What do you call a situation where a business that does not operate a core financial model integrates financial services into its operations. If you are thinking about Embedded Finance, yes, you are on the right path.
This is a trend that is gaining momentum globally. For example Tesla, Walmart has integrated financial services into their business model. Nigeria is not left behind in this trend. For instance, Jumia (e-Commerce) in 2017 launched Jumia Pay.
Another business going towards this direction is GIGM. GIGM, a firm in the business of mobility has launched an electronic wallet and bills payment features on its app. According to the company, the new features allow its more than 600,000 users to “fund their e-wallet and pay bills in a matter of seconds."
Speaking on the latest development, Jude Odum, GIGM’s Chief Operating Officer said, “Mobility is more versatile than it is generally perceived to be. It is the ability to be moved or move freely and easily. The freedom associated with mobility is the experience we are making available to customers.”
GIGM plans to become a super app in the future. The company's CEO gave an insight into these plans when he was quizzed on the other non-mobility solutions GIGM plans to launch soon. Odum said GIGM will continue to explore new offerings for its users.
“Today it’s bills payment, tomorrow it could be a crowdfunding-based investment platform or a crypto wallet.” Jude Odum, GIGM’s Chief Operating Officer
GIGM's journey into the tech world could be traced back to 2019, and according to Odum, the tech unit is the second-largest, after its core operations.
The new service is only available in Nigeria for now, and will allow users pay for airtime, electricity bills, cable TV, and internet data. According to Odum, the new service was tested for about four months, during which the GIGM processed “thousands of transactions valued at millions of naira”.
The company plans to expand the service to other African countries in the future.