Africa is getting smaller, thanks to Flutterwave. The fintech platform is connecting the continent in ways that have already produced generational changes — and will likely continue to deliver far-reaching effects for decades.

Flutterwave provides users across Africa with reliable ways to pay for goods and services. And its global reach bridges the gulf between the modern African economy and markets across the rest of the world.

“We saw that payment in Africa is a bit different from payment everywhere else. The problems are different. Africa is highly fragmented when it comes to payments. Every payment system is unique and works well in its own country, but they’re not exported well beyond their shores,” Flutterwave CEO and founder Olugbenga “GB” Agboola told McKinsey & Company. “Obviously, we can’t just copy and paste a Silicon Valley or European model. We have to build what works for our environment.”

And that’s exactly what he did. Today, the fintech platform serves more than 34 African countries, each with its own rules and regulations. Since its launch eight years ago, Flutterwave has processed more than 630 million transactions and built a digital platform that handles a large chunk of Africa’s e-payments, allowing customers and merchants new ways to interact.

“A merchant in Rwanda can decide to sell to someone in Nigeria and they get paid simply and easily. Someone in Nigeria can sell to someone in Nairobi, Kenya, and get paid,” Agboola said in an interview. “We are breaking the barriers of geography through payments.”

In less than a decade, thousands of Africans who never had bank accounts or access to lines of credit have begun participating in the world’s cashless economy. In less than a generation, many African businesses and consumers went from a reliance on physical cash to a familiarity with mobile money and wiring funds to relatives to using mobile money, all thanks to Flutterwave’s platform.

Now that it’s a trusted presence on the continent — and growing in places like Europe, and North America, the e-payment processing company’s imprint on the future of Africa is coming into focus. And the results are massive.

While it originally set out to connect all of Africa, Flutterwave might have done something even bigger: connected Africans to the globe.

Flutterwave: Breaking the Barriers of Geography

When Flutterwave launched in 2016 in Lagos, Nigeria, the company focused on solving problems for enterprise businesses operating in Africa. At the time, corporations had trouble operating on the continent because of the patchwork of different rules and regulations that changed drastically from country to country. Every time money needed to cross a national border to pay workers, buy goods, or secure services, the transaction could take days to process.

Not only was this frustrating for multinational firms, it was bad for business in Africa. Agboola realized something needed to change.

“There are so many problems to solve on the continent,” Agboola shared. “There are so many things to build. I’m excited by entrepreneurs who are willing to take on these crazy problems and try to solve them, across the board. Africa has always been known to leapfrog. We go from nothing to something, consistently — no phones, to mobiles, to internet. People skipped browsers; they search for what they want to buy on Instagram.

“We’ve always been that way when it comes to [technology] leapfrogging a generation. That’s already happening here [with payments] as well.”

Eyeing the Future

Africa isn’t only the world’s biggest continent; it’s also home to the world’s youngest population. And African youth are leading the charge toward an increasingly digital future in a land that has doggedly preferred physical money for decades.

With 60% of the continent’s population under age 25, Africa sits at a critical juncture, one that’s rife with opportunities for tech-savvy young people.

“At Flutterwave, we believe that the youth of today hold the key to unlocking Africa’s future potential. Their innovative spirit, coupled with the right opportunities, can drive unparalleled growth and transformation,” Agboola said. “This belief underpins everything we do. It’s why we’ve made it our priority to be a champion for young Africans, creating pathways for them to thrive in an increasingly digital world.”

Toward that end, Flutterwave has invested heavily in technologies that are user-friendly and serve to empower the younger generation to reach their potential, both in Africa and in an increasingly connected global world.

Take, for example, the company’s flagship remittance solution, Send App. Created to help Africans who choose to work beyond their country, the service allows users to transfer money home to loved ones for a low cost and, importantly, in their local currency. Send App helps families with one parent working far away from home keep more of their hard-earned money and get that money more quickly when it’s desperately needed.

Flutterwave has also created education opportunities to foster talent and bolster confidence in young people. Examples include its One Graduate Trainee Program, which gives recent college graduates hands-on experience in the tech industry, and the STEM Bridge program, a virtual workshop for female students focused on demystifying the industry and creating networks of support for women considering the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

Still Growing

Flutterwave is far from finished growing. As Flutterwave expands into new geographic locations, it’s also evolving on its home soil.

Most recently, the company acquired an international money transfer operator’s license from the Reserve Bank of Malawi, allowing it to bring Send App into the southern African country.

“We take pride in our commitment to providing value where it is most needed, and with Send App’s expansion into Malawi, we are better positioned to meet the needs of Malawians,” Agboola posted on LinkedIn. “This marks the beginning of an exciting journey of endless possibilities in Malawi, and we’ll continue innovating to make Send App available to as many people as possible who need it across the African continent.”