Nigerian startup Flutterwave secures $170 million in capital injections from investors, now valued at over $1 billion

Flutterwave, an African fintech startup has secured $170 million in capital injections from investors, the firm said in a statement Wednesday.

The new capital flows — facilitated by “a leading group of international investors” — will bolster Flutterwave’s client base in the global market, the statement said.

“The fundraise brings the total investment in Flutterwave to USD $225 million and is one of only a very small number of African fintech companies to have raised significant funds in a period of widespread disruption and economic uncertainty,” the statement added.

Founded in 2016, Flutterwave provides digital payment services for small businesses in Africa. Its Nigerian chief executive, Olugbenga Agboola, said on social media Wednesday that the tech firm had aimed to “build a payments technology infrastructure that connects Africa to the global economy by making local and international payments seamless.”

“We knew this would be incredibly difficult but we continued,” he added, in a Twitter thread Wednesday morning.

The fintech company — famed for its “seamless and secure” payments system — has gone on to process in excess of $1 billion in transaction value, Agboola said.

Flutterwave is renowned for creating a digital store — helping SMEs to remain in business — in the wake of Covid-19 lockdowns.

More than 1,000 SMEs across Africa have signed up to display and sell their products online using the Flutterwave store.