The CEO of Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola, has stressed the need for fintech businesses to provide customers with benefits beyond simple money transfers and other payment services.

The Flutterwave CEO made this call while addressing a group of MBA students at the Harvard Business School (HBS). He urged fintech companies to fully utilise digital technology’s potential beyond financial transactions.

Mr Agboola said that for digital financial solution companies, “To maintain momentum and continue making meaningful contributions to the growth of national economies, they must understand that processing payment is just the starting point. We must create add-on values for individuals and businesses to maximize the potentials of digital technology beyond sending and receiving money.”

He added that in order to effectively use digital transformation for equitable and sustainable development in emerging economies in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, there must be strategic alliances and collaborations between all relevant domestic and international stakeholders.

Mr Agboola also shared his experience with the early years of his Fintech company, revealing that the main challenges faced during the early stages of establishing Flutterwave included a lack of trust from potential clients, partners, and government officials, fragmented payments across the continent, and a lack of local talent, particularly for technical roles.