Flutterwave, a payments startup operating in Africa, is looking to expand across the continent after closing a $35 million funding round and securing partnerships with Visa and WorldPay.
With bases in Lagos and San Francisco, Flutterwave is one of several African fintech firms looking to cash in on the continent's drive to electronic payments.
The company helps merchants accept payments both online and at the point-of-sale through a host of methods, including cards, mobile money and bank transfers.
Flutterwave is now the African payment provider for Worldpay clients around the world. Meanwhile, the Visa tie-up means Flutterwave can issue physical and virtual cards and process payments using the US giant's networks.
The latest funding will be used to move into new markets in Francophone Africa as well as into new business areas.
"We don’t just want to be a payment technology company, we have sector expertise around education, travel, gaming, e-commerce, fintech companies. They all use our expertise,” CEO Olugbenga Agboola told TechCrunch.
Last year Visa made a $200 million stake in another Nigerian payments player, Interswitch. It also recently partnered MFS Africa to simplify remittances and expand global e-commerce across the continent.