Flutterwave, the African fintech startup is set to take on Jumia and Konga as it has launched Flutterwave Store, a platform for African merchants to create digital shops to sell online.
Flutterwave Store, unlike other mainstream eCommerce businesses, will have no inventory or warehouse requirements.
The service will start in 15 African countries and the only fees Flutterwave will charge (for now) are on payments. Otherwise, it’s free for SMEs to create an online storefront and for buyers and sellers to transact goods.
The company accelerated the development of Flutterwave Store in response to COVID-19, which has brought restrictive measures to SMEs and traders operating in Africa’s largest economies.
After creating a profile, users can showcase inventory and link up to a payment option. For pickup and delivery, Flutterwave Store operates through existing third-party logistics providers, such as Sendy in Kenya and Sendbox in Nigeria.
Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave commenting on the launch of the store said: “It’s not a direction change. We’re still a B2B payment infrastructure company. We are not moving into becoming an online retailer, and no we’re not looking to become Jumia.
“The goal is not to become like eBay, that’s advocating for everybody. We’re just giving small merchants the infrastructure to create an online store at zero cost right from scratch,” he said.
Launched in 2016, Flutterwave allows clients to tap its APIs and work with Flutterwave developers to customize payment applications. Existing customers include Uber and Booking.com.
In 2019, Flutterwave processed 107 million transactions worth $5.4 billion, according to company data.
In July 2019, Flutterwave joined forces with Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba’s Alipay to offer digital payments between Africa and China.
