Tayo Oviosu, founder and CEO of Paga, Nigeria’s fastest growing payments service, has said that the absence of secured and simple means of payment over the internet is one of the key issues that is stifling Africa’s economic potential.
He stated this at the 2015 Digital Life Design (“DLD”) conference in Munich, Germany.
Tagged as, “Europe’s hottest conference invitation”, DLD is an international network on innovation, digitalization, science and culture; which unites some of the greatest minds for crossover conversations and inspiration.
Oviosu was on a panel on the impact of “Mobile & Technology In Emerging Markets”. The panel also had Anand Chandrasekaran (Chief Product Officer at Airtel), Harry Nellis (Partner at Accel Partners) and was moderated by Ina Fried (Senior Editor at Re/Code).
Oviosu shared his perspective on how harnessing technology to provide access to viable payments channels was the key to unlocking Africa’s full economic potential.
“The inability to pay for goods and services in simple and secure way is one of the key issues stifling Africa’s economic potential and I believe there is a real need to continuously explore the possibilities provided by internet connectivity and mobile technology to create long lasting viable solutions; not just for the average man on the street but also for businesses and public sector initiatives. Paga is solving this problem daily through our robust platform, an ecosystem of over 7,000 agents in local communities, over 3,000 businesses, and 2.3 million users.”
Oviosu founded Paga in 2009 as a response to his own challenges with handling cash and not being able to pay for goods and services in an efficient way. 5 years later, the wholly indigenous brand continues to leverage on its in-house technology team to create products for Africa’s unique challenges with a view to broadening their geographical reach in the near future.