Africa’s leading payments technology company, Flutterwave on Wednesday announced Grammy Award-winning international artist, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, as its Global Brand Ambassador, following the launch of Send, a remittance solution, aimed to increase remittance flow and uptake to the African continent.
Send, the new remittance solution by Flutterwave aims at offering customers the easiest way to send money to all parts of Africa from within the continent and the globe as well as provide Africans easy access to fund overseas bank accounts.
Also, by partnering with Wizkid, Send aims to reach the global African diaspora to increase awareness of the affordable and seamless remittance service available to them through Flutterwave’s infrastructure.
In 2020, the sum of $40bn was remitted across formal channels to various countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region with Nigeria taking a significant share of total remittances. The IMF reports that remittances sent to SSA through informal channels, at 45–65% of formal flows, are significantly higher than in other regions.
Speaking on the partnership, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave said that the choice for Wizkid as the new global ambassador was as a result of his hard-work, resilience and excellence.
He said, “Wizkid’s story is that of hard-work, resilience and excellence. The way he constantly represents Africa in the global entertainment stage is something we love. As a leading technology company out of Africa, our values align and we’re excited to have him join us to drive adoption for Send”.
“Flutterwave and Wizkid share a common belief of showcasing the best of Africa to the world. Send by Flutterwave is the best remittance solution out there by coverage, cost of transactions and speed. Send represents our over five years of learning, relationship-building, research, and development in cross-border payments. It is also a truly African solution made in Africa by Africans and for the world.”
Agboola went further to add that Flutterwave seeks to create opportunities for Africans globally through the Send platform. “We want to create opportunities for Africans everywhere through Send. We hold our vision of creating endless possibilities in Africa close to our heart and we’re excited to work with Wizkid to drive these goals”, Agboola added.
In response to his new Flutterwave’s Global Ambassadorial position, Ayodeji Balogun, Wizkid, replied that he was particularly excited about working with Flutterwave into bringing more Africans into the digital economy through Send.
“My team and I Send a lot of money across borders every day. Using a solution developed by Africans for our daily payments needs is a thing of pride and efficiency. So, when Flutterwave approached me to be onboard with their new remittance solution, it was easy to say yes”, Wizkid said.
He further added that as a result of his tours which makes him travel more, the remittance solution, Send would grant him the opportunity to handle his financial responsibilities irrespective of his location.
This however has shown the relationship between financial technological institutions and music and this is the third partnership this year following Risevest announcement of Billionaire crooner Teni in November as it’s ambassador and also, Chipper Cash partnership with African Giant, Burna Boy in October.
