- Alibaba has partnered with Flutterwave to provide African traders with Alipay
- Alipay is an online payment platform founded by Alibaba in China in 2004
Alipay, developed by Alibaba, the world’s second largest e-commerce company after Amazon, has over 900 million users worldwide. A partnership between Alibaba and Flutterwave will increase Alipay’s footprint and provide merchants with an alternative payment option.
Flutterwave is a fintech startup, incorporated in 2016, that is based in Lagos and the Silicon Valley in California. The company aims to build payment infrastructure across Africa to connect the continent with the rest of the world more efficiently.
African countries have faced barriers to entry to the global economy for a long time, but disruptions to traditional banking systems are slowly starting to open up markets. Companies like Alibaba and Flutterwave are making it easier for Africa to transact with the rest of the world.
Alibaba wants to expand its network in Africa. The partnership will allow them to do so while benefiting Africans. Trade activity between China and Africa has been on an upward trajectory, reaching $200 billion in 2018. The 60 000 users of Flutterwave will be able to accept Alipay as a payment option and access Alipay’s giant user base of more than 900 million.
Apart from the benefits of scale, the partnership will allow merchants to process payments in a far more efficient and cost-effective manner. Payments will also be safe and secure.
Read more here:
