Nigerian fintech startup Blueloop selected to join Y Combinator’s winter 2021 batch

Nigerian financial technology startup Blueloop has been accepted to join Y Combinator’s winter 2021 batch. The startup will have access to a $125k seed fund, alongside 10 other African startups.

Blueloop has joined other reputable Nigerian fintech firms to benefit from the accelerator program. Past recipients include Buycoins, Flutterwave, Kobo 360, Paystack, and many more.

The startup was founded in 2020 by two Nigerian undergraduates: Ben Eluan and Osezele Orukpe. The duo built an app called Flux, a subsidiary of Blueloop. The app combines the services of a cryptocurrency wallet and digital banking to enhance cross-border payments in Africa. The platform allows users to send or receive cryptocurrencies from any part of the world and convert it into fiat currency.

Eluan and Osezele dropped out of school to focus more on their company, gradually growing it into a $1 billion company. The duo is arguably the first set of Nigerian dropouts to get into the Y Combinator, a move that will hopefully encourage other young founders in Africa to pursue their dreams harder, according to Eluan.

Barely a year after its founding, Blueloop has over 5,000 users who have transacted more than $750,000 in payments volume. It is growing on a 40% month-on-month and has made more than $25,000 in revenue, despite the Nigerian central bank’s ban on crypto.

In just a little time, the crypto payment platform has become highly competitive and a threat to rivals including Buycoin, Chipper Cash, MFS Africa, and others. What differentiates Flux from other crypto remittance platforms is its easy access and speed in transactions, according to TechCrunch. Processing payments is faster than other fiat remittance platforms. The platform also charges $0.50 on every transaction.

In May 2020, Blueloop subsidiary Flux got accepted into Pioneer, an accelerator program launched by ex-YC partner, Daniel Gross. The crypto remittance platform raised $77,000 in pre-seed from investors like Mozilla and Hustle Fund, among others.