Business a.m.

Successful $250m series D funding pushes Flutterwav­e’s value to $3bn

Backed by star studded investors led by B Capital

- Onome Amuge

FLUTTERWAV­E, THE TECHNOLOGY COM PANY ESTABLISHE­D IN 2016, HAS SEEN ITS MARKET VALUATION rise to $3 billion following the successful close of a $250 million Series D investment fund round comprising a star studded line up of leading investors.

The latest round of funding has seen a tripling of Flutterwav­e’s valuation since the round in March 2021 when it became one of Africa’s fastest-growing unicorns.

Flutterwav­e’s team has been on a mission to create endless possibilit­ies for customers and businesses in Africa and the emerging markets, and on its journey as a unicorn (a billion dollar startup), it has now become the highest valued African startup at over $3 billion as it continues to transform the way Africans transact on the continent and worldwide.

This fresh funding comes on the back of an impressive run of five years in which Flutterwav­e has processed over 200 million transactio­ns worth over $16 billion across 34 countries in Africa. It also follows a year of rapid growth for the brand which now serves over 900,000 businesses across the globe.

The company said Wednesday that the $250 million will help drive its ambitious expansion ticipation from Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital, Lux Capital, among others. Several existing investors who participat­ed in previous rounds also followed this round, including, Glynn Capital, Avenir Growth, Tiger Global, Green Visor Capital and Salesforce Ventures.

Olugbenga Agboola, founder and chief executive officer, said: “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. 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 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,” he said.

Matt Levinson, partner at B Capital, said, “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.”

Also, David Glynn, managing partner, Glynn Capital, said: “We believe the digitizati­on 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.”

 ?? ?? L-R: Osita Nwajah, director of public affairs, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Abdulrashe­ed Bawa, chairman, EFCC; and Emeka Oparah, director, corporate communicat­ions and CSR, Airtel Nigeria, when
Olugbenga GB Agboola, CEO, Flutterwav­e
L-R: Osita Nwajah, director of public affairs, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Abdulrashe­ed Bawa, chairman, EFCC; and Emeka Oparah, director, corporate communicat­ions and CSR, Airtel Nigeria, when Olugbenga GB Agboola, CEO, Flutterwav­e

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