Flutterwave Inc., an Africa-focused financial technology firm, obtained a switching and processing license for electronic payments in the continent’s biggest market Nigeria as it seeks to expand across the region. The permit from Nigeria’s central bank enables Flutterwave to process fund transfers between banks and fintechs, handle card transactions, participate in agency banking and engage in other payment services without an intermediary, it said in emailed statement on Thursday. The license comes at at time when the Lagos and San Francisco-based firm is planning an initial public offering on the Nasdaq while battling allegations of financial misconduct, including claims of…

We've all heard the stories: Companies building products for 6+ months only to find out no one wanted them. These mistakes are costly since the average software-as-a-service company spends 23% of their budget on research and development, which can make or break your company. That's because R&D, when executed well, has proven to be an effective, although risky, growth strategy. According to the Harvard Business Review, companies have dramatically increased their investment in R&D since the 1970s when the average company spent less than 1% of its budget on R&D. And these mistakes are shockingly common: 42% of companies in…

Capital importation into the country dropped by 2.4 percent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022, latest report by National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown. The total capital imported into the country in (Q2) 2022 stood at $1.54 billion from $875.62 million in the corresponding quarter of 2021, showing an increase of 75.34 percent. When compared to Q1 2022, capital importation decreased by 2.40 percent from $1.57 billion. Only four states out of 36 states and the federal capital territory (FCT), received capital investments in Q2 2022. These states are Lagos ($1.05 billion), FCT ($454 million), Anambra ($24.7 million),…

As markets continue to sag, organizations need to start thinking proactively about cutting costs. Like many companies, mine went through a cost-cutting exercise at the beginning of Covid-19. In those early days, no one had any clue how the pandemic would affect businesses. So, my company took a close look at what we were spending and instituted org-wide cost-efficiency standards. It turned out to be a prudent thing to do. In a generally bearish economic climate, we're in much better shape than we'd be otherwise. Two years after that first Covid-induced shock to the markets, we're seeing round two. But…