Lagos-based fintech Flutterwave with its headquarters in San Francisco provides the easiest and most reliable payments solution for businesses anywhere in the world.
The company’s mission is to simplify payments for endless possibilities. It wants to make it easier for Africans to build global businesses that can make and accept any payment, anywhere from across Africa and worldwide.
Most valued African fintech
Recently, Flutterwave raised $250 million in a Series D round, which saw its valuation triple reaching over $3 billion in just twelve months. Furthermore, Flutterwave is the most valued African startup, surpassing SoftBank-backed fintech OPay and FTX-backed Chipper Cash.
Notably, the fintech became a unicorn in March 2021 after it picked up $170 million in a Series C round from Tiger Global and Avenir, wherein its valuation reached $1 billion.
With the latest round, Flutterwave has raised a total funding of $475 million to date.
The current financing round was led by B Capital Group alongside participation from Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital, Lux Capital, among others. Also, a slew of existing investors including Glynn Capital, Avenir Growth, Tiger Global, Green Visor Capital, Salesforce Ventures participated in the round.
Flutterwave will deploy the funds to drive its ambitious expansion plan to accelerate customer acquisition in existing markets and growth through M&A. Also, the company will focus on developing complementary products and encouraging new innovations in its products and services development.
Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave, said: “We are delighted that investors believe in us and our story and are committing their resources to this belief. This latest funding demonstrates the conviction of some of the world’s leading investors in both our business model, team and the Africa technology market. It gives Flutterwave the much-needed support to deliver on our plans to provide the best experience for our merchants and customers around the world.”
Matt Levinson, Partner at B Capital, said: “Flutterwave is innovating at breakneck speed with novel fintech solutions for large corporates, SMEs and consumers. I’ve had the pleasure of backing this world-class team since 2017 and couldn’t be more thrilled that B Capital is leading their Series D. Flutterwave may ultimately build one of the most consequential fintech business in the world, enabling hundreds of thousands of merchants to transact online and connect Africa to the global economy.”
David Glynn, Managing Partner of Glynn Capital, said: “We believe the digitisation of payments globally is one of the largest and most important trends in technology. Having been investors in Flutterwave since 2017, we have had a front row seat in seeing Flutterwave establish itself as a leading payments company in Africa as it drives adoption of seamless digital payments experiences for merchants and consumers alike. We look forward to supporting the company as it addresses its significant growth opportunity in the years ahead.”
Here, let’s take a look at some facts about Flutterwave that tripled its valuation in a year.
#1 Cross-border payments
Flutterwave, founded by Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola in 2016, facilitates cross-border payments transactions of businesses, be it small or large, in Africa via one API. Also, the company helps businesses outside Africa expand their operations within the continent. Some of its international clients of this fintech unicorn include Booking.com, Flywire and Uber.
#2 Tremendous growth in a year
As of now, Flutterwave has processed over 200 million transactions estimated to be over $16 billion. Since its previous financing round in 2021, the number of businesses using the platform has also surged from 290,000 to 900,000.
#3 Supports multiple payment modes
Its key advantage is that the company processes international payments in 150 currencies and multiple payment modes, including local and international cards, mobile wallets, bank transfers.
#4 Virtual cards
The fintech lets businesses create cards for their team, add spending limits, make them site-specific and more. It supports both virtual Mastercard and VISA cards. With the Flutterwave API, it is possible to instantly create and manage these virtual cards via mobile wallets and global websites.
#5 100% secure transactions
Flutterwave focuses on security seriously and makes every payment on its platform 100% secure. It is touted to exceed the industry standard.
