When your goal is to connect all of Africa, it’s understood that you can’t accomplish everything in a year. But Flutterwave grew closer to realizing its ambition in 2024, as the e-payments platform expanded its reach across the continent, rolled out new offerings, and made headlines for its award-winning services.
Its focus on serving enterprise clientele last year paid large dividends. According to Flutterwave’s 2024 report, almost 50% using its platform reached new geographic markets and the company secured 31 additional money transfer licenses in the U.S., proving its commitment to breaking down financial barriers across continents.
In its ninth year of existence, the fintech startup bolstered its reach to more than 35 countries, where it processes 150-plus different kinds of currency. But the company has done more than simply bring new technology to Africa. It’s changed lives. Changing fortunes across the continent guides Flutterwave’s work, said company founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola.
“We don’t merely clock in — we fight,” he said. “We fight for the entrepreneur in Cairo struggling to accept a payment from Nairobi. We fight for the multinational whose ambitions are shackled by fragmented systems, and for the African business trying to take over the world. We fight because every transaction is a lifeline, a story, a heartbeat in the economic awakening of a continent.”
Since its launch in 2016, the company’s work has expanded exponentially. In recent months, Flutterwave has forged new collaborations with companies such as American Express and OPay, and received awards from international outlets like CNBC and Fast Company magazine.
Full Steam Ahead
It’s hard for startups to maintain momentum as they scale, which is what makes Flutterwave’s 2024 successes worthy of note. The company proved that it’s still agile enough to attract new customers across the globe.
“Flutterwave’s mission extends far beyond payments,” Agboola said. “It’s about lifting communities and amplifying Africa’s voice on the global stage.”
Perhaps the widest-reaching change to come out of 2024 for Flutterwave occurred in its remittance service, Send App. Through Send App, Africans who leave their homes to find work can wire money to loved ones back home on a fast, secure, and low-cost platform.
Launched in 2021, the app has had continued success. Every year, it has expanded its footprint, bringing with it new ways for the African diaspora to improve the quality of life for their families and friends back home.
In 2024, Send App reached a record number of new areas. Today, people across countries in Europe, North America, and Africa can use the remittance service to send or receive funds. Flutterwave’s expansion efforts this year made Send App available in 49 U.S. states and introduced into new countries, such as Ghana, Mozambique, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zambia. In total, people across more than 35 countries can use the service as of now.
But the app didn’t just expand its physical footprint. The Flutterwave team also rolled up their sleeves and worked on perfecting the technology that powers the service.
“As a result of our work on Send App, 98% of Send App transactions in 2024 took only 5 minutes or less to reach the destination account,” Agboola said. “Because innovation isn’t just about technology — it’s about impact.”
Working With the Greats
Flutterwave has consistently delivered value to its customers, partners, collaborators, and supporters. A prime example is their work with Uber, one of Flutterwave’s customers, where their payment system enabled African customers to seamlessly pay for their rides.
“Our growth has been customer-defined, our expansion is always customer-driven,” Agboola says. “Where does the customer want us to be? We listen to the customer a lot in Flutterwave, in fact, extremely. We have an extreme customer obsession in Flutterwave when it comes to what our customers want and how we deliver to the customer.”
In 2024, Flutterwave inked a new partnership with the credit card company American Express. Recognized internationally as a trusted and valued financial brand, American Express is one of the most-used credit cards in the world.
Thanks to the deal, merchants in Africa, starting with Nigeria, can accept payments from all kinds of American Express options (including personal and business options), providing cardholders on the continent with greater opportunities to use their preferred method of payment.
“This is one of our initiatives to ensure that more people across the world can pay using Flutterwave in Africa. We understand the value of providing shoppers with payment methods that work for them, as well as helping businesses to expand their customer bases,” Agboola said. “This collaboration also provides more options of where to shop and what to buy to American Express cardholders across the globe. By offering American Express as a method of payment, Flutterwave will make the payment process faster and simpler for American Express cardholders, and improve the experience for e-commerce businesses using Flutterwave, helping them to start locally and sell globally.”
In addition, Flutterwave launched a deal with OPay that allows the mobile company’s users more opportunities to pay for goods and services throughout Africa. Now, OPay’s 40 million customers can make purchases from Flutterwave merchants using their OPay wallets.
Making Headlines
Flutterwave’s successes in 2024 didn’t go unnoticed by market watchers.
The company was recently ranked as the No. 1 Most Innovative Company in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa by none other than Fast Company magazine. The award recognized the contributions Flutterwave makes to the field of fintech, including its state-of-the-art platform, user-friendly apps, and creative services that solve real problems that had been ignored for far too long.
The company also received recognition for its innovation and impact from other outlets. The American news channel CNBC named Flutterwave to its Disruptor 50 list, and it was named Fintech of the Year by the African Banker Awards.
“This recognition is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and creativity of the entire team at Flutterwave,” Agboola said. “It also reaffirms our mission to simplify payments for endless possibilities, and we remain committed to building solutions that enable multinationals to expand in and within Africa, and also supporting African companies to compete globally.”
Creating a more prosperous future for Africans is what drove Flutterwave in 2024 and will continue to drive it in 2025, he noted.
“Flutterwave’s story has always been one of resilience, bold thinking, and relentless innovation,” Agboola said. “In 2025, we will build on this foundation by doubling down on what matters most: sustainable growth, and delivering seamless solutions to solidify Flutterwave’s position as the leading payment partner for local and global enterprises. Part of this journey to sustainable growth also includes taking advantage of any suitable funding or acquisition opportunities when we see one.”
Source: Ripples
