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Flux is a crypto-remittance platform that allows users to transfer funds via cryptocurrency rather seamlessly across borders. The idea behind the start-up was the fact of how difficult and costly it is to transfer funds via better-known and conventional cross-border money transfer means such as MoneyGram and Western Union. Crypto has become the preferred option in money transfer for many of Nigeria’s middle-class and upwardly mobile population. Flux is the product of a problem that founders CEO, Ben Eluan and CTO, Osezele Orukpe who were students at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, saw. That was until they left school to focus squarely on their tech venture. According to Eluan,
“The gig economy and the service economy for small businesses economy is very massive, and we care about it enough to dedicate all our time into building payments for Africa.”It was for this reason that both made partners, abandon schooling to solve the problem of cross-border payments.
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There seems to be a nexus between the rise of the gig economy amongst young Nigerians and the increased use of cryptocurrencies in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem. There are now more than six million active and inactive crypto users in the country according to recent stats and companies like Flux are mediating the growth of this sector and the growth has been symbiotic for companies and investors alike. Flux, according to Eluan, is 100 times faster than any fiat currency as well as cheaper than any other as they charge only $0.50 on any transaction no matter the size. The company secured pre-seed funding in 2020 to the tune of $77,000 thanks to Hustle Fund and Mozilla among other individual investors. Furthermore, the start-up made the incubator program at Pioneer’s accelerator program and at the time, they were still only in beta testing. The accelerator program stands its budding venture in good stead to succeed and even more importantly, the access it guarantees in both in funds and technical assistance will prove valuable moving forward. According to its founders, the company has now processed over $750, 000 in transactions and has a customer base of about 5000 users. This year, the company has now entered Y-Combinator’s accelerator program and they will be the youngest team of founders on the batch. This group of young and intrepid founders are clearly determined to move quickly in the raise to scale and capture market share in a cut-throat space like financial technology. Investors do not mind that they are a young team of founders and these young group of founders may seem to have the world at their feet as they aim to dare bigger start-ups. Featured Image Source: Entrepreneurs
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