There is a goldmine in Africa’s Fintech sector, and investors are making sure to find it, Just like Flutterwave!
Despite Nigeria’s stagnant economy, widespread unemployment, and skyrocketing inflation, investors are placing their bets on growth.
Flutterwave,the highest-valued African start-up, secured a remarkable $250 million in its series D investment round, bringing its total worth to more than $3 billion.
Nigerian FINTECH startup Flutterwave was founded to provide payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across Africa. Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Olugbenga Agboola, and Adeleke Adekoya established Flutterwave in 2016.
The $2 billion valuations established by SoftBank-backed fintech OPAY and FTX-backed cross-border payments platform CHIPPER CASH last year have been surpassed by Flutterwave, which, at the time of this article, is the most valuable African start-up.
HOW WERE FUNDS RAISED?
People have finally woken up to the idea that Africa is the “next billion” continent, according to GBENGA AGBOOLA, Flutterwave’s CEO. “People now realise that Africa has the potential to become the new India,” he says.
As a result, many investors have turned their attention to African startups.
Flutterwave’s series D fundraising comprises participants and investors who have witnessed the company’s rise to prominence in Africa and believe the firm is shooting for the stars.
Series D is the latest in a series of financing rounds for Flutterwave. B Capital Group, Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital, Lux Capital, and current investors including Avenir Growth, Tiger Global, Glynn Capital, Green Visor, and Salesforce Ventures all participated in the series D fundraising round.
PURPOSE OF FUNDING.
The purpose of the Series D funding are to;
- Drive Flutterwave’s expansion plan.
- Accelerate customer acquisition in existing markets and growth through M&A.
- Develop of complementary products while encouraging innovations in its products and services development.
- Introduce new products and services that take the technology leader beyond payments
MISCONCEPTIONS SURROUNDING THE FUNDRAISING.
Since the news broke, many people have misconstrued it to mean Flutterwave is worth more than Gtbank and Zenith bank combined.
The first thing to understand is that a startup’s valuation is not based on revenue and profitability, but rather on the company’s paper worth.
You can check 5 Ways To Start A Successful New Business in other to fully understand how businesses are started in such a way that would guarantee you seed funding by the time you would want to scale up your business just like how Flutterwave did it.
However, FLUTTERWAVE is valued (paper) more highly than GTB and Zenith, but generates less revenue or profit. Flutterwave intends to play the long game of participating in the global creator economy and WE ARE HERE FOR IT!