decided to do something about it.”

With all this being said, the question then arises, what is Flutterwave’ essence and value proposition?

Simply put: Flutterwave, founded in 2016, allows clients to tap its APIs and work with Flutterwave developers to customize payments applications.

Flutterwave falls under the category of a fintech organization, that allows for seamless and secure payments to banks, diverse businesses and a number of their customers. With their solutions, sellers can accept payments locally or internationally via card and bank accounts. Flutterwave’s stack also powers services such as; Walletng, PiggybankNG, MAXGO and a multitude of other platforms.

According to the co-founder, in person of iyin aboyeji as mentioned, The service allows consumers to pay for things in their local currency; Flutterwave takes care of integrating banks and payment-service providers into its platform so businesses don’t have to take on the expense and burden.

Flutterwave has also made transactions with a host of companies like; Uber, Facebook, TransferWise, Fly wire, Booking.Com and a host of others. A number of investors which include Mastercard; Omidyar Network, Y Combinator as well as other notable Silicon Valley venture firms, have been of tremendous help to the Flutterwave growth trajectory.

Flutterwave currently holds 25,000 plus merchants in its abode. It accepts a variation in mode of payment, as operated in distinct countries. That by the side, Flutterwave has processed over 100 million transactions since inception, according to company data.

Furthermore, Flutterwave is said to have processed about $2.5 billion for clients through its flagship innovative platform ‘Rave’ across the globe.

Rave as stated is one of Flutterwave’s flagship innovative platform, which made its debut at the Jollof Festival in Lagos, Nigeria on Sunday, August 20th, 2016. As the official payment technology partner of the festival. since then, Rave by Flutterwave has continued as a service that enables merchants accept global payments from card, bank accounts and USSD.
rave header

RAVE has been integrated into a number of online websites and platforms, including the likes of; Megabet, an online gaming service. More details on Rave.

Another product which has showcased Flutterwave’s intent of making payments seamless, is Barter, a platform which creates a virtual credit card for users online, to enable daily online purchases. In other words, Barter Issues and manages virtual and physical cards for retail, loyalty and expense management.
Barter

Apart from numerous solutions in the area of Fintech, one aspect that has given Flutterwave a command of respect within the Nigerian community is their customer eccentric model. Their constant means of engaging in customers journey, thereby allowing for repeat customer is one which is laudable. in fact, according to their C.S.O; “Customers are constantly looking for a total solution with specific, unique qualities and sometimes, we put customers through the same hoops, even though we know they all have different wants and needs. It’s important to adjust a service/solution to the customer based on their current & future preferences”. This is also followed by one of the major mantras of the company which states; “Every customer sees himself as the only customer and expects that he will receive premium, on-demand & priority service.”


In recent times, Flutterwave’s success journey has moved beyond their local community, Flutterwave’s Alipay collaboration also tracks a trend of increased presence of Chinese companies in African tech. The Alipay collaboration follows a previous one between Flutterwave and Visa earlier in 2019 that launched a consumer payment product for Africa.

Flutterwave’s love for growing technology communities is a topic which must not be overlooked. From the support given to the “ForLoop” community to sponsorship of the Hotels.ng internship, to creating a Developers Job Fair for Nigerian developers, is a revelation of Flutterwave’s ambitions.

In conclusion, Ease in usage is based on the fact that payment options across Nigeria is long and rigid. Flutterwave makes it possible to take and make payments with no iota of stress. Making payments, hassle free and easy is just testament of Flutterwave’s alphabetic slogan, and of things to come.