Paga Hits $4.6bn Transactions in 10 years

Nume Ekeghe

One of the leading mobile money operators in Nigeria, Paga yesterday marked its 10th anniversary, just as it announced it has processed over $4.6million transactions since it commenced operation.

The mobile money company is also planning to expand to other countries.

The founder and CEO, Paga, Tayo Oviosu, said this at a media parley to celebrate the firm’s 10 years anniversary.

Also, he said the firm plans to expand to Mexico and Ethiopia in a bid to meet its target of one billion users.

“We want to scale to become an emerging markets powerhouse and we are doing that by going after some large countries where the problems we seek to solve still exists.

“Nigeria is first stop and we are very proud of our Nigerian roots and it is a platform that can stand shoulder to shoulder with any other payment company and can be used anywhere in the world.

“We believe this business should grow past Nigeria and we are looking at Mexico and Ethiopia and we would leverage the fact that our currency is multicurrency and multilingual and the problems we are seeking to solve exists very strongly in these countries,” he explained.

On the successes and growth since inception, he said currently, Paga has over 12.1 million active users, over 20,000 agents, and has processed over 17 million transactions.

He explained: “In terms of our transaction in volume, it has been growing every year. Today, we have done over N1.2 trillion and if you divide at the exchange rate at each point, it would amount to $4.6 million worth of transactions in a 10-year period.

“When we look back in the 10 years of Paga, we now have over 20,000 agents today and we estimate conservatively that those 20,000 agents have already created over 10,000 jobs. So while are proud over our 800 jobs we have created over 10 years, really we also celebrate the multiplier effect.”

He further added: “What we are doing in Paga and we are continuing to do is by building an ecosystem and that enables people to digitally send and receive money and access financial services.

“And for us building that ecosystem and putting it together and within is the platform itself of a multicurrency and multi people. The purpose we a leading towards is that we want it to be simple for 1 billion people to access and use money.”

On celebrating its 10years milestone, he said: “We are very proud to celebrate this milestone. At Paga, we say we are making life possible for our customers.

“We want to make payments so seamless that you can focus on what you really care about whether that is ensuring that your wife is admitted to the hospital for treatment, or ensuring your daughter is allowed into school because payment was made on time.

“I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved so far. Our investors have been fantastic partners and we won’t be here but for their belief in our big idea.

“In the next decade, Paga is expanding its offering to include in-store and online e-commerce payments, and financial services such as savings, loans, and insurance in partnership with banks and other financial institutions.”

SOURCE: THISDAY