The Night Time Industries Association and preferred partner Zapaygo, one of the UK’s leading order and pay apps, launches ‘Ask for Angela’ feature, to be available across all their venues as part of the broader safeguarding initiative available to businesses.

An exceptional amount of work has been done within the sector, which is focused on creating safer environments for people to socialise within, and build public confidence. This initiative is one of many layers of safeguarding mechanisms which will prove to enhance communication between staff and customers if they are feeling vulnerable or concerned about their safety.

Venues wishing to use this feature would receive the notification, like any other order, through the Zapaygo system, and implement their safety protocol without individuals needing to speak to a member of staff directly. This offers an additional way to access the ‘Ask for Angela’ initiative which may be beneficial to better support people wishing to receive support anonymously.

Zapaygo users will be able to select the ‘Ask for Angela’ option from a participating venue’s menu as simply as if they were ordering a drink. ‘Ask for Angela’ is a nationally recognised safety initiative which allows people to alert a venue to a personal safety concern. In the past, this has relied upon speaking directly to a member of staff. While ‘Ask for Angela’ is already a successful scheme, the NTIA and Zapaygo recognise that technology can provide an additional option to help venues implement this initiative even more effectively.

Elliot Hall, Founder and CEO of Zapaygo, said: “Technology in our industry has long been used to improve the customer experience and operational efficiency. Following the recent increase in concern over the wellbeing and safety of guests in late night venues, Zapaygo, in partnership with the NTIA, have been working on ways to use our technology to integrate personal safety features too. We believe that we can offer solutions which fit industry standards and work in real-life, operational practice. The safety of our users is top priority.”

Mike Kill, CEO of the Night Time Industries Association, said: “The NTIA are constantly working to improve inclusion and safety in night time spaces. This initiative will enhance the communication channels between customers and staff when they are feeling vulnerable or compromised. It is clear that the enhanced mitigations around searching, communication and training alongside safety mechanisms like this initiative will go a long way to building confidence in the sector, and the ability for people to enjoy a safe night out.”

New research unveils that transitioning communications and processes from physical to digital while reducing costs and supporting changing working models top the list of FS priorities

29 November 2021: Swiss Post Solutions (SPS), a leading outsourcing provider for business process solutions and innovative services in document management, has released new research that shows the transition from physical communications and processes to digital is the number one priority for financial services leaders in the next year.

This may be driven by the fact that over half reported their ability to deliver a superior customer experience was hampered by issues integrating digital, online with physical, offline communications.

When asked what the top three priorities were for the next 12 months, cutting costs and supporting the transition to new working models took second and third position. The survey of over 200 leaders in the UK financial services sector suggests that the challenges they face are being driven by shifts in customer and employee behaviours and expectations, accelerating the shift in adopting digital channels.

However, it also points to the huge variety of concerns on leaders’ minds - from compliance and regulation to customer service, building operational resilience while also reducing property space. With three-quarters currently overseeing digital transformation programmes, 84% are investing in transformation of back-office operations to support these priorities.

Ranking of priorities for IT leaders in financial services

1.        Transitioning physical communications and processes from physical to digital (49%)

2.        Reducing costs (46%)

3.        Supporting changing working models e.g. hybrid, remote (41%)

4.        Meeting all compliance and regulatory requirements (39%)

5.        Improving customer service (37%)

6.        Building business and operational resilience (35%)

7.        Streamlining processes (34%)

8.        Reducing property space (19%)

Back-office transformation a priority for financial service providers

As ever, leaders continue to face budgetary constraints. Cost-cutting ranked second in their list of priorities for the next year. While four in five are including back-office transformation within the scope of their digital transformation programmes, 46% said that the biggest challenge to reducing costs is the concentration on front-end customer communications and not back-office operations.

Reflecting this, a third said their organisations are suffering from siloed IT systems and manual processing, with a lack of automation further compounding speed and service issues. For example, a quarter said that continued inefficient paper processing meant they were unable to meet cost-cutting priorities.

Gary Harrold, CEO of Swiss Post Solutions, UK & Ireland commented, “To deliver digital transformation priorities within tight budgets, transformation of back-office operations is key. Many are doing so but are struggling to juggle competing priorities. It has never been harder to answer the competing needs of the organisation while trying to cut costs. As such, it’s perhaps unsurprising that three-quarters are seeking to outsource digital transformation initiatives in the next year, bringing in expert partners who can help manage these competing priorities strategically and cost-effectively, with specialist insight and holistic understanding.”

Disconnected communications and poor use of data impacts customer service

Across the industry, financial service providers are keenly aware of threats to customer loyalty.

According to this latest research, the greatest threat comes from customers’ perception of poor service. As a result, over a third of respondents reported that they were focused on improving the customer experience in the next year.

When asked what the biggest challenge is to delivering a superior customer experience, the majority pointed to the integration of digital online with physical offline communications and processes. This aligns with their overall priority; connecting and transitioning physical communications and processes from the ‘physical to digital’.

The challenge of online/offline communication was followed closely by inter-related issues of collation, processing and effective analysis of customer data; over a third admit that they are delivering inferior services due to an inability to effectively analyse and use customer data. The same number report struggling to automate data collection and analysis, leaving much valuable unstructured data languishing as a result.

In addition, nearly 50% said that legacy systems impact the time it takes to process data. In fact, over a third said that slow manual processes are damaging customer relationships.

Ranking of challenges to delivering a superior customer experience

1.        Integrating digital online with physical offline communications (50%)

2.        Legacy systems increasing times for processing data (49%)

3.        Processing increasing volumes of unstructured data (45%)

4.        Utilising customer data effectively (37%)

5.        Manual processes (requiring staff) increasing times for processing data (37%)

Harrold commented, “It’s clear that there is focus on integrating online and offline communications, and that leaders in this sector are prioritising digital processes to support this. Customer expectations in the wake of Covid have changed, and the drive to digital has accelerated as branch and in-person interactions diminish and digital communications increase.”

“However, it is important that in addressing communications issues, resulting data is not left languishing. Delivering superior customer experiences hinges on digital transformation solutions that allow providers to harness data effectively - no matter its type or origin. Essentially this all comes down to how providers transform core processes, which cannot be done piecemeal. It requires an encompassing strategy that joins the dots between data, back-office processes, customer service and employee expectations too. They are all intertwined.”

New working models demand employee expectations are met

The shift to remote and hybrid working models as a result of the pandemic is set to leave a lasting legacy. Support for remote and hybrid working models will remain a priority for leaders over the next 12 months. Four in ten report this sits within their top three priorities, including answering a need for remote access to data (49%), with a third saying this shift is hindered by a lack of processes for remote service delivery.

While remote working during the pandemic hindered digital transformation initiatives for nearly 40% in the sector, a quarter reported that it had no effect on their ability to deliver their digital transformation priorities.

Harrold reflected, “It’s fair to say that the pandemic has resulted in a marked shift in priorities. Ensuring employees can work remotely is as much about delivering great customer service as it is meeting employee expectations at a time when many are reassessing how, and who they work for. Successful transformation relies on digitising back-office processes and implementing systems that deliver information quickly, securely, in digital formats that are easily accessible and easily analysed. Holistic transformation of the back-office delivers on all fronts, to customers and employees alike.” 

Dean Fiveash

Head of FinTech Sales, IFX

Without doubt the Coronavirus pandemic impacted every aspect of our lives and fundamentally changed the way in which we all conduct business. 

From the widespread adoption of working from home, to the amplified focus on employee wellbeing and work life balance, to simply acknowledging that people are more than their job titles and are often juggling childcare, pets and terrible wifi issues all whilst trying to do their job. The last 18 months have altered the way we work forever and in order to set our businesses up for success we have also needed to rethink how we operate. 

In a people facing sector like sales,  it’s  clear that the loss of face-to-face interaction is perhaps the biggest loss and an impending challenge as we slowly emerge from the confines of the pandemic. Gone are the days of instant downloads from ‘water cooler’ conversations with the team discussing deals or general matters. Instead, our inboxes and diaries are full of zoom catch ups. This isn’t to say that success has dwindled. Flexibility of working from home has helped many businesses to grow rapidly. In fact at IFX we have enjoyed our ten best months of company sales, but there is no denying the way in which we work within our teams has shifted. So how can you set up your sales teams to maximise its chances of success?

Adapting To The Times

For many businesses operating during these unprecedented times the shift towards the work from home culture has seen its benefits. Speed is key in the fintech industry and video calls on top of isolated working has greatly improved our time efficiency allowing us to do more for our clients in the long run. Equally, with the workforce being spread around the country and in some cases even globally, came the need for further rigorous checks and processes to ensure the high standards set in the office environment are still being met. 

Despite this I would argue that this made us better sales people, and in turn a more successful and thriving sales team. 

Post-pandemic success is grounded in not just the talent of your employees but also how you choose to structure your teams. For me, the old adage ‘People Buy People’ remains the most relevant factor for developing a slick sales team. At the end of the day, the technical stuff can be learnt over time but the proficient people skills needed in client facing roles is more innate. 

When evaluating team skills, individuals who demonstrate determination and the ability to keep smiling through adversity are a vital asset, especially in the fast paced fintech industry. 

Having worked in numerous team leader roles within the sales industry,  I know the difference that a collegiate and supportive team can make to successfully securing deals. The key is to have people at your disposal who are going to pitch in to help others, in turn making the team more robust. In the post-pandemic world, this will remain the key quality to look for and embed as a core value across the business. 

Fostering A Successful Culture 

Whilst the team structure and core skills are an important part of the team set up, good management and personal development structure is crucial to success. At IFX, our sales leadership team all have client portfolios and are regularly signing and navigating deals. It’s through giving my team practical experience and regular client interaction that we can gain far better market insight than through managing team activity or KPIs alone. 

More discipline is also required when working at home to retain the sales focus whilst navigating domestic distractions. As such, maintaining your employee motivation and focus is something each business should work on. A difficult feat without the physical presence of your team and one balanced on knowing your employees and their individual needs. But little things go a long way, so incentives and perks such as company socials, bonuses or simply a free breakfast can work wonders to motivate others. Another tip is to set  attainable goals and regular check-ins with your team to keep motivation on track to reach peak productivity.

Looking Forward

Team dynamics will continue to change to adapt to the ever-changing and rapidly evolving landscape, the secret to success will remain the same. 

Something to look forward to in the next couple of years as a movement,  is the greater adoption of smarter contracts and embedded FinTech, which of course as businesses and as a team we will have to adapt to. 

Ultimately, my biggest piece of advice to others is to get the basics right.  A leading-edge solution fails to achieve greatness if it isn’t backed with competent sales/relationship managers and attentive operational support. Traditional ingredients for success such as reputation and trustworthiness are built over time, often through word of mouth, but building a competent team who can make your clients happy is essential to that mix.

Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst Hargreaves Lansdown

‘’The anxiety attack on the financial markets shows signs of alleviating, as investors pause for breath and spot signs of optimism while scientists race to establish the severity of the new variant. The FTSE 100 opened up 1% in early trading, recovering some of Friday’s dramatic losses and the FTSE 250 was 1.5% higher.

Amid the doom which took hold as doors were slammed shut on travel routes from Africa and increased restrictions were imposed, there are glimmers of hope. There are reports from doctors in South Africa that Omicron infections don’t seem more severe and the World Health Organisation’s appeal for caution also appears to have calmed some nerves. It has observed that although there appears to be increasing rates of hospitalisation, that may be due to higher numbers being infected rather than due to its specific strain.

This has helped ease concerns that global trade will be severely dented if the new variant takes hold, which saw the steepest falls in the oil price in 18 months on Friday. A barrel of Brent crude has rebounded a little, rising by 4.5% initially but then falling back, hovering around $75 a barrel. The slight recovery in the oil price has helped BP and Shell which opened higher. After nosediving on Friday, British Airways owner IAG, has edged back upwards, up by more than 3% in early trading, amid hopes that travel restrictions will be limited to those rolled out over the weekend, until more is known about the virus. EasyJet and Ryanair have also caught a ride upwards, rising by around 2%.

On the FTSE 250 the companies showing the steepest recovery were those re-opening stocks which saw some of the sharpest declines as fears took hold on Friday.  WH Smith which has become hugely reliant on sales across its outlets across the travel network jumped by 5.7% while the Restaurant Group was up by 4.7% in early trade, closely followed by Carnival, up by 4.6%. News of queues at vaccination sites, with demand for booster jabs high has helped with the relief wave amid hopes the fully vaccinated will have more confidence to keep travelling, eating out and booking cruises next year. But still, this is not a complete snap back, worries remain that demand will be more subdued that expected, and patience is going to be the name of the game until more is known about the trajectory of this strain.

Topping the FTSE 100 leader board is BT, amid reports that India’s Reliance Industries is considering a bid for the company. Talks are believed to be in their early stages, but Reliance is considered to be keen to get at least a foothold in the telecoms company. It’s clearly interested in BT’s future growth plans with its focus on profiting from the roll out of fibre broadband and 5G. News that the Indian conglomerate Tata Chemicals is in talks to buy the battery materials business put up for sale by Johnson Matthey has also sent shares in the FTSE 100 listed company higher. The price tag rumoured to be attached to the potential bid of between $500 and $700 million is clearly seen as attractive as it would give the company more financial firepower to expand its presence in hydrogen technologies.

It's a wait and see mood on the markets today, as speculation swirls about possible takeovers and investors stay on high alert for any fresh detail about Omicron and its potential impact for the direction of the pandemic.”

For some time, the VCT and EIS fund industry has wrestled with balancing the tax and investment aspects of its products. Unfortunately, the former is easier to articulate, and usually ends up being emphasised over the latter. A new white paper from Hardman & Co, How much should clients invest in venture capital? firmly tips the balance back in favour of the investment case. It applies a rigorous approach, using standard asset allocation methods to show that, for most investors, the best portfolio includes some venture capital, even without any tax reliefs. This can raise expected returns for clients. Importantly, the paper shows how this can be done without raising portfolio risk.

The key to this result is that venture capital is a diversifying asset class, almost as good as bonds when comparing with equities. This means that, even when allowing for the higher risk, including venture capital in investor portfolios can improve expected outcomes. For investors with an average risk profile, this suggests venture capital proportions in the mid-teens, comfortably above the usual rules of thumb.

All assets matter

The key to improving returns, while keeping risk profiles fixed, is to adjust the exposure to the other assets. The paper examines the effect on equity/bond portfolios when adding venture capital. The exposure to equities needs to be reduced by more than the new venture capital exposure, with the proportion of bonds increasing. This makes intuitive sense: venture capital is riskier, so we need to reduce risk in the rest of the portfolio. But it is worth it? This can add 0.5%-1.0% to annual returns, which adds up over decades.

This means that we can highlight two common fallacies about VCT and EIS investing:

• “Investors need to have a high-risk appetite to invest in venture capital”: the analysis shows that even investors with ‘natural’ equity proportions as low as 25% can benefit from adding a little venture capital.
• “Venture capital products such as VCTs and EIS funds are for when pension allowances are used up”: most investors cannot access venture capital through pension plans, and could miss out on higher returns for decades. Venture capital exposure should be built up alongside pensions, not after they are full.

Tax still helps

While the paper focuses on venture capital without tax reliefs, they still make a big difference. The paper shows that they can increase expected IRRs by roughly 1.5x to 2x, with a slight benefit to risk. This makes them even more attractive from an asset allocation perspective, increasing target proportions significantly and boosting returns even further. Of course, in practice, pensions have similar levels of tax reliefs, so the original analysis is more appropriate. However, it does suggest that the original analysis has a degree of conservatism.

Brian Moretta, Head of Tax Enhanced Services at Hardman & Co said “the paper makes a compelling case for venture capital to be a normal part of most investors’ portfolios. Perhaps the VCT/EIS industry can move from ‘tax-efficient’ to venture capital with benefits!”

IFIN (“Islamic Finance Initiation Network”) the first of its kind fintech, stands out with its state-of-the-art solutions for the Islamic finance industry and wins the Ethical Finance Initiative Award at the annual EFICA Awards 2021 held on Wednesday 24 November at JW Marriot Marquis, Dubai and organized by Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (“ADIB”), a leading Arab financial institution, and Refinitiv, a London Stock Exchange Group business.

Founded in 2014 by two industry pioneers IFAAS and Path Solutions, IFIN offers next-generation fintech solutions that link Islamic financial institutions with retailers, MSMEs, corporates and regulators, originating Sharia-compliant instant financing for retail and MSME segments. Through digitalizing the entire financing process, IFIN is revolutionizing the Islamic financial services industry, taking it to the next level.

Manar Abbas, IFIN Chief Operating Officer said, “It is tremendously exciting for us to have won the industry’s most coveted and prestigious award in the face of rising competition. This prize constitutes a very gratifying recognition of our continued perseverance towards reinventing Islamic finance and will make a genuine difference to what IFIN is able to achieve”.

The Ethical Finance Initiative Award recognizes individuals and organisations that offer emerging and innovative ethical financial solutions and initiatives that have been successfully implemented and made a positive social impact for their stakeholders. IFIN was carefully selected among 200 applications for the $80,000 prize for being the first of its kind Sharia-compliant, next-generation Buy-Now-Pay-Later fintech that connects all types of Islamic financial institutions, including banks, windows, finance companies, microfinance, and crowdfunding platforms, with retailers – both online and offline – allowing customers to submit their finance applications to their preferred institution and get it approved instantly.

“This is an incredible honor”, commented Mohammed Kateeb, Path Solutions’ Group Chairman & CEO and IFIN Co-founder & Board Member. “This has been an amazing year of innovation and growth for IFIN in an exciting new era of digitalization, and today we are proud to receive one of the highest awards that can be bestowed annually, which again confirms the success of our project and increase our motivation to building innovative solutions that continue to shape the overall fintech and financial services ecosystem”.

EFICA was launched in 2013 by ADIB and Thomson Reuters - now Refinitiv - with the aim of inspiring and recognising thought leaders and forward-thinking firms which offer the most dynamic, ground-breaking solutions that advance ethics in the world’s financial services.

The other prize winners on the evening were Manzil - Canada’s first Islamic Neobank and Islamicly App.

More on IFIN can be found here: https://ifin-services.com/

New investors JPMorgan Chase Strategic Investments, Standard Chartered Ventures and ING Ventures join cap table and client list

• Nyca Partners leads Series C round raising Thought Machine’s valuation to more than $1bn

• New institutional investors include ING Ventures, JPMorgan Chase Strategic Investments and Standard Chartered Ventures

• Lloyds Banking Group, who led Thought Machine’s Series A round is also participating in this funding round and continues to invest in the business to maintain its shareholding

Thought Machine, the cloud native core banking technology firm, today announces the close of its series C funding round, bringing $200m into the business from new and existing investors. This new round sees Thought Machine achieve unicorn status.

This round was led by Nyca Partners, a New York and San Francisco-based venture capital firm, with investment also coming from the investment arms of some of Thought Machine’s global tier one banking clients – ING Ventures, JPMorgan Chase, and Standard Chartered Ventures. Existing investors Lloyds Banking Group, British Patient Capital, Eurazeo, SEB, Molten Ventures (formerly Draper Esprit), Backed, and IQ Capital have all participated in the round. 

This announcement follows a period of accelerated growth as Thought Machine executes its internationalisation strategy and continues to deploy cloud native core banking technology into the world’s most ambitious banks and fintechs.

In October 2021, Thought Machine relocated to a larger London HQ to support its headcount growth after adding more than 200 employees since 2020.

Thought Machine will be using the funding to continue developing and expanding Vault. The firm intends to further develop Vault and its Universal Product Engine, which allows for unparalleled flexibility in product development and configuration. The company will expand its international reach, strengthening its five global offices and targeting new key markets to accelerate the adoption of cloud native core banking globally. 

Founded in 2014 by former Google engineer Paul Taylor, Thought Machine provides modern, cloud native core banking technology to some of the largest and most ambitious banks in the world. Many of Thought Machine’s investors are also clients, including Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered, SEB and others – signalling to the market Thought Machine’s critical role in the future of global banking technology.

Paul Taylor, Chief Executive Officer and Founder, Thought Machine: 

We are delighted to have earned the support of our new and existing investors as we continue to move the world’s leading banks into the cloud. We set out to eradicate legacy technology from the industry and ensure that all banks deployed on Vault can succeed and deliver on their ambitions. These new funds will accelerate the delivery of Vault into banks around the world who wish to implement their future vision of financial services.

Hans Morris, Managing Partner, Nyca Partners:

Thought Machine is the leading technology among the new generation of cloud native core platforms, and as a result it has become the top choice for tier one banks looking to upgrade their core architecture. These institutions tell us that Thought Machine’s engineering approach is unrivalled; Vault is highly configurable, flexible, scalable, and specifically designed for the complex environment and requirements of tier one banks. Investing in Thought Machine is an investment in the future of banking and we are very energized to be working with them as they build a new standard for core banking technology.

Alex Manson, Head of SC Ventures, Standard Chartered:

The deployment of Thought Machine is tied to our digital banking strategy, as we have adopted Thought Machine as the core banking software for our digital banks in Singapore and Hong Kong. Thought Machine’s cloud-native and agnostic technology stack offers agile and easily replicable deployment across markets, boosting our ability to roll out efficient digital banks with great customer experience in other markets. Digital Banking is one of our high-conviction themes, as we strongly believe finance should be a seamless experience embedded in our customers’ lifestyles. This will continue to be a focus area for SC Ventures.

Although bank transfers in the Single Euro Payments Area, or SEPA, take the same amount of time regardless of the country where the account is issued, some companies don't want to go through the extra trouble and refuse to serve customers from other countries entirely. So Lithuanian fintech company Bankera, together with several other fintech companies operating in the EU, has joined an international initiative to fight the IBAN discrimination. 

"This practice occurs when service providers in one EU country do not allow customers to use payment accounts from other EU countries. This problem is widespread in many European countries, even though the EU is based on the principle of free movement of goods and services. Most of our customers are residents or businesses registered in countries in the European Economic Area, so we want them to be aware of their options to stop illegal IBAN discrimination and to inform the relevant authorities. To this end, a special website – acceptmyiban.org – has been set up where victims can register their complaints," says Vytautas Karalevičius, co-founder of Bankera, explaining the membership of the association.  

IBAN is an international bank account format that has been used for almost 25 years in 70 countries worldwide. The Lithuanian IBAN consists of 20 characters. Two letters represent the country code (LT), two digits are control digits, five digits are the bank code, and another 11 digits represent the unique account number.        

IBAN discrimination often takes the form of your employer or a company such as a utility company refusing to accept your IBAN when you make payments in the euro area. IBAN discrimination has been illegal in other EU countries since 2014 and affects many people trying to pay bills or make or receive international payments in the euro area.

Last year, members of the association sent a joint letter to the European Commission urging politicians to take further action to end the illegal practice of IBAN discrimination. Furthermore, the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a strong demand for online banking. The European fintech industry has therefore united to fight against IBAN discrimination in all EU member states.  

Since the launch of acceptmyiban.org in mid-March this year, more than 1000 reports of possible IBAN discrimination have been received. Their analysis has shown that the highest number of such cases has been recorded in the old European countries - France, Spain and Germany.

British Business Investments, a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary within the British Business Bank group, today announces a £7m commitment to FOLK2FOLK, a specialist marketplace lender for rural and regional smaller businesses.

British Business Investments aims to increase the supply and diversity of finance for smaller businesses across the UK, by boosting the lending capacity of a range of finance providers, including peer to peer and marketplace lenders. Since its establishment in 2014, British Business Investments has committed over £3bn to providers of finance to UK smaller businesses.

FOLK2FOLK specialises in providing finance to smaller businesses within regional UK, helping those who are looking to grow, develop or diversify in the post-pandemic and post-Brexit environment. The company has delivered £488m of investment into regional smaller businesses since 2013.

Judith Hartley, CEO, British Business Investments, said: “British Business Investments is delighted to announce its £7m commitment to FOLK2FOLK. In its recently published Regions and Nations Tracker report, the British Business Bank highlighted the funding issues for regional and rural smaller businesses. This commitment to FOLK2FOLK will help these types of businesses, throughout the UK, to access the finance they need to grow and prosper.”

Louis Mathers, Co-Founder & Director, FOLK2FOLK said: “By focusing on rural and regional businesses, FOLK2FOLK serves an extremely viable but underserved part of the SME landscape. Too often, investments overlook businesses operating outside of large urban areas. We founded FOLK2FOLK on the belief that something needed to be done about this regional disparity in funding. We felt a greater connectedness was needed between investors and regional Britain, and FOLK2FOLK was founded in early 2013 to be a mechanism to enable this. Together with our investors, we are helping to level the playing field for regional businesses.”

Roy Warren, Managing Director, FOLK2FOLK said: “We are rapidly approaching half a billion in lending and the addition of British Business Investments as an institutional investor alongside our existing investor base, expands our funding lines and bolsters our position on the financial frontline of support for regional SMEs. FOLK2FOLK takes a human approach to lending and reviews every case on its own merits. By taking a holistic approach, we’re able to see the bigger picture, and will also consider projection-led proposals.”

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, is pleased to announce the launch of its new e-commerce service, Flutterwave Market – an extension of its Flutterwave Store service – that will bring together a collection of merchant stores in one place.

Flutterwave Market brings e-commerce a step closer to the brand’s merchants and their customers. The aim of the new Flutterwave Market is to help merchants reach new customers and ultimately increase sales and revenue. This will not only make it easier for customers to shop from a range of Flutterwave Store merchants but will also enable customers to seamlessly shop across a variety of products from different businesses at their convenience.

The Flutterwave Market will display Flutterwave stores across various product categories and countries. It will include features such as product search, category display and country filter to help enhance the shopping experience. The solution will display product categories such as men and women’s fashion, beauty and food—in line with the preferences of most shoppers on Flutterwave Store. Shoppers will be able to order products and have the products delivered at their preferred locations.

Recent data from Statista shows that as of 2020, the number of digital buyers in Africa experienced an increase to 281 million. The number of e-commerce users in the continent is also estimated to grow significantly, reaching over 334 million in 2021. By 2025, they could be roughly 520 million, almost doubling the number in 2019. 

“This is an exciting next chapter for the Flutterwave brand, and we’re excited to introduce this new marketplace experience to our merchants worldwide," said Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flutterwave. "Flutterwave Market is a fully functional e-commerce service that serves as a megastore where buyers can purchase a variety of goods from multiple sellers under one roof.”

GB continued: “Since the successful launch of Flutterwave Store, we have listened to our customers and acted on what they need to scale their businesses. Launching the new marketplace will transform their business, taking it to the next stage of growth. Flutterwave Market is for us a way to create endless possibilities for our Flutterwave Store users. We’re not merely aggregating existing stores, we’re positioning them to make more sales.”

Flutterwave Store was launched in April 2020 with the aim of keeping the lights on for small businesses following lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic across various countries. The ecommerce solution has grown to over 30,000 businesses till date, while adding features like discount codes and multiple product uploads. The Flutterwave Market provides an additional opportunity for shoppers to discover and shop from these businesses as opposed to only following their store link.