Flutterwave co-founder and CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, has emphasized the company’s determination to proceed with its scheduled Initial Public Offering (IPO), despite challenges. He points to the necessity of aligning with global client expectations and compliance standards.
During an interview with Bloomberg, Agboola reiterated that while current market conditions might be unstable and potentially affect the listing process, the company remains resolute in its commitment to bolstering interactions with international clients and upholding global compliance protocols. Agboola believes that the IPO serves as a means to achieve these objectives.
“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,” he said.
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“The markets aren’t great right now,” and this could slow any listing, Agboola added, without giving the specific date for the IPO.
Flutterwave has been in recent times, accused of financial impropriety and infighting over stock shares, which stand against the company’s chances at IPO.
But Agboola dismissed accusations of internal conflicts related to former employees’ stock entitlements. He affirmed that concerns regarding staff mistreatment and intimidation were instances that occurred in a “very, very isolated” manner, and consequently, would not impact the intended share offering.
Flutterwave is gradually becoming a household name in the African fintech space despite setbacks in its operation. For instance, the Kenyan authorities recently suspended the operation of Flutterwave, alleging that it has been operating illegally in the country – without a financial services license from the central bank.
However, the suspension was lifted and Flutterwave has gained access to more African countries – Egypt and Rwanda.
Agboola expressed confidence that the unicorn, whose valuation stood at $3bn following its 2022 $250 million funding round, has the market and the instruments to reach IPO potential.
Agboola expressed a strong belief in the company’s capacity to extend its presence and enhance its growth. He mentioned that there exists potential for venturing into fresh markets and considering acquisitions when feasible.
“The goal is to make merchants across Africa, consumers across Africa use us more and know that we are the most reliable platform to use,” he said. “Africa is huge, the potential is huge,”
Since its founding in 2016, Flutterwave has gained the backing of notable global investors such as Tiger Global, Y-Combinator, Visa Ventures, Mastercard, and Avenir Growth Capital. This is believed to have propelled amazing growth – notable in the increase of its customer base and profits.
Just a few months back, the company introduced a novel payment solution named “Tuition.” This product empowers African users to effortlessly settle diverse fees for educational institutions, both within Africa and abroad, utilizing their local currencies.
According to a Bloomberg report, while refraining from disclosing the exact yearly growth in total revenue, Flutterwave highlighted that its payment processing operations via its payments app, SendApp, saw a remarkable 23-fold increase in the initial half of this year in comparison to the corresponding period in 2022.
In addition, the report indicated that payments made through point-of-sale devices experienced a more than fivefold surge, and the revenue generated by its small and medium business divisions leaped nearly fourfold.
So far, Flutterwave has a presence in about 30 African countries.