Tech in Africa
Paga is derived from the Spanish word “paga” meaning “to pay.” The Nigeria mobile payments app is on the verge of becoming Africa’s next unicorn. Tayo Oviosu is the CEO and founder of the fintech company. In The Africa Report, he disclosed that the company began commercially operating in 2012, and has achieved $4.8bn in a span of 8 months. He also shared their ambitious vision of seeing “a billion people use this platform.” Presently, Paga is going through Ethiopia’s regulatory approval process and already has a team of 50 in the country.
Paga was initially founded in 2019, at a time when it seemed way ahead of its curve. Now the fintech company has thus processed $2.3 billion in transactions in 2020 alone. The fintech company is fixated on creating “the next PayPal for Africa” with its focus on the use of digital cash. Mobile transaction value in Africa is fueled by the fintech boom. To accommodate those who are not tech-savvy, Paga users can also go to agents if they prefer non-tech alternatives.
Tim Draper, the U.S. billionaire investor is Paga’s main investor alongside the former economist at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Jim O’Neill. The company has 17 million-plus unique users including businesses, tech entrepreneurs, and individuals in Africa’s most populous nation.
Paga will soon launch a new product targeting Nigeria’s medium-sized business. Here users can transact using their preferred banking payment avenue and receive an automated confirmation of payments. Simply put, this will be a new ecosystem for consumers to make their payments conveniently.
Paga is also looking to raise additional capital funding in the coming quarters. It also looks to delve into crypto, but not in Nigeria as per the CBN’s regulations against its use.
