Flutterwave acquires several payment licenses in Rwanda
In 2020, Flutterwave expanded its operations to Rwanda with a payment service provider, as part of its East African expansion. “Rwanda is one of the easiest countries we’ve been able to penetrate because we were able to get our license very easily, quickly and quickly,” said Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave’s co-founder and CEO at the time.
Three years later, the African unicorn has acquired two more licenses from the National Bank of Rwanda; to provide remittance and also operate as an issuer of electronic money. “With [these licenses]we will leverage our extensive global reach and continuous growth in emerging markets to provide MSMEs in Rwanda with the tools they need to stimulate the economy, facilitate seamless cross-border transactions for Rwandans and support the expansion drive of global and Rwandan businesses,” Agboola said in a statement seen by Benjamindada.com.
According to Rwanda’s National Institute of Statistics, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Rwanda account for approximately 97% of businesses and contribute almost 55% to the total GDP.
The company said it will deploy a number of products in Rwanda, including Send by Flutterwave, its cross-border money transfer solution. “Also available will be Flutterwave for Business and its suite of products including store, payment links, invoices and payment to help individuals and businesses in Rwanda make the most of the booming e-commerce market,” Yewande Akomolafe-Kalu, Head, Branding and Storytelling on Flutterwave, provided.
“As Rwanda continues to carry out key reforms to ease of doing business and implement its Fintech Strategy 2022-2027, Flutterwave continues to help achieve a cashless economy by innovating and using digital technology to support businesses and stimulate it economic growth in the countries where we operate”, said Leah Uwihoreye, Flutterwave’s Regional Head of East Africa, Regulatory and Public Affairs. “The licenses will enable us to provide safe, secure and seamless payment services for individuals and businesses in Rwanda. This is definitely a starting point for Flutterwave as we continue to expand across East Africa.” Currently, in East Africa, Flutterwave operates in Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya.
The fintech company, which has been subject to several regulatory issues in the region, has been on a license acquisition round. Last month, Flutterwave received payment services and payment facilitator licenses from the National Bank of Egypt, as part of its North African expansion strategy.
Related articlee: Inside Flutterwave’s Plan for Tanzanian Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
In 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted Flutterwave an exchange and processing license – the CBN’s most valuable payment processing license. Prior to this license, Flutterwave operated in Nigeria with its Payment Solution Services (PSSP) and International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licenses.
