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Flutterwave, Africa’s most valuable unicorn, won’t rule out the possibility of selling to a larger player, its CEO told Semafor, but stressed that the fintech player is laser focused on reaching profitability this year.
The company has discussed the potential of an initial public offering over the last few years. But with a valuation of more than $3 billion, after raising around $500 million since its 2016 launch, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola said Flutterwave was open to the possibility of being acquired by a larger player.
“Yes, we’re open,” he said, but “our goal is to be profitable this year.” Agboola said the company, which provides software for businesses to collect card or bank transfer payments online, aimed to provide “stability” to achieve its goal. “We want to go aggressive on that as a firm.”
Flutterwave’s Chief Financial Officer Mitesh Popat added that the overarching aim was to ensure that Flutterwave was “sustainable for the long term.” That approach would, he said, “give us many options,” including a possible IPO.
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Flutterwave, which has secured investment from Visa and US firm Tiger Global, among others, has built its success on processing payments for clients such as Uber and Nigerian airline Air Peace.
The fintech was founded in Nigeria and operates in dozens of African countries, including Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, and South Africa. The company also has licences to operate in more than 30 US states, as well as in the UK.
Agboola said he wanted Flutterwave to serve customers “across the full spectrum of their business” including in processing salaries, making cross-border payments, and sending remittances.
But he acknowledged a number of challenges in realizing this ambition such as the fragmented regulatory environment on the continent, compared with the EU, and the lack of digital infrastructure.
Alexis’s view
Many of the interviews GB has given in the past couple of years have focused on a ‘will they, won’t they’ discussion of a possible IPO. Flutterwave has some of the largest investors in the world on its books and some might now be starting to expect a return on their investments. There has long been an expectation that the San Francisco-headquartered company would list on a tech-friendly stock exchange like the Nasdaq. But the tech IPO market has been soft for the last couple of years, even for larger, better-followed tech companies.
The ears of Flutterwave investors will perk up on hearing that the unicorn, which has prided itself on being a market leader and pioneer in African markets, is open to the idea of sale. Such a move would not be without precedent. Paystack, a Flutterwave contemporary based in Lagos, was acquired by US fintech giant Stripe in October 2020 for around $200 million — some thought it went for a steal at the time. If Flutterwave can reach profitability soon and then goes down the sale route, it could potentially sell for a lot more based on its size and private market valuations. However, the chances of latter-stage investors making whopping returns will be a lot less likely if the market is anything like today.
Notable
- Flutterwave last month announced a partnership with Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service, enabling authorities to carry out digital tax collections using the company’s payment technology, Punch reported.