Flutterwave has tripled its valuation to $3 billion after a new $250 million injection in a Series D deal, making the Nigerian startup the crème de la crème fintech with the highest capitalisation in Africa, a continent it dominates in digital payments.
The funding was led by B Capital Group with participation by Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital, Lux Capital, among others; and existing investors including Glynn Capital, Avenir Growth, Tiger Global, Green Visor Capital, and Salesforce Ventures.
The fresh deal comes after the last Series C deal in March 2021 led by Tiger Global and Avenir Growth Capital which raised Flutterwave’s valuation to $1 billion.
The fintech plans to reinforce its drive to transform transactions on the African continent and beyond while also supporting the growth of its own business, innovation, and tech landscape.
The fund will also help Flutterwave accelerate customer acquisition in existing markets and growth through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) as well as develop complementary products.
Backup for milestone
Nairametrics reports that fintech players attribute the new valuation milestone achieved by Flutterwave to hard work, resilience, and support of customers, banks, the public, regulators, and importantly, people.
Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola (Flutterwave founder and CEO)
“The Central Bank of Nigeria, under the leadership of Godwin Emefiele, laid the vision of a transformational Payment System in Nigeria, provided the framework for innovation in this space, and has continued to create regulations that have enabled us to grow and thrive.
“We are grateful to them and to all the other Central Banks in all the countries where we operate.
“We set out to build a platform that simplifies payments for everyone and today, our solutions are used across the globe to connect Africans to the world and the world to Africans. 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)
“At B Capital, we seek to back generational companies with broad platform potential. Flutterwave has a unique opportunity to accomplish this as the dominant payments infrastructure provider across Africa.
“In addition to their emergence as the leading enterprise payments processor for the continent, 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 at Glynn Capital)
“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.”
About Flutterwave
Flutterwave was founded in 2016 with a mission to create endless possibilities for customers and businesses in Africa and the emerging markets.
It says it has processed over 200 million transactions worth over $16 billion and serves more than 900,000 businesses including Uber, Flywire, and Booking.com.
It claims a key advantage in international payment processing in 150 currencies and multiple payment modes including local and international cards, mobile wallets, bank transfers, Barter.
Flutterwaves infrastructure traverses 34 African countries, including Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa.
The Niche
