Flutterwave: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 07:31, 24 April 2024

Revision as of 08:26, 24 April 2024

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In 2021, Flutterwave raised a US$170 million [[Series C]] funding round.<ref>{{Cite web|title=African payments company Flutterwave raises $170M, now valued at over $1B|url=https://techcrunch.com/2021/03/09/african-payments-company-flutterwave-raises-170m-now-valued-at-over-1b/|access-date=13 March 2021|website=Tech Crunch}}</ref> At the time, this was the largest amount ever secured by an African tech startup and gave it a valuation of over US$1 billion,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Princewill|first=Nimi|date=11 March 2021|title=Nigerian startup Flutterwave secures $170 million in capital injections from investors, now valued at over $1 billion|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2021/03/10/africa/startup-flutterwave-funding-intl/index.html|access-date=13 March 2021|website=[[CNN]]}}</ref> making Flutterwave a [[Unicorn (finance)|unicorn]].<ref name=":0" /> Investors in Flutterwave include [[Y Combinator|Y-Combinator]], [[Visa Inc.|Visa Ventures]], [[Mastercard]], Avenir Growth Capital, and [[Tiger Global Management]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dealroom: About Flutterwave|url=https://app.dealroom.co/companies/flutterwave|access-date=13 March 2021|website=[[Dealroom]]}}</ref> Flutterwave raised a US$250 million Series D funding round at over US$3 billion valuation in 2022 as well.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-02-16|title=Flutterwave secures $250m Series D with valuation at over $3bn|url=https://techcabal.com/2022/02/16/flutterwave-secures-250m-series-d/|access-date=2022-02-21|website=TechCabal|language=en-US}}</ref>

In December 2021, Flutterwave launched Send,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Flutterwave Send Website|url=https://send.flutterwave.com}}</ref> an African-focused remittances service, and immediately appointed Nigerian Grammy Award-winning international musician, Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun, popularly known as [[Wizkid]] as its global ambassador to further push the company's brand among the Africans in the diaspora.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Flutterwave Picks Wizkid as Global Brand Ambassador, Launches Send|url=https://investorsking.com/2021/12/18/flutterwave-picks-wizkid-as-global-brand-ambassador-launches-send}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://techmoran.com/2021/07/14/flutterwave-appoints-oluwabankole-falade-as-chief-regulatory-and-government-relations-officer/|title = Flutterwave Appoints Oluwabankole Falade as Chief Regulatory and Government Relations Officer – TechMoran}}</ref>

In January 2022, Flutterwave partnered with AfroSport Network to broadcast the 2021 [[Africa Cup of Nations]] free-to-air from 9 January 2022 to 6 February 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-01-06|title=Flutterwave Sponsors AFCON 2021 Broadcast On Afrosport TV -|url=https://www.completesports.com/flutterwave-sponsors-afcon-2021-broadcast-on-afrosport-tv/|access-date=2022-02-04|website=Complete Sports|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Digital Store==

At the peak of the [[COVID-19]] pandemic, Flutterwave built a digital store to help medium and small-scale businesses that were badly impacted by the global lockdown to display their products for market online. The store became a turnaround for these businesses that are mainly without digital footprints or without the means to integrate payment into their webpage. Over 20,000 businesses enrolled on the store for free through a campaign called "keeping the lights on".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-04-26 |title=How Flutterwave is helping SMEs in Africa 'keep the lights on' during the pandemic |url=https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/05/28/africa/flutterwave-coronavirus-africa/index.html |access-date=2022-09-09 |website=[[CNN]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2020-05-28 |title=Flutterwave Powering retailers |url=https://time.com/collection/time100-companies/5949986/flutterwave/ |access-date=2022-09-09 |magazine=Time |language=en}}</ref>

==Switching License==

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== Controversy ==

=== Kenya Licensinglicensing ===

Kenyan central bank Governor [[Patrick Njoroge]] disclosed on July 28, 2022, after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, that Flutterwave and Chipper have not been granted a licence to operate in the country. The clarification of Patrick followed an initial ruling by a Kenyan High Court on July 6, 2022, which froze all assets and accounts of Flutterwave in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-29 |title=Flutterwave, Chipper Cash not licensed to operate in Kenya — Central Bank |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/545704-flutterwave-chipper-cash-not-licensed-to-operate-in-kenya-central-bank.html |access-date=2022-08-12 |website=Premium Times |language=en}}</ref>

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In February 2023, a Kenyan court released $51.9 million belonging to Flutterwave after the Asset Recovery Agency of Kenya withdrew its case against the startup.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-02-28 |title=Kenyan court releases frozen Flutterwave funds |url=https://techpoint.africa/2023/02/28/kenyan-court-releases-frozen-flutterwave-funds/ |access-date=2023-03-10 |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Money Launderinglaundering ===

In July 2022, a Kenyan High Court froze accounts held by Flutterwave holding over 6.2 billion [[Kenyan shilling]] based upon allegations that the funds were the proceeds of credit card fraud and money laundering after a request from Kenya's Assets Recovery Agency. <ref name="TheCable ML">{{cite web|url=https://www.thecable.ng/flutterwave-denies-money-laundering-allegation-as-kenyan-court-freezes-bank-accounts/amp|title=Flutterwave denies money laundering allegation as Kenyan court freezes bank accounts|last=Azeez|first=Wasilat|date=July 7, 2022|work=[[TheCable]]|language=English|access-date=3 September 2022}}</ref><ref name="Reuters ML">{{cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/technology/flutterwaves-accounts-frozen-kenya-over-money-laundering-claims-2022-07-07/|title=Flutterwave's accounts frozen in Kenya over money laundering claims|date=July 7, 2022|publisher=[[Reuters]]|access-date=3 September 2022}}</ref><ref name="Bloomberg 1">{{cite web|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-11/biggest-africa-startup-battles-multiple-allegations-in-ipo-runup|title=Africa's $3 Billion Startup Battles Allegations as It Plans IPO|last=Prinsloo|first=Loni|date=August 11, 2022|work=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]]|access-date=3 September 2022}}</ref> The company has denied accusations of financial misconduct.<ref name="Bloomberg 1" />

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=== Fraud ===

On March 3, 2023, a Twitter user tweeted about a hack at Flutterwave. Two days later, on March 5, Flutterwave denied the report of a hack,<ref>[https://techpoint.africa/2023/03/05/hackers-have-stolen-2-9-billion-from-flutterwave/ TechPoint Africa] report of a hack,</ref> stating that customers did not lose any funds. However, several sources told [https://www.TechCabal.com TechCabal] that they lost funds and their accounts were frozen. The court documents seen by TechCabal included a petition by Flutterwave's legal counsel to the police, dated February 20, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oladunmade |first=Muktar |date=2023-03-10 |title=Hundreds of accounts frozen in relation to alleged Flutterwave hack |url=https://techcabal.com/2023/03/10/hundreds-of-accounts-frozen-during-flutterwave-hack-allegation/ |access-date=2023-03-10 |website=TechCabal |language=en-US}}</ref> On February 8, 2024, TechCabal further published an exclusive report into how Flutterwave has been defrauded up to the tune of $24m through a court order secured to obtain return of such funds from over 6,000 Nigerian bank customers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Oladunmade |first=Muktar |date=2024-02-08 |title=Flutterwave gets court order to recover $24 million lost to unauthorized POS transactions |url=https://techcabal.com/2024/02/08/flutterwave-to-recover-missing-24million/ |access-date=2024-02-12|website=TechCabal |language=en-US}}</ref>

== See also ==