A 26-year-old Nigerian entrepreneur is working to transform how banks and businesses process payments in Africa.
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, the co-founder of Flutterwave – a payment API designed to simplify payments – hopes to use the platform to incorporate more Africans into the mainstream financial sector.
The startup, which recently received $10 million of seed money from U.S. investors, is integrating financial companies and other payment-service providers into its platform with the aim of minimizing the burden of extra expenses that businesses have to bear when making payments.
“Our end-to-end payments infrastructure covers all aspects of processing payments; from providing the payments Gateway API to managing payments risks and settlement,” Flutterwave says on its website.
“This reduces the need for multiple legacy payment gateway integrations that increase the risk of failed payments.”
Banks across Africa are adopting this platform as it has enabled them to maintain a seamless digital experience for their customers.
It’s a unique payment system that connects directly to local and international cards as well as mobile money transfer systems and bank accounts across the continent, allowing users to send and receive money from anywhere in the world.
Changing the Face of Africa
Flutterwave, a Silicon Valley startup, counts Y Combinator, Omidyar Network and Social Capital as some of its main investors.
Currently, the enterprise is processing over $1.2 billion in digital payments through 10 million transactions and accepts 350 currencies across 30 African countries. All merchants are charged a small service fee, a small percentage of which goes to the banks.
The company’s headquarters are located in San Francisco, U.S., but it also has offices in Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.
Aboyeji, who is also the founder of Andela – an online platform connecting companies with the best African software developers – attributes the idea to start Flutterwave to the desire to improve lives through technology.
The brilliant coder left Andela in August last year to start Flutterwave with the help of a group of African bankers, engineers and entrepreneurs.
He has also worked as an advisor at Africa Angels Network (now CRE VC), which is currently the largest seed stage fund in Africa with over 18 investments across nine countries.
Aboyeji holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies, Legal Studies, and International Development from the University of Waterloo – St. Jerome’s University and an Ontario School Diploma in English, Economics, Legal Studies and International Development from Columbia International College.
