African FinTech leader, Flutterwave, has secured a whopping $250 million in Series D funding, skyrocketing its valuation to over $3 billion. This achievement makes Flutterwave the most valuable startup in Africa.
The company’s journey has been one of perseverance and hard work, and they attribute their success to the unwavering support of their customers, partners, financial institutions, and the regulatory bodies that have enabled them to flourish.
For the past five years, Flutterwave has been on a mission to revolutionize the way Africans transact financially, not just on the continent, but globally. They’ve processed over 200 million transactions worth over $16 billion across 34 African countries.
Flutterwave’s solutions are now used by over 900,000 businesses worldwide, including big names like Uber, Flywire, and Booking.com. This recent investment further solidifies their position as Africa’s leading payments technology company.
Flutterwave’s platform empowers businesses worldwide to expand their operations in Africa and other emerging markets through seamless cross-border transactions facilitated by a single API.
One of their key strengths is their international payment processing capabilities, which encompass over 150 currencies and multiple payment methods, including local and international cards, mobile wallets, bank transfers, and their very own Barter by Flutterwave solution.
In 2021, Flutterwave broadened their product portfolio with the introduction of Flutterwave Market, an online marketplace for merchants, and Send, a remittance service that allows users to conveniently send and receive funds across Africa and beyond.
To further accelerate growth, Flutterwave has partnered with leading global and pan-African technology and telecommunication companies like PayPal, MTN, and Airtel Africa. These collaborations are aimed at driving financial inclusion across the continent and empowering individuals to build customisable payment applications using Flutterwave’s APIs.
The fresh funds will enable Flutterwave to bolster customer acquisition in existing markets, pursue strategic acquisitions to fuel growth, and refine their existing product offerings while fostering innovation in product and service development.
They will be sharing more details about their future plans at a virtual event, Flutterwave 3.0, scheduled for the 18th of February 2022. Members of the public can register to attend.
For Flutterwave’s Founder and CEO, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, their story is one of resilience and hard work. He acknowledges the unwavering support from various stakeholders that has propelled their growth trajectory. He expresses his gratitude to the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the leadership of Dr. Godwin Emefiele, for laying the groundwork for a transformative payment system in Nigeria and providing the framework for innovation in the payments space. He adds that the Central Bank, along with other Central Banks in the regions they operate in, has created a regulatory environment that has been instrumental in their success.
Agboola emphasizes that Flutterwave’s mission is to provide a platform that simplifies payments for everyone, and today their solutions are used worldwide to connect Africans to the world and the world to Africans.
Flutterwave is thrilled to have investors who believe in their vision and are pouring resources into their growth. This recent funding round is a testament to the confidence that leading global investors have in their business model, their team, and the African technology market in general. The funds will equip Flutterwave to deliver on their promise of providing the best possible experience for their merchants and customers around the world.
A prestigious group of new investors led by B Capital Group is backing Flutterwave in this latest round. Other participants include Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital, and Lux Capital. Several existing investors from previous rounds also participated again, including Glynn Capital, Avenir Growth, Tiger Global, Green Visor Capital, and Salesforce Ventures.
Matt Levinson, a Partner at B Capital, shared his enthusiasm about Flutterwave, highlighting their potential to become a dominant force in the African payments infrastructure landscape. He acknowledges their position as the leading enterprise payments processor on the continent and their continuous innovation in developing cutting-edge fintech solutions for large corporations, SMEs, and consumers. Levinson has been a supporter of Flutterwave since 2017 and expressed his delight at B Capital leading their Series D funding round. He envisions Flutterwave becoming one of the most consequential fintech businesses globally, enabling countless merchants to transact online and bridging the gap between Africa and the global economy.
David Glynn, the Managing Partner at Glynn Capital, also chimed in, emphasizing their belief that the digitalization of global payments is a major trend with far-reaching significance. Having been an investor in Flutterwave since 2017, they have witnessed firsthand how the company has established itself as a payments leader in Africa, driving the adoption of seamless digital payment experiences for both merchants and consumers. Glynn Capital looks forward to supporting Flutterwave
