Fintech has changed our lives. The Covid-19 pandemic induced this change. By extension, it has attracted the global attention to finance and technology.
The union of finance and technology birthed Fintech. It has changed our existence. It has thrown up new companies. It has unearthed many opportunities.
No one could have predicted such opportunities. Legacy founders have up the ante. New founders have emerged. Some of these are millionaires. Others are billionaires. Few are still computing their booty. So, you cannot classify them. Yet.
Where do you belong? You are not a founder? You are in a dilemma? Should you quit a paid job? And start a company? Should you keep your paid job? And start a side hustle? You have embraced a side hustle. It pays more than your daily job. So, you have quit.
Now you have suddenly discovered that many firms are closing shops. As a result, many employees have been retrenched. More are leaving out of frustration. Others are weighing their options. But you are in a dilemma. Should you go full throttle? Should you slow down?
Your side hustle is not profitable. Yet. But you have a gut feeling that if you go broke, if you throw your hat into the ring, if you burn your ship, your side hustle will bloom. Your side hustle will kiss the sun. Like the sunflower. It will cover the earth. Like the sun. It will become a unicorn. It will be worth $1 billion in valuation. It will become a high valued Fintech startup. Like Flutterwave.
But you know, the CEO of Flutterwave, Gbenga Agboola and co did not envisage that that company will become a unicorn in a short time. You are aware that Flutterwave has completed another round of funding. It has been named one of the highest-valued fintech companies in the world.
This is after it hit the $3 billion market valuation. It recently raised $250 million. But, it did not start as a unicorn. The lion was once a cub in the jungle. A rookie. A learner.
That is the story of unicorns. They started as seeds. They then discovered their roots.
Your start-up will not be different. But how will you start? Where will you start? What will you start? Let us start from the ground up.
On the one hand
Research has shown that the financial global economy has embraced Fintech. This market is predicted to grow exponentially. It will be worth $309.98 billion by 2022. It has attracted various entrepreneurs and traditional investors. It shows that as a start-up founder you don’t have to be a techie.
Since you don’t have to be a techie, it shows that you should play in your strength zone. So, if you are still in a dilemma, and you don’t know what to do, check this out. I have researched some Fintech start-ups you can set up.
Appinventiv.com has some interesting Fintech start-ups. Consider them. If you settle for one of these startups, it is not a guarantee that you will end up with the highest-valued Fintech startup. That is a caution. Because the cathedral does not make the priest. Neither does the cassock make the pope. It is the other way. There are many issues involved in promoting one of the highest valued Fintech start-ups in the world. One of them is to find your niche. Dig deep. Spread your tentacles. Find the funds. The rest, as you know, is Flutterwave.
Flutterwave facilitates cross-border payments transactions in Africa. For small and large businesses. It does this through one Application Programming Interface (API). It processes 200 million transactions worth over $16 billion. It serves more than 900,000 businesses. It has raised an additional $250 billion. You see, Fintech has parts. Fintech has paths. Fintech has a pact. Choose below any of the start-ups. Set up. Stand up. Run it.
On the other hand
Here is the list. Digital banking, on-demand fuel filling and e-mortgage. Financial record maintenance, bill reminder and payday loan. Crypto exchange platform, insuretech and crowdfunding solutions. Blockchain applications, digital wallet, investment and trading app. Regtech, loan lending, Robo advising software, personal finance management and peer to peer solutions.
Digital banking is a high profit set-up. Appinventiv noted that the concept of investing in digital banking apps has grown in the market.
In 2011, it delivered 9% of the online audience. In 2017, it captured 69%. It shows the interest is rising. Covid-19 is a propeller of this rise. In addition, NIBSS said a total of $10.5 billion (N6 trillion) online transactions were processed in 2020. What’s the summary? Read between the lines.
Meanwhile, answer these questions. What can stop you from carrying a physical wallet? What prevents you from carrying credit and debit cards? What enables you to make payments in a few taps? What allows you to make payment with biometrics? It is a digital wallet.
The market for digital wallets will be worth over $7.5 billion by 2024. That is a forecast. In the same breath, crowdfunding is red hot. Give it a shot. It has emerged as one of the most successful fintech startup ideas. It is one of the best alternate funding models for entrepreneurs. There are few crowdfunding solutions. Lunch is served. Dive in. The market prediction for crowdfunding is $28.8 billion by 2025.
Payday loan idea works. It allows you to provide users with a specific sum as a loan. It works. It works for users. It works for the owners. It works for all. It offers the opportunity to obtain a loan in a few clicks. It has no hidden charges. It is safe. It is secure. It works.
However, there are other ideas with high stakes. One of them is a regtech solution. It helps financial companies to comply with all the local and global standards. It enables organisations to automate processes, compile reports and submissions. The market will hit $53 billion in 2022.
Samuel Olayimika, a software developer at Brightminded – a United Kingdom bespoke software development firm helping ambitious businesses to thrive – told me that to set up a highest-valued startup you must consider the market. You must interpret the needs of the market. Accurately. You can achieve this through surveys and other instruments. “As the start-up meets the needs of the customers, the customers will be committed to the success of the business. The customers will support the start-up. So, this symbiotic relationship will help the business as investors or influencers”.
Does that mean a startup in digital payment can become the highest-valued unicorn like Flutterwave?
It depends, Bigmummy.
On what?
If you can poach the founder of Flutterwave. If you can replicate Flutterwave’s business model.
If you can attract the same round of funds.
How?
I would not know. But I know this. Fintech has changed our today. Fintech will change our tomorrow, too.
