Nigeria’s Flex Finance is a spend management solution for businesses in Africa, helping companies get visibility and control of their spending, and streamlining financial processes like approval workflows, expense tracking, employee reimbursements, and vendor payments.
Flex was born out of the Company Builder initiative launched by Accion Venture Lab, which is aimed at building inclusive fintech startups from scratch to reach the millions of financially underserved Nigerians.
“We also provide businesses with unlimited corporate spending cards – physical and virtual – with pre-approved spending limits, helping them to seamlessly manage their spending. In doing so, we save businesses time and money and enhance their productivity and profitability,” Yemi Olulana, chief executive officer (CEO) of Flex, told Disrupt Africa.
First covered by Disrupt Africa in 2020, Flex launched its spend management platform last year, and is now serving some of the fastest-growing businesses in Africa. It banked pre-seed capital in December 2021, and since then has seen strong growth.
“Our journey has been nothing short of extraordinary, as we have witnessed an incredible surge in customer uptake. The momentum behind our growth has been simply astonishing, propelling us to new heights in record time,” said Olulana.
“Today, we proudly stand as the preferred spend management solution for a multitude of Nigeria’s fastest-growing enterprises, spanning diverse industries such as manufacturing, logistics, food and beverage, healthcare, and beyond.”
According to Brookings, business spending in Africa is projected to reach US$4.2 trillion by 2030. Yet the majority of businesses in Africa currently struggle with a labouriously manual or fragmented spending process that is slow, error-prone, and leads to financial losses and wastage.
“To address this issue, the Flex spend management platform offers a comprehensive solution of digital tools designed to streamline spend management for businesses in Africa,” said Olulana.
“From employee reimbursements to vendor payments, Flex enables businesses in Africa manage their spending efficiently. Additionally, Flex provides unlimited corporate spending cards, both physical and virtual, with predetermined spending limits, facilitating more efficient spend management.”
Africa has experienced exciting advancements in digital payment innovations in recent years, he said, making it easier for instant financial transactions to take place.
“Simultaneously, there is a strong regulatory push to digitise payments throughout the continent, creating opportunities for further growth in B2B spending,” said Olulana.
“By bringing efficiency to the spending process for businesses, Flex aims to complete the last piece of the puzzle.”
