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How global healthcare and logistics companies use payment gateways in Africa

May 19, 2023
May 19, 2023
3 mins read
Astor George
Astor George
Brand Storyteller

Editor's note:

In recent years, global healthcare brands and logistics companies have increasingly turned to digital payment infrastructures as a means of expanding their operations in Africa. According to the Central Bank of Nigeria, the number of mobile-money transactions in Nigeria doubled to around N800 million in 2020. South Africa’s online commerce grew by about 40% during lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Experts have also predicted that the digital payments market is expected to grow 152% between 2020 and 2025.

The rise of digital payment services has transformed how healthcare providers and logistics companies operate, allowing them to deliver essential services and goods to even the most remote areas. 

The importance of digital payment systems to these sectors can’t be overstated. With consumers having the ability to digitally pay for medical supplies and receive payments for services, healthcare and logistics brands are better equipped than ever before to address the challenges of their industries in Africa.

There are numerous case studies of global healthcare brands and logistics companies that have successfully implemented digital payment systems in Africa. An example of a healthcare brand that has integrated this into its business in Africa is Healthtracka. Healthtracka is a health digital platform that allows consumers to get direct access to lab tests, at-home sample collections, and digital results in a few hours, which is considerably less time than it would take at a hospital. 

“After setting up the foundation of the business, it became clear that payment was a thing we needed to focus on and get right,” says Ifeoluwa Dare-Johnson, the CEO of Healthtracka, who founded the company in 2021. “We needed an efficient payment processor that we could trust to hold the payments part of the business down so we could focus on running other things. So I went through Techstars Toronto and found Kora, a company that prides itself on being the top African payment gateway.” 

Kora is a pan-African infrastructure company that enables local and global businesses to accept payins, make payouts, and get settled across popular payment channels across Africa. Kora helps Healthtracka seamlessly collect payments from customers. 

Kora also works as a payment processor for logistics brands in Africa, like God is God Logistics (GIGL). GIGL, Africa’s leading logistics company, uses Kora’s Pay-in product to let customers fund their GIG wallets, which the customers use to pay for services on their platform. 

“For a while, GIGL faced a problem funding merchants’ wallets,” Chidi Ajaere, the CEO of GIG Group, says. “Our merchants had to transfer funds to an account before the amount was credited to the merchants’ wallets. This wasn’t sustainable, and as a customer-centric brand, we had to find a way to make this process seamless for our customers.”

GIGL and Kora have worked together since 2022. “Our customers can seamlessly fund their wallets on the GIGGo app to pay for shipping and perform other transactions. We also needed to provide an option for customers to pay in USD. Kora helps us do that without stress,” Ajaere says.

At Kora, our goal is to connect Africa to the world and connect the world to Africa via payments. For startups and businesses working in Africa, we provide All The Support You Need ™️ to start, scale and thrive on the continent. Visit www.korahq.com to see all the ways you can thrive with Kora.