flutterwave

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Fintech unicorn Flutterwave’s evolving role in Nigeria

In the eight  years since Flutterwave began providing payment services for individuals and businesses, the company has forged partnerships that have made paying for travel, educational expenses, and other purchases easier — and recently announced it would be taking on a key role in Nigeria’s fight against cybercrime.

In the eight  years since Flutterwave began providing payment services for individuals and businesses, the company has forged partnerships that have made paying for travel, educational expenses, and other purchases easier — and recently announced it would be taking on a key role in Nigeria’s fight against cybercrime.

The company also received  electronic money issuer and remittance licenses from

13 U.S. states: Arizona, Arkansas, Maryland, Michigan, Delaware, Georgia, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, Iowa, North Dakota, and South Dakota. Through these new licenses and a partnership with another licensed financial institution, Flutterwave is now positioned to serve customers in 29 states across the U.S., enabling faster, more affordable, and secure transfer of money between the United States and Africa.

Flutterwave announced  a collaboration with European payment infrastructure provider Token.io, providing bank account-to-account payment services to its customers. The company also joined forces with Audiomack, which has allowed the music-streaming and discovery platform to provide premium music experiences and fee-based features for its customers and artists via Flutterwave’s seamless and secure payment processing functionality.

In 2023, Flutterwave revised its Send App, which allows users in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Europe, and various African countries to send money to people in other African countries.

An integration with the International Air Transport Association’s  payment platform that Flutterwave announced in July 2023 has helped more than 200 international airlines process card, bank transfer, mobile money, and other payment methods, and Africans can now pay for international flights using their local currency.

Late last year, Flutterwave also said  it had acquired an international money transfer operator license in Malawi and money transmitter licenses in 13 U.S. states. This will position the company to offer faster and more affordable and secure money transfers between the U.S. and Africa.

“When I think of our journey and 2023, I reflect on the grace that we have received at different inflection points to propel, steady, and focus us,” Olugbenga Agboola said in a recent blog post. “Despite a challenging macro-economic environment that has seemingly persisted for a while, we persevered, created, failed, succeeded, learned, and we gained clarity.”

Flutterwave’s further payment service growth

Flutterwave’s expansion has continued in 2024. The company appointed a new Chairman of the Board , Dipo Fatokun , who has served in leadership and management roles in the banking services and other sectors for more than 30 years, including the apex Banking system regulator, Central Bank of Nigeria. The company also introduced new features , such as customizable templates businesses can use to create virtual storefronts.

In May , Flutterwave announced it would be providing the ability to process payments for Travelwings, an online travel agency that operates in more than 100 destinations worldwide.

In June of this year, Flutterwave announced plans, in tandem with Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, to create a state-of-the-art Cybercrime Research Center that will provide advanced financial fraud-related research and training to help law enforcement and other professionals learn how to effectively combat modern financial crimes.

The center will supply additional resources , such as advanced fraud detection and prevention technologies, participate in joint research and policy initiatives to further financial crime comprehension and regulation and create a repository of tools and other items to assist financial crime investigations.

The Cybercrime Research Center will also supply training and research opportunities for 500 young participants, equipping them with valuable digital skills.

In a statement about the collaboration, Ola Olukoyede, the executive chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, said  the organization has been impressed with the progress Flutterwave has made in its industry and the reach the company has across Africa.

“This partnership marks a significant leap forward in our efforts to combat financial crimes and ensure a secure financial landscape for Nigerians,” Olukoyede said. “The Cybercrime Research Center will significantly enhance our capabilities to prevent, detect, and prosecute financial crimes.”

Olugbenga Agboola noted that the public-private collaboration will ultimately help make business transactions more secure — enhancing both financial systems’ stability and consumers’ trust in the systems.

“As the largest payments infrastructure company in Africa, we are committed to promoting secure and safe transactions,” Agboola said. “This initiative underscores our commitment to creating a fraud-free financial ecosystem and leading the charge in safeguarding transactions across Africa. We applaud the EFCC’s relentless efforts to combat internet fraud and other illicit activities in the financial sector.”

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Mapping Flutterwave’s Global Footprint: Plans for Further Expansion in Africa and Beyond

When Flutterwave launched in 2016, Founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola claimed he wanted to use the fintech platform to connect all of Africa via payments. Just a few years later, the goal that once seemed highly optimistic has started to feel a bit narrow. 

Far from only connecting Africa, Flutterwave appears on the verge of connecting the world — not just theoretically, but in actual, life-changing ways.

Currently, the company operates in more than 30 African countries and across nations in North America, Europe, and Asia. In total, Flutterwave can process payments in over 150 different kinds of currency. 

But it’s not finished yet. 

The moves come at a crucial time for the African enterprise. Flutterwave is proving it has the power to succeed not only on its native continent, but also to compete head-to-head with established service providers in more industrialized nations.

“As individuals’ and businesses’ payment needs evolve across the country, we are ready to use our technology, extensive industry experience, and comprehensive solution to meet their diverse payment needs,” Agboola said. “Our goal is to empower local businesses and open doors for global enterprises across all industries by providing them with a secure and convenient payment solution that drives inclusive growth.”

Flutterwave has also become a lifeline for multinational corporations operating across borders in Africa and a reliable way for African expatriates to send money to their families back home or pay for school tuition with their localnative currencies. With each step into new territory, Flutterwave brings with it the capacity to change lives. 

Expanding in Africa

This summer was big for Flutterwave — especially in Africa. 

In August 2024, the company received its payment systems operator license from the Bank of Uganda and was granted an enhanced payment service provider license by the Bank of Ghana, allowing it to bring more of its services to the East and West African nations. 

In addition, Flutterwave took a leap toward expanding its operations into the region of southern Africa through the country of Mozambique, thanks to an approval-in-principle for a payment aggregator license from the nation’s central bank. With a fast-growing fintech payments space, Mozambique is projected to see a growth of more than 15% in total digital transactions over the next four years, leading the sector to a value of more than $9 billion. 

“We are grateful to the Central Bank of Mozambique for this approval,” said Agboola. “It comes at the right moment when Mozambique’s digital payment ecosystem is experiencing tremendous growth.

Moving Beyond the Familiar

Thanks in part to the foreign work history of its founder, Flutterwave has always had a presence across more than one continent. However, it has recently begun a climb toward becoming a truly global company. 

Agboola started the company after cutting his teeth at pioneering Western fintech outfits such as PayPal and Google Wallet. Since the beginning, Flutterwave has maintained an office in San Francisco. It’s no wonder, then, that the company quickly found footing beyond the continent of Africa. As Flutterwave moved into places like the United Kingdom and the United States through its remittance app Send App, the need for its platform only grew. When expatriates and migrant workers saw how Flutterwave makes it easy to send remittances back home, demand boomed. 

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Flutterwave is also expanding its money transmission services in the United States. As a nation of immigrants, the U.S. is an ideal location for a low-cost remittance service to grow. 

“Our mission is to connect Africa to the world and the world to Africa by simplifying payments for endless possibilities,” Agboola stated in a Flutterwave press release. “These licenses move us one step closer to our vision and we will continue to expand this feat to ensure coverage for all states in the U.S. and beyond.”  

Recognition for Flutterwave

Flutterwave’s increased expansion into new areas has not only delivered fast and safe financial technology to millions more people; it has also heightened interest in the company from market watchers and media outlets. 

In July, CNBC listed the company among its list of the World’s Top 250 Fintech Companies 2024. Flutterwave made the unranked list in the Payments category, which captured businesses that facilitate smoother transactions, both online and in person. In total, 60 fintech companies were listed in the Payments category, including Alipay, Fiserv, PayPal, Visa, and Tencent. 

In addition, Fast Company recognized Flutterwave as one of its Most Innovative Companies for 2024 in the region of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The media outlet cited the company’s Send App, its remittance service, as creative examples of fintech solving problems for users that many other services have overlooked. 

On its own, Send App saw a 100% increase in users during the first half of last year. As Flutterwave continues to expand, there’s no doubt that investors can expect even more growth.

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Navigating New Markets: Flutterwave’s Strategy for Overcoming Expansion Challenges

The African fintech company Flutterwave is expanding its presence in North America, bringing more of its payments services to clients in the United States. But as one of only seven unicorns (a startup valued at more than $1 billion) in Africa continues to grow, how will it resist the challenges that come with scaling?

Flutterwave founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola signaled the company’s intent with a series of high-profile moves in recent months. Thanks to a recent round of remittance and payments licenses in several countries and 13 additional U.S. states, as well as a raft of new hires, Flutterwave seems to have laid the groundwork for significant expansions on several fronts. This brings Send App by Flutterwave the ability to serve customers in a total of 29 U.S. states.

The company has garnered headlines in recent years for its suite of innovative software services which have helped transform financial operations on the world’s largest continent. However, it’s not only Flutterwave’s newer services, such as its remittance platform, that are on Agboola’s mind as the enterprise expands. He’s also focused on shoring up and strengthening the company’s original services.

“By the end of 2023, we made a data-backed decision to recommit resources to our core business; enterprise payments,” Agboola said. “We also committed to doing more with our growing remittance segment, Send App. As a result, we have rebuilt the teams to more efficiently utilize the opportunities in these markets.”

Launched in 2016 from Nigeria, Flutterwave began its life focused on helping multinationals process payments across national borders in Africa. Before its services debuted, many corporations were stymied by the patchwork of legal regulations and the relatively slow speed of international commerce on the continent. The company changed all that. Through a simple payments platform that worked with governments and banks across the continent and beyond, Flutterwave was able to reduce wait times for payments and help keep business happening for enterprise companies.

After securing support from clients like Uber, Flutterwave quickly grew, raising the kind of funding that had seldom been seen by an African fintech company. Soon, it had created tools to help small and midsize businesses as well.

But the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to pivot its services to focus more on microbusinesses by providing African craft workers a space to create free online stores and improving the ability of the African diaspora to send money to friends and family members back home.

Its latest expansion, however, feels more like a return to form — only this time, Flutterwave has far more tools to export to the world.

Going Global by Staying Local 

In both the United States and abroad, Flutterwave’s expansion aims to provide services to both well-heeled and underserved populations. For example, the company has recently obtained approval in principle for a payment aggregator license in Mozambique in order to bring more of its services to African companies and foreign companies hoping to do business there.

“This expansion into Mozambique aligns with our strategic vision to empower local businesses and open doors for global enterprises across all industries by providing them with a secure and convenient payment solution that drives inclusive growth,” Agboola said.

“As individuals' and businesses' payment needs evolve across the country, we are ready to leverage our technology, extensive industry experience, and comprehensive solution to meet their diverse payment needs. We are grateful to the Central Bank of Mozambique for placing their trust in us, and we are looking forward to the journey ahead.”

The moves promise to be transformative for local economies. Mozambique has a fast-growing fintech sector, which is expected to rise by an eye-popping 15.28% to more than $9 billion over the next four years.

The launch of the Send App in 13 additional U.S. states will greatly increase the number of users who are able to more easily and safely transfer money to friends and family members. Similar measures are also being put into place in Kenya, where Flutterwave has long operated. Expanding its remittance service there is only the beginning of Flutterwave’s plan for growth in the area.

Taken together, these moves indicate that Flutterwave seems to be eying expansion opportunities carefully, launching services that make the most sense for each national economy.

New Talent

In addition to service expansion, Flutterwave has recently made a slate of new hires at senior levels. With experience from major fintech companies like PayPal, Stripe, and Western Union, the new talent acquisitions should bring new expertise and ideas to Flutterwave that should help keep things progressing during the expansion.

The company has hired its first chief risk officer in Amaresh Mohan, who recently served in the same role for the Indonesian firm GoTo Group. Flutterwave has also brought on Dipo Fatokun as board chairman of Flutterwave Technologies Solutions Limited. Fatokun is a former director of CBN Africa.

In addition, Flutterwave has shored up its compliance division with the hire of Amanda Ortega, whose 20-year career includes stints working for private firms as well as regulators.

With more talented executives and more countries to serve, Flutterwave seems to be solving the challenges of expansion by working harder — and probably smarter, too.

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Flutterwave’s Road Map for 2024: Strengthening Partnerships, Empowering Enterprises, and Expanding Horizons

In a recent blog post shared on Flutterwave’s site, CEO and founder Olugbenga Agboola reflected on the company’s ongoing mission to unlock payment opportunities for individuals, small businesses, emerging markets, and startups.

“When I think of our journey and 2023, I reflect on the grace that we have received at different inflection points to propel, steady, and focus us,” Agboola said. “Despite a challenging macroeconomic environment that has seemingly persisted for a while, we persevered, created, failed, succeeded, learnt, and we gained clarity.”

The company also enhanced its Send App — which helps people in the U.K., U.S., Canada, Europe, and various African countries send money to other African countries — with better rates, an updated look, and faster functionality.

Flutterwave established a number of relationships last year that have helped further its goal of providing Africans with greater access to the global payment system and the ability to pay and receive funds digitally.

In the summer of 2023, the company announced collaborations with music-streaming and discovery platform Audiomack and the International Air Transport Association — which Agboola said were indicative of Flutterwave’s commitment to enabling easy expansion of multinationals into Africa.

Its partnership with Audiomack allows the platform to provide premium music experiences and new fee-based features for its customers and artists using Flutterwave’s seamless and secure payment processing capabilities.

Flutterwave’s integration with the IATA’s payment platform has helped facilitate 290 international airlines being able to process card, bank transfer, mobile money, and other payment methods that are available on Flutterwave, and Africans can pay for international flights using their local currency.

Flutterwave is now working with European payment infrastructure provider Token.io to offer bank account-to-account payment services to Flutterwave customers. The company also obtained an International Money Transfer Operator license in Malawi and money transmitter licenses in 13 U.S. states last year, enabling faster, more affordable and secure money transfers between the U.S. and Africa.

To support its risk and compliance strategy efforts, Flutterwave also added dedicated team members in strategic markets and regions and hired its first-ever chief risk officer, as well as new leadership for the company’s data, product, sales, strategy, marketing, expansions, and partnerships teams.

Senior executives from regulatory bodies and prominent companies such as PayPal, American Express, Western Union, and Square, were brought on board in 2023.

In addition to expanding its team of professionals, Flutterwave sponsored a number of employee-oriented initiatives, including an engineering mobility program, which transported 22 of the company’s engineers from Lagos, Nigeria, to India through a knowledge and skills exchange initiative that was facilitated by consulting and technology services provider Capgemini.

Flutterwave has also invested in its talent through its career progression framework and related online learning resources, which help guide employees through a career advancement road map from entry-level analyst and engineer 1 roles to senior vice president.

The career progression framework outlines the skill set and experience needed for employees to progress to senior and leadership roles in simple and straightforward terms.

Flutterwave Looking Ahead

While overall, the economic climate made 2023 a challenging year for the company, Olugbenga Agboola said he’s glad Flutterwave remained resilient.

Flutterwave increased its customer base for both business and retail products by over 160% last year.

“We’re proud of the team we’ve built at Flutterwave — everyone who has passed through has contributed greatly to this goal and we are grateful for their sacrifice,” he wrote in his March blog post. “I am also confident that we will be ready for the opportunities ahead.”

Flutterwave has already debuted new features in 2024, including the ability to process payments for Travelwings, an online travel agency that operates in more than 100 destinations worldwide.

In the post Olugbenga Agboola shared on Flutterwave’s site, he also said the company plans to increase its focus on servicing the enterprise segment for its key markets — part of its intent to enable multinational companies to expand into African countries, creating alternative sources of income and potentially contributing to growth on the continent in all sectors.

Flutterwave — which Fast Company named No. 1 in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa category on its innovative Companies List — also hopes to expand its reach in North America, the Middle East, and Asia in the future.

“Every day, we come to work, and we live and breathe innovation,” Olugbenga Agboola said. “We’ve since built out Africa’s biggest payment network by reach, created solutions that make payments solutions, currency exchanges, e-commerce, and remittances easier for global companies selling in Africa, local businesses, and Africans alike. We will continue to nurture a DNA of innovation as we simplify payments for endless possibilities.”

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Flutterwave’s Mozambican Flutter | Navigating the Opportunities of Expansion

Mozambique’s digital economy just got a jolt of fintech energy, thanks to a new deal that will allow Flutterwave to operate as a payment aggregator in the country.

Flutterwave, an African payment platform, has recently secured a payment aggregator license in principle from the Central Bank of Mozambique. [2] The new license will allow the company to expand its services within the nation, making it easier and faster for companies to do business.

More specifically, Flutterwave’s new services will provide businesses with the ability to accept multiple forms of online payments without having to build and maintain their own payment-processing systems, making scaling simpler and easier for growing companies.

“Our goal is to empower local businesses and open doors for global enterprises across all industries by providing them with a secure and convenient payment solution that drives inclusive growth,” said Flutterwave’s founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola.

Powering Mozambique’s Digital Economy

The decision to allow Flutterwave to expand operations inside of Mozambique comes at a unique time for the country’s economy.

The Southeast African nation is currently experiencing a renaissance of economic activity following a few years of contraction. For the first 15 years of this century, Mozambique benefited from having one of sub-Saharan Africa’s fastest-growing economies, according to the World Bank. However, the nation was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing its economy to shrink. In the years since the pandemic, the nation has experienced high levels of inflation.

Yet, despite these economic headwinds, the country’s economy has managed to find its footing. In 2023, the country’s overall economy grew by 5%,[3]  while inflation continued to fall from its high point of 9.8% in 2022. [4] 

Flutterwave entering the country amid this climate signals even more reasons for optimism. Mozambique’s digital economy continues to trend upward, with experts predicting that total digital transactions will increase by over 15% year over year. The country’s total digital economy should reach a total north of $9 billion by 2028.

“We are grateful to the Central Bank of Mozambique for this approval. It comes at the right moment when Mozambique’s digital payment ecosystem is experiencing tremendous growth,” said Flutterwave’s Agboola. “As individuals’ and businesses’ payment needs evolve across the country, we are ready to leverage our technology, extensive industry experience, and comprehensive solutions to meet their diverse payment needs.”

As Flutterwave moves into the country, global companies will have the option to utilize the company’s digital platform to make many quotidian business operations easier. By taking advantage of Flutterwave’s suite of services and user base (which covers most of Africa’s 54 countries), international enterprises will be able to provide their goods and services to Mozambique residents in a faster and easier way than they otherwise could afford.

The far reach of Flutterwave’s digital payments services means that newcomers to Mozambique’s business landscape can seamlessly fit themselves into the country’s rapidly expanding digital economy.

The agreement in principle to provide Flutterwave with a payment aggregator license can be seen as a nod of confidence in the company by the Central Bank of Mozambique, which has lengthy requirements to obtain such a license.

Flutterwave is a digital payments platform that launched from Nigeria in 2016. Since its founding, the company has expanded across the African continent, offering solutions to businesses and individuals who wish to buy, sell, and move money across international borders or within national boundaries.

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Flutterwave’s  Fintech Frontier: Navigating Opportunities and Challenges in Rwanda and East Africa

One of Africa’s first tech unicorns is stepping up its operations in Rwanda and East Africa, expanding the potential for faster and easier e-payments to the rapidly growing marketplace.

Flutterwave, one of only seven[2]  startups in Africa to reach a valuation of more than $1 billion, recently announced plans to bring more of its services to the East Africa region, which will help it meet goals of being a truly pan-African company.

The company’s expansion will be instrumental in helping East African companies grow across the region and the continent.

For example, through Flutterwave’s platform, companies can accept debit and mobile payments in multiple currencies as well as pay their employees in their home currency, all at lightning-fast speed.

To African businesses operating across national boundaries or catering to consumers from other countries, these features are game-changing.

Thanks to the platform’s payment infrastructure, client businesses that specialize in providing marketing and operations support to hoteliers in sub-Saharan Africa have been able to scale their business rapidly and smoothly into more of the African market.

But big businesses are not the only beneficiaries of the company’s redoubled efforts in East Africa, according to Leah Uwihoreye, Flutterwave’s regulatory affairs manager.

“Really, our platform empowers businesses of all sizes. We’ve really been able to provide and simplify payment processes that have been able to give a lot of e-commerce support to entrepreneurial growth that will ultimately drive the economic growth and the financial inclusion in Rwanda,” she said in a recent appearance on CNBC Africa. “Speaking of how Flutterwave has also expanded into African markets, we’ve been able to scale across the continent, but of course, East Africa hasn’t been left out.” [3]

More Options, More Growth for Flutterwave

As a region, East Africa relies heavily on mobile money. Consumers in Rwanda and surrounding countries use it as a dominant form of currency.

Flutterwave’s system allows more small businesses to accept mobile money payments, in currencies that go beyond the Rwandan franc and the U.S. dollar.

In addition, the platform supports both credit card and debit card payments as well as direct bank transfers, allowing a wide range of small, medium, and large companies to do business in ways that make sense for their marketplace and their clients.

Creating a New Tech Hub

Flutterwave’s expansion into Rwanda comes at a time that is ideal for both the company and the country. Just as Flutterwave continues to build new services that offer small businesses, enterprise companies, and individuals better ways to move money, Rwanda is moving forward with plans to reinvent itself as a hub of African financial technology.

Toward that end, the Rwanda government has taken strides to attract fintech companies and encourage their development. Measures such as granting favorable corporate income tax rates and an exemption from incurring the country’s standard withholding tax on dividends have created a pro-business climate in the East African country.

In addition, Rwanda has taken steps to reduce the time fintech companies like Flutterwave must spend to obtain new licenses. These new moves change the calculus for fintech operators, helping the country become a particularly attractive spot to build facilities and launch new ventures.

“[Rwanda is] one of the few markets where we have every license you can think about,” Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, Flutterwave’s founder and CEO, told Semafor Africa. “It’s not about market size but readiness. They are ready here.”

For example, in March of last year, Flutterwave obtained two more licenses from the National Bank of Rwanda that now allow the company to acquire funds from all types of payment instruments and enable it to process remittance payments that go beyond the country’s national borders.

These licenses have allowed the company to bring some of its most popular products to the country, including its remittance app, Send App,[4]  as well as the entire suite of products known as Flutterwave For Business. Included in those programs are applications that help individuals and businesses process payments, make and send invoices, and create online payment links.

“As Rwanda continues executing important reforms to enhance the ease of doing business and implementing its Fintech Strategy 2022-2027, Flutterwave keeps contributing toward achieving a cashless economy by innovating and employing digital technology to support businesses and stimulate the economic growth of countries where we operate,” Uwihoreye said in a press release issued after the new licenses were granted.

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In another significant achievement for the highly lauded company, Flutterwave — which has the distinction of being one of only seven unicorns (a startup valued at over $1 billion) in Africa — was recently ranked as Fast Company’s 2024 No. 1 Most Innovative Company in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. 

“We’re thrilled,” said  Flutterwave founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola. “Innovation is an integral part of our core values, which we continue to adopt across all parts of our business.”

 The yearly list honors businesses that make impactful advancements and reshape their industries through innovation.

Flutterwave earned a spot on the list for its highly inventive approach to fintech. Flutterwave is responsible for a significant portion of Africa’s payments and plays a vital role in maintaining the continent’s digital monetary infrastructure. Its current transaction count is 550 million unique transactions.

Creative beginnings

Flutterwave launched in 2016, at a time when moving money in Africa was mired in slow digital financial processes. When companies worked across national borders, they often endured logjams stretching from days to weeks to transfer funds, resulting in delays in paying workers, buying supplies, and meeting contracts.

Flutterwave was built to change that.

Drawing on Flutterwave founder and CEO Agboola’s tenures  at Google Wallet and PayPal, the company launched a platform to process digital payments at modern speeds. Flutterwave gave enterprise companies the ability to work faster without compromising security. The company’s early success revealed the need in the market, and Flutterwave exploded in popularity.

Today, it operates in a majority of Africa’s 54 countries and processes transactions in 150 different currencies.

The company has drawn the eyes of investors from Lagos to Silicon Valley, leading it to unicorn status and a 2022 valuation of $3 billion during its Series D fundraise.

A drive to innovate

Over the past year and a half, Flutterwave has made significant strides in expanding its services for global enterprise businesses. The company has developed solutions for payouts and collections that support the growth of multinationals across Africa.

 But while it was founded on a premise of making cross-national payments in Africa fast and easy, the company didn’t stop there. In the years since it launched, it has widely expanded its services. Today, it serves more than just enterprise clients, providing new ways for Africans to use the payment platform in life-changing ways.

 “Every day, we come to work, and we live and breathe innovation,” Agboola said.  “We’ve since built out Africa’s biggest payment network by reach, created solutions that make payments solutions, currency exchanges, e-commerce, and remittances easier for global companies selling in Africa, local businesses, and Africans alike.”

Through its remittance service, known as Send App, Flutterwave allows members of the diaspora to wire money back to Africa in a fast and frictionless way. Currently, Send functions across the United States and Canada, as well as in many European countries.

Since 2021, a significant 70% of transactions on Send App were for family support, such as medical and educational payments. Users span generations — millennials make up over 50% of users, Generation Z 22%, and Generation X not far behind at 20%.

Partners in progress 

Fast Company’s recognition places the payments technology firm alongside other industry leaders like Nvidia, OpenAI, and YouTube, which have all previously been recognized for their forward-thinking approaches.

To enhance its engineering and product development, Flutterwave partnered with Microsoft to scale its payment solutions on the Seattle company’s cloud platform Azure.

Additionally, a collaboration with Token .io has enabled open banking for customers in the United Kingdom and the European Union, connecting African businesses to the wider global market. These partnerships have solidified Flutterwave’s position as a preferred payment technology provider for multinationals seeking to enter African markets.

In addition, the company’s collaboration with the streaming platform Audiomack allows African music artists to monetize their art, and Flutterwave’s integration with Google Pay, Apple Pay, and international card payments enables Send App users in the United States, Europe, and Canada to send money to Africa easily.

Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies list is a highly anticipated feature that identifies global leaders in innovation through a rigorous selection process. The comprehensive guide spans early-stage startups to some of the world’s most valuable companies, highlighting the bleeding edge of today’s tech landscape. The complete list is available online and in the iTunes app.

Brendan Vaughan, Fast Company’s editor-in-chief, said: “Our list of the Most Innovative Companies is both a comprehensive look at the innovation economy and a snapshot of the business trends that defined the year. We face daunting challenges on many fronts, but the solutions we celebrate in Most Innovative Companies give me plenty of hope about the future.”

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Flutterwave: Spearheading Nigeria's Digital Economy Revolution Amid Disruptive Technologies

Technological advancements — such as enhanced connectivity capabilities — have helped fuel the rise of the digital economy and expand trade on a global scale.

In Nigeria,[1]  digital economy-related revenue rose from $5.09 billion in 2019 to $7.13 billion in 2020 — and then escalated again in 2021 to $9.97 billion. The nation’s digital economy revenue is forecast to continue to grow to an anticipated $18.30 billion by 2026, according to a Central Bank of Nigeria-published report written by Olugbenga Agboola, the CEO and founder of Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payment technology company.

To date, Nigeria has the most startups[2]  on the African continent, ranking ahead of South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, and Ghana.

To ensure the country is able to realize its digital economy prospects, though, critical foundations need to be in place. The report, Nigeria’s Budding Digital Economy: Coping with Disruptive Technology, says that will likely require public and private sector involvement.

Crucial Components of Nigeria’s Digital Economy

The essential digital economy foundational elements include a skilled workforce, infrastructure, platforms, financial services, and entrepreneurship.

The Nigerian government and National Information Technology Development Agency are working toward a set of digital economy [3] development targets, Olugbenga Agboola says. These targets, established by Nigeria’s National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, include efforts to increase digital literacy, promote commerce, and support technology adoption that provides a complementary environment for the exchange of digital services and goods.

Given digital commerce’s global nature, competitors can emerge from any location. For businesses to survive — and thrive — innovation is key. That reality underscores the importance of building a digitally savvy workforce that can support Nigeria’s contributions to the digital economy.

Formal education helps support overall digital literacy in the country, which may encourage the general population to use digital products and services.

Infrastructure is another concern. Elements such as high-speed internet connectivity and affordable, accessible computing devices to access online resources are necessary to fuel participation in the digital economy.

As Flutterwave founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola notes,[4]  Nigeria had a low rate of fixed broadband penetration — 0.04% — in 2018. That’s less than the 0.6% African average and significantly lower than the 13.6% global average.

Nigeria has circumvented some of the potential challenges that can arise without physical fiber cable to enable connectivity. With smartphone adoption escalating in the country, for example, a number of users now connect to the internet via mobile devices, which helped buoy internet penetration to 49% in 2021. A rise to 59.9% is forecast to take place by 2026, according to Agboola’s [5] report

To support successful participation in the digital economy by businesses and consumers, platforms that allow companies to promote and provide products and services online play a critical role.

[flutterwave]

African fintech giant Flutterwave prepares for IPO with focus on strengthening corporate governance and expanding global reach. #AfricanTech #FintechInnovation https://bit.ly/4gWlSa1

[flutterwave]

Payments Startup Flutterwave Partners IndusInd Bank to Expand Into India

African payments startup Flutterwave is reportedly expanding into the Indian market through a partnership with IndusInd Bank.

This move makes Flutterwave the first African company to scale up remittances from India to Africa, streamlining the process for users, Bloomberg reported Friday (Sept. 8), citing an interview with Flutterwave Co-founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola.

Reached for comment by PYMNTS, a Flutterwave spokesperson said the company is building a “quick and secure” remittance corridor from the U.K. to India via a partnership with IndusInd Bank and is planning to build one from Africa to India in the future.

IndusInd Bank, a leading financial institution in India, serves approximately 35 million customers across the country, including individuals, large corporations and government entities, according to the report.

Flutterwave has experienced rapid growth since its establishment in 2016 and currently operates in about 30 African countries, the report said. A January 2022 funding round valued the company at $3 billion.

The company has attracted significant investments from venture capital firms like Tiger Global Management and formed partnerships with notable companies such as Alibaba’s Alipay, Uber Technologies and Netflix, per the report. A recent agreement with French company Capgemini also bolstered Flutterwave’s engineering infrastructure.

Agboola told Bloomberg that Flutterwave is a partnership-driven organization and looks forward to collaborating with more bank partners in India.

In another recent development, the company announced Aug. 1 that it has extended its remittance solution to the United States and Canada, enabling money transfers from those countries to Africa. That expansion brought to 34 the number of countries around the world in which the Send App can be used to send and receive money.

A month earlier, in July, Flutterwave launched a product to help African users conveniently pay fees to educational institutions both within Africa and overseas by using their local currencies. This payment product, Tuition, is designed to be used by students, parents, guardians and sponsors, providing them with a payment solution that safe, reliable, affordable and seamless.

In a third recent expansion of its services, the company partnered with Token.io to begin offering pay-by-bank transfers, “making it even faster and easier for individuals and businesses to pay and receive money.”

Flutterwave said at the time that this pay by bank, or account-to-account (A2A) payments, offering lets users quickly and securely move money between accounts, without registration or error-prone data entry.

[flutterwave]

Flutterwave’s Agboola joins Wall Street Journal CEO council

Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, the CEO of Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has joined the prestigious Wall Street Journal (WSJ) CEO Council. This recognition, which follows the recent acceptance of Flutterwave’s CFO Oneal Bhambani into the Wall Street Journal’s CFO Network, establishes GB as a global thought leader in fintech.

Comprising 350 CEOs from various industries, the WSJ CEO Council commands a strong global presence, with a collective workforce exceeding 11 million employees and generating about $4.48 trillion in annual revenue. It serves as an influential platform, facilitating growth conversations and fostering the exchange of ideas among leaders of the world’s most renowned companies.

With an academic footprint that cuts across institutions such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Wharton School of Management, and the University of Westminster, GB brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to his role at Flutterwave. In 2020, he was named the African Leadership Magazine’s Young Business Leader of The Year.

GB’s inclusion in Fortune Magazine’s 40 under 40 list and a subsequent acknowledgement on Time Magazine’s 2021 Next 100 list further solidify his status as an influential tech leader. Also, in October 2022, he was conferred with the National Honor, Officer of the Order of the Niger, by President Muhammadu Buhari of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Under GB’s leadership, Flutterwave’s payment infrastructure has transformed transactional experiences across the African continent, becoming the fourth company to gain unicorn status (one billion dollar valuation) after raising a $170m Series C round in 2021.

In his new role within the WSJ CEO Council, GB will have a unique platform to share his perspectives and engage in conversations about emerging economies, payments, and global fintech with some of the world’s most influential CEOs. 

“As Flutterwave continues to innovate and provide payments infrastructure in Africa and beyond, it is an honour to join the ranks of WSJ’s esteemed CEO Council, an important platform for thought leadership and the exchange of ideas,” said Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola. “Flutterwave’s work is an example of the transformative power of financial technology, and I look forward to bringing my perspective as the company’s CEO to the Council.”

Other members of the Council include Ebenezer Onyeagwu, group managing director and CEO, Zenith Bank; Allan Thygesen, CEO, Docusign; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; Börje Ekholm, president and CEO at Ericsson; Todd Boehly, chairman and CEO at Eldridge; and Arvind Krishna, CEO at IBM.

[flutterwave]

Flutterwave teams up with Acquired.com to streamline outward remittances in EU and UK

Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, and Acquired.com, a specialist in payment processing, have entered into a strategic partnership.

Flutterwave, based in Africa, facilitates seamless and secure payments across various platforms, helping businesses expand their operations internationally. Acquired.com, on the other hand, is known for its robust payment processing solutions and customised client consultancy, aiding companies in optimising their transaction processing.

The primary reason behind this partnership is to enhance the outward remittance service provided by Send App, Flutterwave’s flagship remittance product, for UK and EU cardholders. This collaboration aims to utilise Acquired.com’s expertise in payment processing to make transactions faster, safer, and more reliable for users sending money to Africa.

Flutterwave operates as a key player in the payments technology sector, offering businesses a powerful platform to extend their reach across Africa and other emerging markets. This is achieved through their comprehensive Application Programming Interface (API), which supports both local and cross-border transactions. Acquired.com contributes by providing tailored payment processing solutions that include advanced features like intelligent BIN routing and customised payment analysis, which significantly enhance the customer payment journey.

Flutterwave’s senior vice president, consumer business, James Hardy, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration: “We are dedicated to enhancing the customer experience by working with the best partners to improve speed, transparency, and facilitating hassle-free money transfers. To achieve this, we have partnered with the industry’s leading platform to support our business goals. Acquired.com’s expertise and highly consultative approach makes them an ideal partner for us.”

Mark Johnson, commercial director at Acquired.com, also highlighted the collaborative spirit of the partnership: “We have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Flutterwave, tailoring our solution to meet the specific needs and address the challenges of the most trusted payments infrastructure providers on the African continent. Our customised analysis and recommendations have helped Flutterwave build on its success rates, increase collections, and enhance the customer experience – which is at the core of our service. We look forward to supporting Flutterwave as they continue to thrive in their business.”

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Copyright © 2024 FinTech Global

[flutterwave]

Flutterwave granted payment licence in Mozambique

Africa-based payment technology company Flutterwave has received an approval-in-principle for its payment aggregator licence from Mozambique's central bank.

The approval allows Flutterwave to extend its payment services within Mozambique and enhance its operations across southern African markets. This development is expected to facilitate global enterprises and merchants in expanding their operations to Mozambique, enabling them to reach Mozambican customers and process payments. 

Furthermore, with the issuance of this licensce, Mozambique's e-payment landscape is anticipated to experience significant growth, with projections indicating a potential increase of over 15.28% in total digital transaction value over the next four years. Flutterwave's expansion into Mozambique aligns with its strategic objectives of broadening the reach of its infrastructure, securing multiple licences, and establishing a network of global partnerships to facilitate seamless payments across Africa for international enterprises. 

Commenting on this milestone, Flutterwave officials emphasised the company's commitment to empowering local businesses and facilitating global enterprises across various industries through secure and convenient payment solutions thus fostering inclusive growth.

Other Flutterwave developments 

Flutterwave represents a payment technology company that focuses on providing businesses and customers across the globe with the possibility to expand their operations and capabilities in the region of Africa, as well as other emerging markets. 

In April 2024, Flutterwave revealed a partnership with Acquired.com aimed to provide secure and efficient outward card payments on Send App for EU and UK users. Following this announcement, the two entities focused on optimising the manner in which customers processed domestic card payments on the Send App, a flagship remittance product. 

In addition, both firms prioritised the process of meeting the needs, preferences, and demands of clients in an ever-evolving market, while also remaining compliant with the regulatory requirements and laws of the local industries.

[flutterwave]

Flutterwave & Acquired.com partner for card payments on Send App

Flutterwave has partnered with Acquired.com to help users process domestic card payments on Send App, Flutterwave’s flagship remittance product.

Leveraging Acquired.com’s payment processing expertise, Send App will offer faster and more secure outward remittance transactions for UK and EU cardholders sending money to their business partners or loved ones in Africa.

James Hardy, Senior Vice President of Consumer Business, said, “We are dedicated to enhancing the customer experience by working with the best partners to improve speed, transparency, and facilitating hassle-free money transfers. To achieve this, we have partnered with the industry’s leading platform to support our business goals. Acquired.com’s expertise and highly consultative approach makes them an ideal partner for us.”

Send App empowers customers to send money quickly and reliably to local bank accounts and mobile money wallets. Collaborating with Acquired.com for processing ensures a seamless customer experience.

Flutterwave announced Send App’s rebrand earlier in August 2023, improving its experience and introducing new features like in-app customer support, voucher codes, and expanding geographies.

A pivotal aspect of this partnership involves Acquired.com’s work with Flutterwave on payment optimisation. This entails tailored analysis, presenting results, and offering recommendations to enhance Flutterwave’s processing capabilities further and streamline the customer journey. These recommendations, combined with the introduction of intelligent BIN routing through Acquired.com’s multiple acquiring connections, have resulted in a frictionless customer experience.

Commenting on the announcement, Mark Johnson, Commercial Director at Acquired.com, commented, “We have thoroughly enjoyed collaborating with Flutterwave, tailoring our solution to meet the specific needs and address the challenges of the most trusted payments infrastructure providers on the African continent. Our customised analysis and recommendations have helped Flutterwave build on its success rates, increase collections, and enhance the customer experience – which is at the core of our service. We look forward to supporting Flutterwave as they continue to thrive in their business.”

[flutterwave]

EFCC and Flutterwave Collaborate to Combat Cybercrime

To combat cybercrime and enhance the security of business transactions, payments technology company, Flutterwave announced on Thursday that it plans to establish a state-of-the-art Cybercrime Research Centre in partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The Research Centre will be located at the new EFCC Academy in Abuja and will serve as a hub for advanced research, training, and capacity building in the fight against financial crimes. Commending EFCC’s effort in combating cybercrime and financial fraud, Flutterwave’s Chief Executive Office, Olugbenga Agboola said, “This initiative underscores our commitment to creating a fraud-free financial ecosystem and leading the charge in safeguarding transactions across Africa”. Adding that the initiative will also provide a “sustainable lifeline to youths across the country”. Also, at the landmark occasion were EFCC boss, Ola Olukoyede, Director of Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Christopher Gray, and other senior officials from both the EFCC and the FBI. On his part, Olukoyede said, “This partnership marks a significant leap forward in our efforts to combat financial crimes and ensure a secure financial landscape for Nigerians. The Cybercrime Research Centre will significantly enhance our capabilities to prevent, detect, and prosecute financial crimes.” The centre’s focus areas will include; include advanced fraud detection and prevention, collaborative research and policy development, youth empowerment and capacity building, technological advancement, and resource enablement, among other key initiatives.

[flutterwave]

Flutterwave Mozambique receives payment aggregator license approval in principle

Flutterwave, Africa’s payment technology company, has received an approval-in-principle for its payment aggregator license from the Central Bank of Mozambique.

The expansion into Mozambique aligns with our strategic vision to empower local businesses and open doors for global enterprises across all industries by providing them with a secure and convenient payment solution that drives inclusive growth.

Olugbenga Agboola, Founder & CEO at Flutterwave, said, “Helping enterprises navigate the global financial terrain has always been our goal at Flutterwave, which is why I am pleased to announce that we have received approval in principle for our payment aggregator license from the Central Bank of Mozambique, which enables us to offer our payment services within the country. As individuals’ and businesses’ payment needs evolve across the country, we are ready to leverage our technology, extensive industry experience, and comprehensive solution to meet their diverse payment needs. We are grateful to the Central Bank of Mozambique for placing their trust in us and we are looking forward to the journey ahead .”

This license enables Flutterwave to boost economic growth, offer comprehensive payment services, and be a part of allowing development in the Southern African markets.

Flutterwave enables businesses across the world to expand their operations in Africa and other emerging markets through a platform that allows local and cross-border transactions via one Application Programming Interface (API). The company’s key advantage is connecting businesses to various local and international payment types to enable them to expand globally. It also enables cross-border transactions from the diaspora to African countries via its Send App product.

[flutterwave]

Send App by Flutterwave highlights unique cultural trends on International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR)

June 16th, 2024 is the International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR). Migrant and diaspora communities support millions of families by contributing to their poverty alleviation, education, healthcare etc. The International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) highlights the economic impact of this money on households, communities, and nations, and recognises the sacrifice, separation and generosity often involved.

In celebration of the International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) 2024, Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payment technology company, shares insightful data from Send App, its flagship cross-border remittance app.

The data reveals culturally rich and unique remittance behaviors reinforcing the thought previously shared by the company’s Founder and CEO, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, that “No matter where we find ourselves as Africans, we remain tied to our homes and always seek measures to support, appreciate and stay connected with our loved ones.”

Key Statistics and Findings

● “Family Support” Dominates Remittances

Over 70% of remittances sent via Send App since 2021 are for family support, including education and medical payments. These remittances play a critical role in supporting the personal needs and survival of millions of people across Africa. It aligns with the growing global remittances trend with migrants' remittances to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) estimated to be over USD 5 trillion.

● New Technology Supports Age-long Traditions

Since the option was added to the app's transfer description in December 2023, thousands of people have used "Bride Price" as the reason for sending remittances on the Send App. Notably, there was an 86.37% increase in the use of this reason from February to March 2024. This growth could indicate a possible increase in preparation for upcoming weddings across the continent.

● Who Wins the Generational Debate?

Over the past 15 months, more than 50% of Send App's users are millennials, and Gen Z constitutes 22%. This indicates that younger generations are embracing digital remittance services as a reliable and trusted means of supporting their families, friends, and loved ones back at home. However, older generations are not left behind. Gen X, which made up 20% of users, along with other generations completed the user distributions.

Built as a bridge for connecting diasporan communities to their roots, Send App remains committed to upholding the spirit of the International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR) by always recognizing the sacrifices and generosity of migrant communities while making remittances faster, cheaper, and more accessible for all.