By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The hunger to strengthen and drive rapid growth and bolster its payments checkout process has pushed Africa’s leading payments technology company, Flutterwave, to acquire Disha, a platform that enables digital creators to curate, sell digital content, portfolios and receive payments from their audience worldwide.
According to Flutterwave, by enabling creators to receive payments from anyone, anywhere in the world, this acquisition is expected to further grow the estimated over $100 billion global creator economy.
It said creators on Disha who already monitor performance with the platform’s analytics feature, embed social media pages, add call-to-action buttons, and more are expected to find it easier to access global markets.
This is because the transaction will improve the process of digital content creation for Disha users, which are over 20,000, enabling them to earn value for their creativity using the platform’s new payouts and collections solution.
Young people all over the world are seeking better ways to earn more value from their creativity. In a report by NDTV, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), a new way of owning and selling digital arts, surged past $10 billion in Q3 of 2021.
This shows the large appetite of young people to create, own, sell or share various digital arts, creatives, and assets to a global audience— an industry Disha is well-positioned to support in the near future.
Flutterwave’s acquisition of Disha will help grow its base by providing users with the ability to make, receive and withdraw money from their Disha accounts in over 150 currencies and 34 countries across the world.
Commenting on the news, Olugbenga GB Agboola, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flutterwave said: “At Flutterwave, we care about the creators on Disha who over the years have found a home for their craft. That is why we’re making this huge investment to continue to support their growth.
“Beyond Disha users, this is an exciting effort to equip the global creator community of about 50m individuals, with innovative tools to grow their craft. We are thrilled to be supporting Disha to provide new opportunities for freelancers and creators to showcase and receive value for their creativity, across the world.”
Commenting on the News, Rufus Oyemade, Software and Architectural Lead, Disha said: “Flutterwave’s acquisition will accelerate our path to being an important toolset for creators to showcase and get paid for their work from all over the world.
“The new payment feature will support creators who will, in turn, become key players in the global creator economy. Disha earlier used a US-based payment partner for collections, but now that we’re part of Flutterwave, it’s amazing how we can provide excellent global services from Africa.
“We’re excited to continue to provide creators and freelancers with tools that add value to their craft. We’ll be focusing on features and integrations that help creators easily schedule meetings and exhibitions, build sustainable income through subscriptions and leverage emerging technologies in the creator space.”
“I believe this acquisition will bring about only positive changes. With increased resources, expertise and customer service, Flutterwave will certainly make Disha stronger and more competitive in the market.” Evans Akanno, co-founder and former CEO of Disha said.
Disha was co-founded by Evans Akanno (ex CEO), Rufus Oyemade (ex CTO) and Blessing Abeng (ex CMO). Disha will continue to maintain its distinct and unique brand identity and operations, despite the acquisition by Flutterwave. Disha had earlier in February 2021, announced it was closing services.
Adedapo Adesanya