Flutterwave triples its valuation

The African FinTech Flutterwave has just made the news again. It has indeed completed a new major fundraising round, to the tune of 250 million dollars in Series D. Its valuation has tripled and it has become an essential reference for payment in Africa and in the world.

FACTS

• Flutterwave has just completed a new Series D round of financing, for an amount of $250 million.

• The venture capital firm of Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, B Capital Group, Tiger Global and US hedge fund Whale Rock Capital Management are among the investors in this new round.

• The valuation of Flutterwave reaches 3 billion dollars; Flutterwave is thus the most valued FinTech in Africa.

• As a reminder, Flutterwave specialises in money transfers and offers a 100% mobile service relevant to the needs of an underserved population in terms of financial services. It targets individuals and professionals.

• It has expanded its services over time, also offering a marketplace for merchants.

FIGURES

• 2016: founded

• 3 billion dollars in value

• over 200 million transactions processed, representing over $16 billion

• Over 900,000 business customers

• 34 African countries covered

CHALLENGES

• Developing new offers: Flutterwave specifies that this new round of financing should above all enable it to enrich its range of services. Part of the funding will be used for R&D and the design of new products.

• Expanding internationally: In addition to Africa, Flutterwave also intends to rely on mergers and acquisitions to expand and conquer new markets. The new resources will help the company to expand globally. The Middle East and South America would be the primary target areas, with the US, UK and Europe as secondary targets.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• Flutterwave has gradually established itself as a key financial technology company in Africa. Founded in 2016 in Nigeria, the company is nevertheless based in San Francisco and thus benefits from an international positioning.

• Flutterwave had notably completed its model by signing with renowned partners such as Visa and Worldpay, then with Uber for example.

• In March 2021, Flutterwave became a unicorn by raising $170 million in Series C funding from Tiger Global and Avenir. Today, its growth seems exponential.