Marrakesh, Morocco− Paga, the mobile payments service founded in 2009 to address the growing challenges around viable payments options in Nigeria, has been announced winner of the "Outstanding Growing Business" category at the 2015 Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship (AAE).
Now in its 9th year, the AAE is an initiative of the African Leadership Network (ALN);a membership community made up of Africa’s most recognizedand influential entrepreneurs, business executives, investors, cultural leaders and high-impact social entrepreneurs. Created to strengthen relationships and encourage intra-African trade, investment, and collaboration;the winners of the prestigious AAE are chosen from thousands of entries from across the continent.
Paga, which has processed over 17 million transactions worth over a billion dollars,emerged winner in its category based on its demonstrated business excellence, integrity and contribution to socio-economic development.Also nominated in this category were other globally recognized African brands Snapplify - a content and media technology company and Africa’s largest eBook aggregator; and Logiciel Limited - an innovative technology and services company that delivers core banking, mobile banking and cash management mobilization platforms in Ghana.
Speaking on the company's latest recognition, Paga founder and CEO, Tayo Oviosu said...
"There is no greater honor than to be recognized by other Africans looking to inspire social and economic change through the channel of entrepreneurship. Being chosen amidst so many other well deserving companies is yet another testament of the contribution Paga is already making and will continue to make towards the development of Nigeria and the prosperity of Africa.
Supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs is vital for the development of our continent and we understand only too well how tasking the journey can be. The challenges faced by entrepreneurs within the continent are unique and sometimes staying true to a purpose or vision can be hard. We hope that the Paga story and the support we can provide in terms tools and opportunities to create and grow a business as part of our ecosystem will help make many more African entrepreneurial dreams a reality."
The company, which recently secured $13million in Series B financing remains focused on continuing its rapid expansion across Nigeria. With over 8,900 agents across the country Paga now has a significant base for its banking partners to leverage. The company also has over 3,800 businesses using its services to accept and make payments and over 3.8 million users on the platform.
On what next for Paga, Oviosu replied...
"Our #1 focus is to make it easy to pay and get paid. Our team will continue to work diligently with our banking partners to achieve this goal. With the support of a great team, the belief of our investors and organizations like the ALN encouraging us to do more...the sky is the limit. We will continue to strengthen and build on our agent network and our offerings for small and medium enterprises and consumers and in five years we hope the word Paga is a verb used by all when they want to pay or get paid."
Paga received their award at the annual ALN gathering in Marrakesh, Morocco on the 5th November 2015.