Created for Africans by African II + Consonance@6
Africa's š contribution to a better world
Hello š Dear innovator
At this point, we are like a closely-knit family, because we almost donāt know what to do without you. You are the highlight of every week for us here at Consonance Club, which is why we share perspectives and stories from Africa and the world that inspire and support innovation.
Saturdays could have been ordinary days but for the Consonance club! Hurray!
We are ready to continue where we left off. Are you wondering š¤where we left off? Of course not.
Even in our midweek check-in, we still recounted it. But just in case you are actually wonder-struck right nowā¦
We are on a series called āCreated by Africans for Africansā. Initially, it wasn't meant to be a series, but last week was so good, that itās only appropriate we do a part 2.
Last weekās series featured Bumpa, ALX, and Alt School and this is no spoiler! you are just a little bit slow. Hurry back now šš½āāļøšš½āāļø to catch up!
No worries weāll wait for you or better yet, this weekās series will be waiting for you right here. Whether you decide to hurry back or read on, enjoy this quick laugh from Tech Twitter or should we say āTwitter Twitterā ššš
Na play ooo š
āStubborn celebritiesā woke up this morning with their blue ticks ā, and now obviously, anybody could be them and they could be anybody.
Moving onā¦
Weāll focus more on fintech platforms created by Africans today. You know and love these fintech companies, and the question is where would tech in Nigeria today be without them?
Paystack by Shola Akinlade and Ezra Olubi
Like most stories of innovation, these two met on the path to greatness. Shola and Ezra are both Computer science graduates of the 2006 set of Babcock University, Ogun State, Nigeria. They brought their prowess from previous work experiences to make magic. The magic we know to be Paystack; which would eventually become a popular Fintech company in Africa.
While some would credit their teamwork success to having similar backgrounds and interests, one thing is very clear. Both innovators are high achievers in the tech industry, with track records and achievements to prove it.
Paystack launched in 2015, which was a good time to gain ground just ahead of the 2020 Surge in Fintech Companies. It is a Nigerian Financial technology company that offers payment processing services to businesses and individuals.
It had all the accomplishments, procurement, and landmarks of a successful startup. In 2016, it raised $1.3M in seed funding from Tencent and other investors. Paystack also entered into strategic partnerships with leading platforms to achieve the goal of easy payment processing for Africans.
These partnerships include the launching of Pay with Apple Pay on its platform in 2021 and a partnership with Xero in 2022 that allowed users in Africa to add a āPay with Paystackā button to their invoices. The integration of payment solutions with Shopify to allow more African retailers to sell their goods on the platform in 2016 was also a game-changer.
Paystack is a good description of āAfrica to the Worldā. The famous acquisition happened in 2020 when a financial services company in America known as Stripe acquired Paystack for $200 million.Ā
Congratulations were in order to the founders, Nigeria, and Africa as a whole as this set a new bar of achievements for aspiring and upcoming fintech in Africa. This acquisition also increased the net worth of the founders.
This is a very commendable feat for fintech founders building from Africa to the world.
Flutterwave by Olugbenga Agboola and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji
As is the mantra of the African Unicorn āSimplifying payments for endless possibilitiesā Flutterwave has come a long way on this journey to endless possibilities.
It is important to start with the unicorn status of the fintech giant because it is no small deal that Flutterwave is making waves š. Yes, Flutterwave is making waves, while also surfing the waves šš½āāļøof the fair share of challenges apportioned to every innovation-oriented changemaker.
Olugbenga Agboola is the founder and CEO of Flutterwave and together with Iyinoluwa Aboyeji the co-founder and a faith-driven investor, he has made his mark in the financial technology industry.
Olugbenga has all the makings of a tech hero š¦øāāļø, as he worked as an application engineer at PayPal and in product management at Google. This is quite the experience if you ask me. He was decorated with Nigeria's National Honour Medal of the Officer of the Order Of Nigeria(OON) by President Muhammadu Buhari in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of technology. He was listed on Fortuneās 40 under 40 list in 2020 among other awards and recognitions.
Iyinoluwa is that innovator who seems to always be involved in ventures that eventually really work out for the good of Africa, According to Forbes he cofounded two startups before co-founding Flutterwave with Olugbenga Agboola in 2016. His previous startup Andela received $24 million in funding from Mark Zuckerberg. He has also been recognized by Forbes 30 Under 30.
Flutterwave is a Nigerian fintech payment platform headquartered in San Francisco California with operations in African countries like South Africa, Kenya, and of course Nigeria. It has seen huge success in all series of its funding and does so most times while breaking records.
Hereās howā¦
In 2021, Flutterwave raised a $170 million Series C funding round. At the time, this was the largest amount ever secured by an African tech startup and gave it a valuation of over $1 billion, making Flutterwave a unicorn.
Flutterwave serves its African users with unified tools that truly tend towards endless possibilities. Users can create physical and virtual cards in different currencies to meet their business and personal needs.
It is a payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers that not only serves Africans but is slowly spreading its services across the world.
Cowrywise by Razaq Ahmed and Edward Popoola
Razaq Ahmed is no easy pushover in tech or any field for that matter, as the Northern-raised Yoruba boy bagged a First Class degree in Economics. He obtained his First Class degree in Economics from the prestigious and highly esteemed Obafemi Awolowo University in Osun State Nigeria.
He has impressive work experience working in finance, including being employed by Meristem Nigeria in his National Youth Service Year. He has also worked at Veltiva Capital Management, Shell Petroleum Development Company, and Sart Partners among others. Little wonder he is the CEO and co-founder of Cowrywise; a saving and investment platform.
Edward Popoola is an innovator and entrepreneur in every sense of the word. He is a 2008 graduate of Computer Engineering also from Obafemi Awolowo University. In his pursuit of knowledge, Edward also attended Stanford University, California, USA where he obtained his Innovation and Entrepreneurship certificate.
He also has a wealth of experience. Edward has worked in the capacity of a technical consultant, Infrastructure Analyst, and Integration Specialist at Nixarus, Interswitch Group, and African Advantage Telecoms. He is the Co-founder and CTO of Cowrywise
Cowrywise is a pioneer of digital wealth management platforms. CowryWise is licensed by the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as a portfolio management company, and it is based in Lagos State, Nigeria.
While Cowrywise might have been and still is in a bit of a competition in some ways with Piggvest, you would agree that it is an investment platform in its own right.
All you have to do is pronounce the name and you know the vision, thatās right! Cowry-wise. In Laymanās terms, anyoneās first guess would be that it aims to get you to be wise in how you spend even your cowry. Thatās quite innovative if you ask me š.
The above description would beg the question āWhat is a Cowry?ā from non-Africans. While it is easy peasy lemon squeezy for anyone with a phone connected to the internet, the dictionary definition might not hold all the African midnight tales behind it.
Well, the more you read our newsletters, the more exposure you get to what makes Africa, Africa.
Cowrywise offers users features that let them save over a period of time, with a set target and with interesting rates. They take the stress required to save and invest away and their good reviews are a testament to this.
It is the first Company to be accepted into the Catalyst Funding program from Nigeria. The Catalyst Funding is also supported by JP Morgan and UK aid.
Innovator Of The Week
Oluwatosin Philip Adebayo
Philip popularly called Mr. Pat is the CEO and Co-founder of Livrite Healthcare Services.
Let's do a quick name dissection, shall we? Livrite Health Services as the name implies would most likely focus on helping people live right innit?
Now let's see...
Livrite Healthcare Services is a digital health social enterprise that focuses on helping people find answers to their health questions by connecting them with healthcare experts.
Looks like the name really says it all and our guess was right on pointš
They also want to help health institutions deliver their services faster and more efficiently especially in emergencies.
In the year 2018, Philip wanted to create job opportunities for thousands of young Nigerians. He was then drawn to the challenges in the Nigerian healthcare space, and he believed he could make a difference.
Philip started Livrite Healthcare services by building an Electronic Medical Recording (EMR) platform but pivoted into telemedicine in July 2022.
The team at Livrite is laser-focused on driving resources to establish their market entry.
Philip also has some words of wisdom for aspiring innovators. He says "If you wait until you are ready, you will probably not get started. So get to it. See you at the top.ā
Are you ready to start living right? Visit www.livritehealthcare.com
You can also contact Phillip at www.philipadebayo.com
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Notable Reads For The Week
Substack users can no longer embed tweets directly from Twitter. Read about the ongoing war between Substack and Twitter.
What happened to all the verified Twitter accounts? Read about what Elon Musk did with the blue ticks.
Netflix finalizes plans to stop password sharing on the platform.
Opportunities
Bumpa is hiring a full-time Account Manager in Nigeria!
Moniepoint is hiring all over Nigeria!
Andela is Hiring Remotely
Lemonade is hiring remotely in Africa
Enyata is hiring in Ghana
Operations Manager
Frontend Engineer
Backend Engineer
Product Manager
See Job requirements and description on Enyataās Twitter and send applications to Careers@