After receiving authorisation from the Bank of Tanzania (BoT), the country’s regulatory body for banks, microfinance institutions, and payment service providers, Flutterwave, a Nigerian payments technology firm, has started in Tanzania.
With this approval, Flutterwave will create offices in Dar Es Salaam to promote integrated digital payments and financial inclusion by allowing merchants and customers to trade efficiently across the country using its platform.
Flutterwave’s products and services will aim to help Tanzania’s SMEs, which account for roughly 95 percent of the country’s GDP and account for about 35 percent of the country’s GDP, overcome the problems posed by the country’s highly fragmented and complex payment and banking infrastructure.
“Tanzania has a flourishing SME industry across different business verticals like tourism, and Flutterwave’s goal is to deploy products and services that enhance and enable small and medium-sized businesses in the country to transact and expand operations to reach new customers and global markets.
“We want to ensure that our solutions eliminate significant barriers that have previously hindered African consumers and businesses from the untapped potential of local and cross-border e-commerce. We are delighted to launch operations in Tanzania and excited for what the future holds,” Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flutterwave said.
Flutterwave will offer a variety of products and services, including Flutterwave for Business, Flutterwave Store, Flutterwave Market, and Send by Flutterwave, as well as introducing clients to additional payment options like Airtel Money, PayPal, and WorldPay.
Flutterwave raised US$250 million in a Series D financing in February, more than tripling its valuation to nearly US$3 billion, just months after raising US$170 million in a Series C round from Tiger Global and Avenir at a valuation of US$1 billion.
“By working with PayPal, we can further strengthen our commitment to our customers and service users,” Olugbenga added.
Flutterwave teamed with PayPal in March of last year to allow PayPal consumers throughout the world to pay African merchants through Flutterwave’s platform.
The partnership enables SMEs and freelancers to overcome the numerous hurdles posed by the extremely fragmented and complex payment and banking infrastructure, as well as connect them with the world’s 377 million PayPal users.
The agreement also allows Flutterwave’s clients in these markets access to new markets, allowing them to better serve their new and existing customers.