Nigerian Fintech company, Flutterwave has partnered with Amole, Ethiopia’s largest mobile Digital Wallet platform, to facilitate remittance into Ethiopia.
The partnership will allow over 8 million Ethiopian in the diaspora to send money instantly to Amole wallets, bank accounts and cash pickup spots at over 2,500 locations.
Speaking on the partnership, Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, said it is a significant milestone for payments in Africa. He added that the company is delighted to work together to bridge the financial inclusion gap in Ethiopia.
“We are delighted to be collaborating with Amole to enable digital remittances and cash pickup into Ethiopia. Our collaboration will ensure that Ethiopian businesses are getting paid from all over the world, opening massive opportunities for business growth, a goal we are passionate about.”
Olugbenga Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave
Similarly, Yemiru Chanyalew, CEO of Moneta Technologies, said he was delighted about the partnership. He added that the combined efforts of both companies will enable seamless and interoperable remittance and eCommerce payments.
Leveraging on technology to boost remittance
The remittance service in Ethiopia can be very expensive, with manual paperwork and delays making it challenging and time-consuming for the diaspora community.
Also, many Ethiopians are still unbanked. According to a report by the National Bank of Ethiopia, over 75% of Ethiopia’s population remains unbanked, while nearly 40% of all bank branches are in the capital city, Addis Ababa.
Amole leverages technology to offer its customers digital payment capabilities. Access to its digital products and services enables users to complete essential transactions at their convenience.
Flutterwave on its part operates as an International Money Transfer Operator (IMTOs). It has thousands of businesses on its original platform as well as on its Barter by Flutterwave with which users can send money into Ethiopia.
Flutterwave was recently announced as one of the approved IMTOs to bring Remittances into Nigeria
The new partnerships help solve both problems. Flutterwave will serve the Ethiopian economy by making diaspora remittances easier for the millions in the diaspora.
Amole, on its part, will leverage its network to extend financial services to these underserved communities, thereby opening up financial opportunities for small and growing businesses in these communities.
Together both companies would solve these problems by providing instant delivery of funds to the receiver at no fee. Users will also have more control of where and how to send money, including transparency from a regulatory standpoint.
Ethiopian in diaspora remit over $5 billion annually to Ethiopia.
The CEO’s of Flutterwave and Amole’s Parent company both believe that this partnership will boost financial inclusion within the country.
How to use the new service
To use the new service created by this partnership, senders outside Ethiopia need to input the details of the receiver in Ethiopia and the payment destination. It can be either an Amole digital wallet, bank account, or cash pickup location anywhere in Ethiopia.
A security question and answer with which the receiver can access the funds has to be added if the preferred payment destination is via an Amole authorized agent.
In summary
Millions of Ethiopians overseas and Africans who do business with Ethiopians now have an easier and more secure channel of payments.
Similarly, businesses on Flutterwave as well as Barter by Flutterwave users can send money seamlessly into Ethiopia via this partnership.
Agboola revealed that this is just the beginning of Flutterwave’s partnership drive across Africa. He says the company hopes to deepen the discussions around its partnership to the benefits of Africans, everywhere.
Recently, the company was announced as one of the sponsors of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
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