One of Nigerian fintechs licensed as a mobile money operator, Paga, says it has processed transactions worth N14 trillion in the last 15 years.
The company’s founder and CEO, Tayo Oviosu, disclosed this in Lagos on Thursday at an event to mark the company’s 15th anniversary. He, however, noted that 80% of the transactions have been recorded in the last five years.
The figure from Paga confirms the rising embrace of mobile money in Nigeria. Recent data released by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) revealed that mobile money operators in the country, including Paga, Opay, and Palmpay, among others, processed transactions worth N17.2 trillion between January and March this year.
While counting the company’s milestones in the last 15 years, Oviosu said one of the biggest achievements of the company was the several people it was able to empower through job creation. According to him, the company has created 1,000 direct jobs and over 100,000 indirect jobs through its agents spread across the country.
The Paga founder noted that the company has expanded beyond the agent network to providing infrastructure for others through platform-as-a-service and serving 150 businesses. On the consumer side of the business, he said:
Oviosu said the Nigerian payment landscape is very competitive because it is a very attractive market. He, however, noted that there is a huge opportunity for every player to create a niche and acquire customers.
Speaking on the challenges the company has faced over the years, the Paga identified dearth of fund as a major issue, especially at the inception of the business.