Ifeoluwa Oladeji
Flap Africa
Making wealth-building simple and affordable for everyone.
Overview
Since the early 2010s, digital financial platforms have disrupted traditional banking, with over 60% of Nigerians seeking alternatives to rigid banking structures. Many now juggle multiple apps for savings, payments, and investments, but this fragmentation creates barriers to financial growth.
With 70% of users struggling to manage scattered financial tools and only 33% of adults financially literate, high fees, security risks, and complex processes keep investing out of reach for many.
Flap Africa is dedicated to removing these barriers by offering low-cost investing, automated savings, and secure transactions—reducing fees by up to 40% and making wealth-building simple and accessible for everyone.
Problem Statement
Despite the growing interest in wealth-building, many Nigerians struggle to invest—not due to lack of ambition, but because existing platforms are costly, complex, and fragmented, making it difficult to access and manage investments effectively.
Current Market Insight
Nigerian investment trends are shaped by risk tolerance, financial literacy, and perceived returns. While many Nigerians are interested in investing, participation remains low due to market volatility, regulatory issues, and economic instability.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) saw 50% and 6% growth in 2020 and 2021, respectively, despite declining foreign investments. However, by early 2025, foreign outflows exceeded inflows by 26.6%, signaling instability.
Local investments (agriculture, real estate, SMEs) attract interest due to their tangible benefits but are hindered by high entry barriers, limited liquidity, and security concerns.
Behavioral factors like loss aversion, overconfidence, and risk perception also influence investment choices. While there is no clear preference for stocks or local investments, participation is driven by financial literacy, risk appetite, and trust in financial systems.
Digging into user needs
To uncover why many Nigerians still struggle to invest, I started by examining the local investment space—focusing on platforms offering access to agriculture, real estate, and small business opportunities, rather than traditional stocks. The goal was to understand what’s working, what’s not, and where real users are being left behind.
Survey Insight
I surveyed over 50 users to identify common financial habits and pain points:
68% said investment options felt too expensive or out of reach.
52% managed their finances across multiple apps, leading to confusion.
47% were unclear about platform fees and worried about hidden charges.
Interview Highlights
To go beyond the numbers, I conducted one-on-one interviews with users. Their stories brought deeper insights:
Trust was a recurring issue—users feared losing money to unreliable platforms.
Some had tried investing before but stopped due to confusing processes or lack of support.
Many felt overwhelmed by too many tools doing different things.
While people are eager to build wealth, these findings confirmed that the current ecosystem often feels intimidating, expensive, and inaccessible—especially for beginners.
Proposed Solutions
The primary audience for this solution includes young to middle-aged Nigerians, typically between the ages of 21-45, who are digitally active and seeking accessible ways to grow their wealth outside of traditional banks and high-risk stock platforms.
One Platform, Multiple Needs
Unified savings, investments, and group contributions in one simple experience—no more switching between apps.
Start Small, Grow Big
Enabled micro-investments from as low as ₦500, with zero hidden fees and full transparency.
Build-in Trust and Clarity
Added real-time updates, clear investment breakdowns, and easy-to-digest financial tips to boost user confidence
Getting close to the users
The majority of users (67%) are young adults aged of 21-36, followed by 29% aged 38-45. Senior citizens make up just 4% of the user base.
Creating Structure
This site map shaped by user surveys and interviews, outlines one of the key task areas "Investment" the high-fidelity prototype will focus on
Designing with user in mind
Quick sketching enabled me to explore familiar design patterns within the financial app space, helping identify which elements should be incorporated into Flap Africa to create a seamless user experience. This approach also helped highlighted multifunctional screen layouts and intuitive tap and swipe gestures, ensuring the app feels both modern and accessible for users managing their finances
Usability Testing Insights
What worked well
Users completed onboarding with ease
Navigation felt intuitive and engaging
Key concerns
Investment security and risk clarity
Hidden or unclear transaction fees
Data privacy during signup and funding
Emerging User Need
Users want to visually track the growth and value of their investments, savings, and group contributions in real time.
Opportunity Identified
Simplify investing and build user trust by offering financial summaries, performance insights, and clear ROI tracking—empowering users to make smarter, more confident financial decisions.
Hi-Fi Design
Quick sketching enabled me to explore familiar design patterns within the financial app space, helping identify which elements should be incorporated into Flap Africa to create a seamless user experience. This approach also helped highlighted multifunctional screen layouts and intuitive tap and swipe gestures, ensuring the app feels both modern and accessible for users managing their finances
Bridging the Gap Between Desire and Action
Despite the growing desire among Nigerians to build wealth, many remain underserved due to the fragmented, costly, and complex nature of investment platforms. Flap Africa was designed to simplify this process — combining group savings, local investment opportunities, and transparent financial tools into one seamless experience.
Through user-centered research, iterative prototyping, and continuous usability testing, we discovered key pain points: lack of clarity in value returns, trust concerns, and the need for investment tools that feel accessible and intuitive. We addressed these by simplifying the interface, prioritizing visual feedback, and reducing friction in the investment journey.
What We Learned
71% of users said Flap Africa made investing feel easier and more approachable.
63% requested clearer insights into their investment growth.
The design reduced onboarding drop-off by 28% during prototype testing.
80% of users loved the idea of a local investment options over traditional stocks, validating our focus on accessible, community-based wealth-building.
Introducing a transparent fee structure increased user trust by 40% during testing, highlighting the importance of clarity in financial platforms.
Future Plans
Refine the visual analytics for investment growth especially the value-tracking dashboards.
Partner with trusted financial institutions for credibility.
Implement stronger onboarding education to boost user confidence.
Enable side-by-side comparison of investment options to support smarter decision-making.
Enhance personalization by tailoring investment suggestions based on user behavior, financial goals, and contribution history
Thoughts to Grow With
Design isn't just about creating functional interfaces — it's about creating trust, confidence, and clarity. Flap Africa isn’t just another finance app. It’s a movement toward empowering everyday Nigerians to invest, grow, and own their financial future.