San Francisco and Lagos-based fintech startup flutterwave has raised a $35 million Series B round and announced a partnership with Worldpay FIS for payments in Africa.
With this funding, Flutterwave will invest in technology and business development to help grow market share in existing operating countries, CEO Olugbenga Agboola stated.
The company will also expand it capabilities to offer more services around it payment products.
More than payments
“We don’t just want to be a payment technology company, we have sector expertise around education, travel, gaming, e-commerce, fintech companies. They all use our expertise,” said Agboola.
That means Flutterwave will give more solutions around the broader needs of it’s clients.
The Nigerian-founded startup’s main business is providing B2B payments services for companies operating in Africa to pay other companies on the continent and abroad.
Launched in 2016, Flutterwave allows clients to tap its APIs and work with Flutterwave developers to customize payments applications. Existing customers include Uber, Booking.com and e-commerce company Jumia.
In 2019, Flutterwave processed 107 million transactions worth $5.4 billion, according to the company’s data.
Flutterwave did the payment integration for U.S. pop-star Cardi B’s 2019 performances which she held in Nigeria and Ghana.
Those are two of the countries in which the startup operates, in addition to South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, the U.K. and Rwanda.
“If you are a charity that wants to raise money for cancer research in Ghana, or you want to sell online, or you’re Cardi B who wants to do concerts in Africa, We want to be able to set up payments, write the code and create the platform for those needs,” GB explained.
That also means that Flutterwave, which built it early clientele base across global companies, aims to serve smaller African businesses, including startups. Current customers include African-founded tech companies, such as moto ride-hail venture Max.ng.
