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In the past, the tech space in Nigeria used to be dominated by foreign-owned websites and applications, but Nigerians are gradually creating apps that are proving to be reliable options for citizens and the world at large. The applications range from FinTechs (Financial Technology) startups to online shopping platforms, logistics applications, Elearning platforms, health techs, etc. Nigerian-owned platforms are gradually making a name for themselves in the tech world. Here are some of the popular applications created by Nigerians:

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Flutterwave

Nigeria's Flutterwave Recognised as 'Pioneer' in TIME 100 Most Influential Companies 2021 — Technext

Flutterwave is a financial technology company that provides payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across Africa. The company is on a mission to build payments infrastructure to connect Africa to the global economy by building technology, tools, and infrastructure for businesses and banks that want to provide a more seamless and secure payments experience for their customers. It was established by Olugbenga Agboola and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji in 2016 and has its headquarters in San Francisco, California while it has operations in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and seven other African countries. After securing funding of $170 million in March 2021, Flutterwave’s value rose to over $1 billion. It is supported in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Tanzania, the United Kingdom, America, Europe, Algeria, Botswana, Morroco, Senegal, Seychelles, Mozambique, etc. In addition to the local cards of these countries, Flutterwave also allows you to receive payments from all MasterCard and Visa Cards.

PayStack

Stripe acquires Nigerian fintech company, Paystack, in deal reportedly worth 'over $200m' — Premium Times NG

Paystack is an online payment platform that was created to enable merchants in Nigeria and Ghana to get paid by anyone and anywhere in the world. It provides a quick way for users to integrate payment services into an online or offline transaction by way of an Application Programming Interface (API). It was founded in 2015 by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi, software developers and longtime friends. It boasts of more than 60,000 organizations of all sizes using its service. They include AirPeace, Domino’s, Bolt, Betway, and MTN. It currently processes over 50% of all web payments in Nigeria. Paystack has made a name for itself among Nigerians and indeed Africa as a whole as an app aimed at solving payment problems for businesses. In October 2018, Paystack announced that it had processed N10 billion in transactions in a single month. Later on, in October 2020 the app was purchased by Stripe, an Irish-American financial services, and software as a service (SaaS) company, for over $200 million. The integration means that businesses that use Paystack can receive payments from 380 million Apple Pay users in about 60 countries.

Reliance care/Health

Reliance health/ care is a startup founded by Femi Kuti, Opeyemi Olumekun, and Mathew Mayaki in 2016. Through the app, users can access care online, chat with doctors, view health history, etc. Their mission is to use technology to make quality health care available, and inexpensive in emerging markets such as Nigeria. Through the application, the masses can get easy access to a suite of healthcare products by subscriptions. Some of the healthcare products are provided directly through a telemedicine platform, drug delivery system, and two clinics based in Lagos, Nigeria. This application can be downloaded from the Google play store and iOS App Store. The application is being utilized in the United States of America and Nigeria. It plans to scale its business to other African countries.

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Patricia

How Patricia is helping Nigerians transact cryptos in unique and fun ways — Technext

Patricia was founded in 2017 by Hanu Fejiro Agodje. It is one of the few technology startups making it easier for users within Nigeria to buy and sell cryptocurrencies. It also issues a physical card used to make payments and debit cards for crypto transactions. According to the report on its website, the brand currently has over 600,000 registered users on its platform and about 10,000 daily active users who carry out over 30,000 daily transactions. The company started its office in Lagos, Nigeria but recently moved its operational headquarters to the Republic of Estonia from where it now services more than 10 countries. The countries are China, United Arab Emirates, Ghana, etc. Patricia’s charges are based on the exchange rate and the startup claims to have some of the best rates in the crypto market. As of today, Patricia buys bitcoin from users at the rate of N552 to a dollar and sells at N565 to a dollar. The Patricia app is easy to download and install from the play store but not available on iOS devices. It requires first-timers to provide their username, email address, and password.

Verve World

This is a mobile application powered by Interswitch. Interswitch is a FinTech startup founded by Mitchell Elegbe in 2002. It has continued its operations as an Africa-focused integrated digital payments and commerce company. It has also launched several applications such as quick teller, verve life, and verve world as well as a card that allows individuals to carry out transactions. In partnership with Discover Financial Services, Verve Global cards are now accepted at ATMs and POS merchants in all the countries where Discover Financial Services operate. Verve Global is a new offering from Verve that extends acceptance globally across 185 countries, including the US, UK, South Africa, and the UAE. Verve world is an app that manages all cards such as the verve, verve cash, master card, visa card, etc. The application is now available for Nigeria, Kenya, Gambia, Uganda and soon will be available for other countries.

Paga

Paga Hits 15.8 Million Users 5 Years After Reaching 3 Million Users — Technext

This is a mobile money solution that offers transfers, bill payments, top-ups, and even remittance services. It was founded by Tony Oviosu in 2009. The company has 17 million users and is available for unwanted individuals and offline users through a mobile money agent network as well. The company has only raised US$36.7 million in funding but counts some big names amongst its investors, including Tim Draper. Paga plans to launch SME platform and is also looking to expand into Ethiopia and possibly Mexico. Crypto may also be on their agenda, but not for Nigeria due to the Central bank’s ban. It is supported by the United States of America, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Portugal, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, etc. Featured Image Source: Koboline

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This article was first published on 12th February 2022

eyimegwu-ekene

I am an accomplished content creator and recently delved into technical writing. I enjoy using my skills to contribute to the exciting technological advances and create awareness of evolving technological trends in Nigeria.