Flutterwave’s[1]  Fintech Frontier: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges in Rwanda and East Africa

One of Africa’s first tech unicorns is stepping up its operations in Rwanda and East Africa, expanding the potential for faster and easier e-payments to the rapidly growing marketplace.

Flutterwave, one of only seven[2]  startups in Africa to reach a valuation of more than $1 billion, recently announced plans to bring more of its services to the East Africa region, which will help it meet goals of being a truly pan-African company.

The company’s expansion will be instrumental in helping East African companies grow across the region and the continent.

For example, through Flutterwave’s platform, companies can accept debit and mobile payments in multiple currencies as well as pay their employees in their home currency, all at lightning-fast speed.

To African businesses operating across national boundaries or catering to consumers from other countries, these features are game-changing.

Thanks to the platform’s payment infrastructure, client businesses that specialize in providing marketing and operations support to hoteliers in sub-Saharan Africa have been able to scale their business rapidly and smoothly into more of the African market.

But big businesses are not the only beneficiaries of the company’s redoubled efforts in East Africa, according to Leah Uwihoreye, Flutterwave’s regulatory affairs manager.

“Really, our platform empowers businesses of all sizes. We’ve really been able to provide and simplify payment processes that have been able to give a lot of e-commerce support to entrepreneurial growth that will ultimately drive the economic growth and the financial inclusion in Rwanda,” she said in a recent appearance on CNBC Africa. “Speaking of how Flutterwave has also expanded into African markets, we’ve been able to scale across the continent, but of course, East Africa hasn’t been left out.” [3]

More Options, More Growth for Flutterwave

As a region, East Africa relies heavily on mobile money. Consumers in Rwanda and surrounding countries use it as a dominant form of currency.

Flutterwave’s system allows more small businesses to accept mobile money payments, in currencies that go beyond the Rwandan franc and the U.S. dollar.

In addition, the platform supports both credit card and debit card payments as well as direct bank transfers, allowing a wide range of small, medium, and large companies to do business in ways that make sense for their marketplace and their clients.

Creating a New Tech Hub

Flutterwave’s expansion into Rwanda comes at a time that is ideal for both the company and the country. Just as Flutterwave continues to build new services that offer small businesses, enterprise companies, and individuals better ways to move money, Rwanda is moving forward with plans to reinvent itself as a hub of African financial technology.

Toward that end, the Rwanda government has taken strides to attract fintech companies and encourage their development. Measures such as granting favorable corporate income tax rates and an exemption from incurring the country’s standard withholding tax on dividends have created a pro-business climate in the East African country.

In addition, Rwanda has taken steps to reduce the time fintech companies like Flutterwave must spend to obtain new licenses. These new moves change the calculus for fintech operators, helping the country become a particularly attractive spot to build facilities and launch new ventures.

“[Rwanda is] one of the few markets where we have every license you can think about,” Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Flutterwave’s founder and CEO, told Semafor Africa. “It’s not about market size but readiness. They are ready here.”

For example, in March of last year, Flutterwave obtained two more licenses from the National Bank of Rwanda that now allow the company to acquire funds from all types of payment instruments and enable it to process remittance payments that go beyond the country’s national borders.

These licenses have allowed the company to bring some of its most popular products to the country, including its remittance app, Send App,[4]  as well as the entire suite of products known as Flutterwave For Business. Included in those programs are applications that help individuals and businesses process payments, make and send invoices, and create online payment links.

“As Rwanda continues executing important reforms to enhance the ease of doing business and implementing its Fintech Strategy 2022-2027, Flutterwave keeps contributing toward achieving a cashless economy by innovating and employing digital technology to support businesses and stimulate the economic growth of countries where we operate,” Uwihoreye said in a press release issued after the new licenses were granted.