Flutterwave secures $170m in Series C Round, to invest in accelerating customer acquisition

• Total investments in Flutterwave now $225 million

Charles Abuede

Following the successful Series B funding round in January 2020 where it raised $35 million, Flutterwave, a leading digital payments technology company in Africa, has announced that it has secured a $170 million fund from a leading consortium of international investors. This funding round was led by growth-equity firms Avenir growth Capital and Tiger Global Management LLC with other new and existing investors in participation.

Olugbenga, Agboola, who is the founder and chief executive officer of Flutterwave, made this announcement in Lagos on Tuesday where he attributed the company’s success over the years to the regulatory environment which has enabled technology and innovation.

In the words of the CEO, “Our successes would not be possible without our amazing people, who work tirelessly to achieve our goals, the trust, and support we have received from our investors, partners, and customers as well as regulatory bodies like the CBN, which under the leadership of Emefiele has created enabling environment for technology, innovation, and financial inclusion.”

This round of funding by the digital payments company brings the total investment in Flutterwave to $225 million and places the firm as one of the few African fintech companies who have canvassed significant funds in a period of widespread disruption and uncertainties in the economy. Similarly, Flutterwave boasts of exceptional revenue growth of 226 per cent cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2018 to 2020.

The CEO also revealed that the successful funding will enable the fintech startup execute an audacious growth strategy on the route to becoming a leading global payment company connecting the highly fragmented African digital payment sector.

“Flutterwave will utilise the funding to continue its drive of empowering small businesses, which are the bedrock of the Nigerian economy while facilitating smooth digital transformation for both governmental and non-governmental organizations,” Agboola said in his comments on the funding.

“As we look to the future, our focus remains the same, to support our over 290,000 merchants across Africa every day as they strive to build their businesses and to grow the economy. We look forward to increasing our investments across the continent, deepening the impact our platform has on lives and livelihoods as we take more businesses in Africa to the World and at the same time continue to bring more of the World to Africa,” he added.

Agboola also highlighted that all indication is clear as the firm will invest the new capital into accelerating customer acquisition in existing and international markets and as well develop complementary and innovative products such as the newly launched Flutterwave Mobile app which helps accelerate e-commerce growth due to the success of the company stores. He further stated that Flutterwave will continue to collaborate with the public sector in facilitating online payments for crucial projects and programmes such as the Nigeria Immigration Services online payment portal, Abuja-Kaduna online railway booking system, COVID test online booking system, among others.