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Fri, Mar

Nigerian Startup Flutterwave Raises $170, Currently Worth Over $1B In Five Years

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Nigerian payments startup Flutterwave has closed a US$170 million Series C funding round, the largest amount ever secured by an African tech startup and one that gives it “unicorn” status with a value of over US$1 billion. Africa can now boast of a second fintech unicorn, after Interswitch, in barely under two years. The Africa-focused payments company, launched in 2016, builds modern payments technology and infrastructure for Africa to enable people and businesses to connect with the global economy. Its solution enables banks and merchants to replace multiple payment integrations with one simple API, which enables the processing of any form of payment anywhere in Africa.

Flutterwave has an active presence in 11 African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, and at the time of its Series B just over one year ago had processed 100 million transactions valued at over US$5.4 billion for global leaders including Uber and Booking.com. The funding is for expansion into new markets.

Flutterwave’s $170 million mammoth raise and its billion-dollar valuation represent a landmark achievement for the African startup scene.

According to the company, the new funding will be used to further expand its customer base in existing and international markets and for developing new fintech products.

Flutterwave reports that the COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated the shift towards digital payments in the country.

Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, speaking to Reuters said the company will be looking to either list on the New York Stock Exchange, or perform a dual listing in the US and Nigeria.

He also revealed that his company grew more than 100% in revenue within the past year due to the pandemic without giving specifics on numbers. It also contributed to its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 226% from 2018.

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