Global fintech company Flutterwave has raised $250 million in series D funding, valuing the company at over $3 billion, to become one of the highest-valued African start-ups.
The new funds will drive Flutterwave’s expansion plan to accelerate customer acquisition in existing markets, grow through mergers and acquisitions, and develop complementary products.
Flutterwave provides a payment service for merchants, payment service providers, and Pan-African and South African banks.
The company was granted its South African Reserve Bank licence to operate in the country in April 2019.
Flutterwave has also partnered with global and Pan-African technology and telecommunication companies such as PayPal, MTN and Airtel Africa to drive financial inclusion on the continent.
Announcing the new funding today, Flutterwave says its latest backers include globally recognised investors led by B Capital Group, with participation from Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital and Lux Capital, among others.
Several existing investors that participated in previous rounds also followed this round, including Glynn Capital, Avenir Growth, Tiger Global, Green Visor Capital and Salesforce Ventures.
“Our story is that of resilience and hard work. Our growth so far is due to the support of our customers, our partners, the banks, the public, the regulators, and importantly our people,” says Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, founder and CEO of Flutterwave.
“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 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.”
For the investors, Flutterwave has become Africa’s fastest-growing unicorn and deserves its backing.
“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,” says Matt Levinson, partner at B Capital.
“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 businesses 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, comments: “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.”
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