Creating additional value beyond payment is critical to the future of Fintech – Flutterwave CEO

Flutterwave’s CEO, Olugbenga “GB” Agboolahas said, “To maintain momentum and continue to make meaningful contributions to the growth of national economies, Fintech companies must understand that processing payments is only the starting point. We must create added value for individuals and businesses to maximize the potentials of digital technology beyond to send and receive money”.

Mr. Agboola said this while speaking to a group of MBA students at Harvard Business School (HBS) on January 24, 2023. Flutterwave is a leading payment technology company that started by processing payments for companies such as Uber and Air Peace, but has now added to e-commerce, international transfer to the services it offers.

Agboola identified lack of trust from potential customers, partners and government officials, fragmented payments across the continent, and lack of availability of local talent, especially for technical roles, as some of the main challenges in the initial phase of establishing Africa’s most valuable startup. Still, he added: “My love of using my knowledge and network to solve problems for people, including those they are unaware of, helped us to continue to provide the payment infrastructure that supports businesses in Africa and global businesses like Uber that want to expand into Africa.”

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Talking about his personal lessons and experiences as an entrepreneur in Africa, Agboola noted that “strategic collaborations and partnerships between all relevant domestic and foreign stakeholders are essential to help emerging economies in Africa, Asia and Latin America effectively harness digital transformation for inclusive and sustainable development.” This is because solving the payment problems is not and will never be through one man’s dream or one company’s efforts. It shows that the popular African proverb: “it takes a village to raise a child,” is so true with payment solutions in emerging economies.

The talk was moderated by Hakeem Belo-Osagie, an entrepreneur, Senior Lecturer in Business Administration at Harvard Business School, and member of the Harvard University Global Advisory Board.