Nigerian fintech Flutterwave to expand to North Africa after raising $170m

The company will extend its payments network to Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia and will be live there by the middle of the second quarter, Agboola says in Lagos. Flutterwave might then set up a physical presence in those countries, he says. He also wants to expand into francophone Africa as “our network needs to be everywhere” on the continent.

Flutterwave says it has raised $170m from a Series C fundraising which values it at over $1bn, so qualifying the company for “unicorn” status. Agboola’s aim is to make it easier for Africans to build global businesses that can make and accept payments worldwide. Flutterwave will use the money, raised from investors including Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global, to accelerate customer acquisition and develop new products.