Profit-making idea: The Robinhood of Africa – invest-tech could be the next big thing in fintech

Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave

Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave

Platforms that smooth the way for people to invest their money could be one of the next growth areas for fintech in Africa, according to Olugbenga Agboola, founder and CEO of payments platform Flutterwave.

At a panel discussion during the recent Africa Financial Industry Summit, Agboola was asked to identify the next frontier for fintech on the continent. His answer: invest-tech.

“There are a lot of companies today who are becoming the Robinhood of Africa,” said Agboola and highlighted Nigeria-based outfits such as Bamboo, Rise, PiggyVest and Cowrywise. “These companies are basically trying to make it easy for Africans to invest in African stock markets and also invest in global stock markets.”

Robinhood is a US-based share trading platform founded on the mission to “provide everyone with access to the financial markets, not just the wealthy”.

Agboola’s company Flutterwave is a payments technology business enabling cross-border transactions between African countries and the rest of the world. Flutterwave has raised investment of $225 million and is considered to be valued at more than $1 billion.