Why I Built Flamingo to Bring Your Money Together from Multiple Digital Wallets in Ethiopia

Let me start by saying — I’m not a tech genius who woke up one day with a million-dollar app idea. Nope. I’m just someone like you, frustrated by a daily problem we all face here in Ethiopia: managing money scattered across too many digital wallets and bank apps.

There’s Telebirr, HelloCash, Amole, Dashen Bank, CBE Birr, and who knows how many more. Each app has its own interface, its own login, its own way of showing your balance. Trying to keep track of how much money you really have felt like trying to solve a Rubik’s cube blindfolded.

I remember one morning trying to send 300 birr to a friend. Sounds simple, right? But I didn’t know which wallet they used. So I checked one app, then another. Tried to send from this, tried that. Fifteen minutes later, I finally got it right — and I was exhausted before my day even started.

It wasn’t just me. My friends, family, even local business owners were tangled in this same mess. Everyone was “going digital,” but it felt more like digital chaos.

That’s when the idea of Flamingo came alive — a unified digital payment super app designed for Ethiopia. An app where you could link all your wallets and bank accounts in one place, see your total balance instantly, and send or receive money no matter which platform the other person used.

But Flamingo is more than just a balance checker. We built it to be smart — helping you track spending, plan savings, and stay in control of your finances. Because I’ve been there, wondering where my money disappeared to, or why my savings never seemed to grow.

Flamingo is about simplifying life. No more switching apps or guessing how to pay someone. Just open Flamingo, see your total money, send payments easily, and even pay merchants with a quick QR scan.

It’s about giving control back to you — whether you’re a market vendor, a freelancer juggling gigs, or a growing business trying to keep up with payments.

We built Flamingo from scratch with local needs at heart. We speak your language — literally — with support for Amharic, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, and English. And we made sure it works even offline, because not everyone has perfect internet access.

Flamingo is evolving, and we’re just getting started. From merchant dashboards to financial education and AI-powered budgeting tools, our vision is big. We want to build a financial operating system that powers Ethiopia’s—and Africa’s—digital economy.

Because managing money shouldn’t feel like a puzzle. It should feel like peace of mind.

And that’s why I built Flamingo: to bring your scattered money home — all in one place, easy to see, easy to use.