Flutterwave Presses Ahead With IPO Plans

Flutterwave, Africa’s payment startup, will continue with its initial public offering (IPO) on the Nasdaq as part of its effort to access larger partners following significant progress in addressing allegations of financial impropriety in Kenya.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Olugbenga Agboola, the CEO/Co-founder of Flutterwave, revealed that the company has received preliminary approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) to initiate the process of applying for a money remittance license.

“The company has won approval for the first step in securing the right to operate in Kenya, a key African market,” he stated.

Agboola confirmed that Flutterwave intends to go public as soon as the market stabilizes to attract larger global clients. “There’s some kind of customers we’ll attract when we are public. The large global clients who need you to have the same level of compliance and level of global view that they have.”

Agboola refuted accusations of the company failing to honour former employees’ stock rights and of harassing and bullying staff. He described these incidents as “isolated cases” that would not impact the IPO.

Flutterwave has been actively expanding its global presence by offering payment solutions for Africans seeking to make payments for products and services abroad. Earlier this month, the company expanded its remittance solution, Send App, to include Canada and the US, enabling money transfers from these countries to customers in Africa.

“The Send App is a user-friendly remittance solution built on our cross-border experience and global payment infrastructure, empowering diaspora Africans to transfer money quickly and effortlessly to the African continent,” stated Agboola.

This year, the company also introduced Tuition, a product enabling African users to pay educational fees to institutions within Africa and overseas using local currencies.