Flutterwave raises $250M Series D, valuation jumps above $3B

Flutterwave has raised $250 million in a Series D round at a valuation of more than $3 billion, making it the highest valued African startup. The San Francisco-headquartered payments company said the new capital will fund expansion in existing markets, growth via M&A, and the development of complementary products.

The round was led by B Capital Group, with participation from Alta Park Capital, Whale Rock Capital, Lux Capital and others. Existing investors including Glynn Capital, Avenir Growth, Tiger Global, Green Visor Capital and Salesforce Ventures also followed on. Flutterwave said further details on product plans will be shared at its Flutterwave 3.0 virtual event on 18 February 2022.

Since launching in 2016, Flutterwave has processed over 200 million transactions worth more than $16 billion across 34 African countries and now serves over 900,000 businesses globally. In 2021 it rolled out products such as Flutterwave Market, an online marketplace for merchants, and Send, a remittance service for transfers to and from Africa, and it has struck partnerships with PayPal, MTN and Airtel Africa to widen distribution.

Founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola said, “We set out to build a platform that simplifies payments for everyone and today, our solutions are used across the globe to connect Africans to the world and the world to Africans. We are delighted that investors believe in us and our story and are committing their resources to this belief.” Matt Levinson, Partner at B Capital, added that Flutterwave “has a unique opportunity to accomplish this as the dominant payments infrastructure provider across Africa.”

Glynn Capital Managing Partner David Glynn said the firm has “had a front row seat in seeing Flutterwave establish itself as a leading payments company in Africa as it drives adoption of seamless digital payments experiences for merchants and consumers alike.” Flutterwave’s valuation has more than tripled since its last round in March 2021, underscoring investor appetite for African fintech and payment rails as digitization of commerce accelerates across the continent.