.png){kind=logo}
The African fintech company Flutterwave is expanding its presence in North America, bringing more of its payments services to clients in the United States. But as one of only seven unicorns (a startup valued at more than $1 billion) in Africa continues to grow, how will it resist the challenges that come with scaling?
Flutterwave founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola signaled the company’s intent with a series of high-profile moves in recent months. Thanks to a recent round of remittance and payments licenses in several countries and 13 additional U.S. states, as well as a raft of new hires, Flutterwave seems to have laid the groundwork for significant expansions on several fronts. This brings Send App by Flutterwave the ability to serve customers in a total of 29 U.S. states.
The company has garnered headlines in recent years for its suite of innovative software services which have helped transform financial operations on the world’s largest continent. However, it’s not only Flutterwave’s newer services, such as its remittance platform, that are on Agboola’s mind as the enterprise expands. He’s also focused on shoring up and strengthening the company’s original services.
“By the end of 2023, we made a data-backed decision to recommit resources to our core business; enterprise payments,” Agboola said. “We also committed to doing more with our growing remittance segment, Send App. As a result, we have rebuilt the teams to more efficiently utilize the opportunities in these markets.”
Launched in 2016 from Nigeria, Flutterwave began its life focused on helping multinationals process payments across national borders in Africa. Before its services debuted, many corporations were stymied by the patchwork of legal regulations and the relatively slow speed of international commerce on the continent. The company changed all that. Through a simple payments platform that worked with governments and banks across the continent and beyond, Flutterwave was able to reduce wait times for payments and help keep business happening for enterprise companies.
After securing support from clients like Uber, Flutterwave quickly grew, raising the kind of funding that had seldom been seen by an African fintech company. Soon, it had created tools to help small and midsize businesses as well.
But the COVID-19 pandemic caused it to pivot its services to focus more on microbusinesses by providing African craft workers a space to create free online stores and improving the ability of the African diaspora to send money to friends and family members back home.
Its latest expansion, however, feels more like a return to form — only this time, Flutterwave has far more tools to export to the world.
In both the United States and abroad, Flutterwave’s expansion aims to provide services to both well-heeled and underserved populations. For example, the company has recently obtained approval in principle for a payment aggregator license in Mozambique in order to bring more of its services to African companies and foreign companies hoping to do business there.
“This expansion into Mozambique aligns with our strategic vision to empower local businesses and open doors for global enterprises across all industries by providing them with a secure and convenient payment solution that drives inclusive growth,” Agboola said.
“As individuals' and businesses' payment needs evolve across the country, we are ready to leverage our technology, extensive industry experience, and comprehensive solution to meet their diverse payment needs. We are grateful to the Central Bank of Mozambique for placing their trust in us, and we are looking forward to the journey ahead.”
The moves promise to be transformative for local economies. Mozambique has a fast-growing fintech sector, which is expected to rise by an eye-popping 15.28% to more than $9 billion over the next four years.
The launch of the Send App in 13 additional U.S. states will greatly increase the number of users who are able to more easily and safely transfer money to friends and family members. Similar measures are also being put into place in Kenya, where Flutterwave has long operated. Expanding its remittance service there is only the beginning of Flutterwave’s plan for growth in the area.
Taken together, these moves indicate that Flutterwave seems to be eying expansion opportunities carefully, launching services that make the most sense for each national economy.
In addition to service expansion, Flutterwave has recently made a slate of new hires at senior levels. With experience from major fintech companies like PayPal, Stripe, and Western Union, the new talent acquisitions should bring new expertise and ideas to Flutterwave that should help keep things progressing during the expansion.
The company has hired its first chief risk officer in Amaresh Mohan, who recently served in the same role for the Indonesian firm GoTo Group. Flutterwave has also brought on Dipo Fatokun as board chairman of Flutterwave Technologies Solutions Limited. Fatokun is a former director of CBN Africa.
In addition, Flutterwave has shored up its compliance division with the hire of Amanda Ortega, whose 20-year career includes stints working for private firms as well as regulators.
With more talented executives and more countries to serve, Flutterwave seems to be solving the challenges of expansion by working harder — and probably smarter, too.
Join our WhatsApp Channel to get the latest news, exclusives and videos on WhatsApp
_____________
Disclaimer: Analytics Insight does not provide financial advice or guidance. Also note that the cryptocurrencies mentioned/listed on the website could potentially be scams, i.e. designed to induce you to invest financial resources that may be lost forever and not be recoverable once investments are made. You are responsible for conducting your own research (DYOR) before making any investments. Read more here.
