Shantel
Key Takeaways
- Flutterwave, an African fintech firm, has forged a strategic five-year agreement with tech giant Microsoft.
- The deal will see the fintech company build its next-generation digital payments platform on Microsoft Azure.
- This partnership is poised to revolutionize payments infrastructure across Africa, benefitting businesses and individuals.
- Key Flutterwave offerings, including Flutterwave for Business, Send by Flutterwave, and Flutterwave Store, will transition to the robust Azure cloud platform.
- Microsoft’s Azure OpenAI Service will enable the scaling of Flutterwave’s products to millions of merchants globally.
Flutterwave & Microsoft: A Strategic Alliance
Flutterwave, an African trailblazer in payment technology, has announced a significant collaboration with Microsoft, aiming to construct its future payment platform using Microsoft Azure. This deal signifies Flutterwave’s dedication to offering global-grade services across Africa, while propelling digital transformation worldwide.
Transforming the Payments Landscape
This alliance symbolizes an excellent opportunity to influence growth across Africa, given the combined capabilities of Flutterwave and Microsoft in powering payments to-and-from the continent. The partnership will further accelerate the transaction processing on the Flutterwave platform for global clients, such as Uber, Netflix, and Microsoft itself. Azure’s critical role in facilitating a seamless, reliable, and secure payment experience will be solidified.
All key Flutterwave offerings, including Flutterwave for Business, Send by Flutterwave, Flutterwave Store, and Flutterwave for Fintech Platform, are undergoing development and transition onto Azure’s robust cloud platform. Additionally, Flutterwave will utilize Azure OpenAI Service capabilities, enabling the scaling of its product offerings to millions of merchants worldwide.
Olugbenga Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, expressed his enthusiasm, stating, “Microsoft has been an invaluable partner, providing a platform that allows us to deliver consistently high-quality services to our clients.” Agboola further noted the importance of the robustness, reliability, and scalability of Microsoft Azure, particularly during high-volume payment processing periods. He deemed deepening their collaboration with Microsoft as “the most logical step forward.”
Leveraging the Power of Azure
Gurbhej Dhillon, Flutterwave CTO, lauded their developments on Microsoft Azure and its immense potential. “Their platform provides us with significant developer leverage, which we harness in service of our clients,” said Dhillon. He looked forward to the future, expressing excitement over the possibilities of scaling with Azure OpenAI Service, which will enable Flutterwave to serve even more merchants globally.
Microsoft Corporation General Manager, Mike Gaal, underscored their continued support for Flutterwave’s core operations with Microsoft Azure. He saw their expanded collaboration as a chance to further fuel growth and innovation. “Working with Flutterwave will take us a step closer to achieving our mission in Africa,” added Gaal.
About Flutterwave
As the leading payments technology company, Flutterwave is revolutionizing how businesses expand their operations in Africa and other emerging markets. They do this through a platform that enables local and cross-border transactions via one Application Programming Interface (API).
So far, Flutterwave has processed over 400 million transactions, amounting to more than USD $25 billion, and serves over a million businesses. The company’s unique advantage is its ability to connect businesses to various local and international payment types, enabling them to expand globally.
Through its SendApp product, Flutterwave also enables cross-border transactions from the diaspora to African countries. The company’s payment methods are diverse, including local and international cards, mobile wallets, bank transfers, and Google Pay. Currently, the company has an infrastructure reach in 34 African countries.
This strategic agreement with Microsoft is set to expand Flutterwave’s already considerable reach, fostering the growth of a robust, digital payment ecosystem that will drive digital transformation across Africa and beyond.
