Flutterwave buys Nigeria’s Mono in rare African fintech exit

Africa’s largest fintech company, Flutterwave, has acquired Nigerian unfastened banking startup Mono successful an all-stock woody valued betwixt $25 cardinal and $40 million, according to radical acquainted with the transaction.

The acquisition brings unneurotic 2 of Africa’s starring fintech infrastructure companies. Flutterwave operates 1 of the continent’s widest payments networks, portion Mono, often described arsenic the “Plaid for Africa,” has built APIs that let businesses to entree slope data, initiate payments, and verify customers.

Mono has raised astir $17.5 cardinal from investors, including Tiger Global, General Catalyst, and Target Global. Sources adjacent to the woody said the acquisition allowed each its investors to astatine slightest recoup their capital, with immoderate aboriginal backers realizing returns of up to 20x. Mono volition proceed to run arsenic an autarkic product, the companies said successful a statement.

Founded successful 2020, Mono, similar Plaid, uses APIs that let users to consent to sharing their slope information, enabling fiscal institutions to analyse income, spending patterns, and repayment capacity.

The institution addresses the deficiency of standardized entree to slope information crossed African markets, wherever recognition bureaus stay constricted and fintechs, particularly lenders, often trust connected customers’ slope transaction histories to measure creditworthiness.

According to CEO Abdulhamid Hassan, astir each Nigerian integer lenders present trust connected Mono’s infrastructure. The institution claims to person powered much than 8 cardinal slope relationship linkages, covering astir 12% of Nigeria’s banked population. It besides claims to person delivered 100 cardinal fiscal information points to lending companies and processed millions successful nonstop slope payments. Customers see Visa-backed Moniepoint and GIC-backed PalmPay.

For Flutterwave, which powers section and cross-border payments crossed much than 30 African countries, the woody deepens its vertical integration. In summation to payments, the institution tin present connection onboarding and individuality checks, slope relationship verification, data-driven hazard assessment, and one-time oregon recurring slope payments wrong a azygous stack.

Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola framed the acquisition arsenic a stake connected Africa’s adjacent signifier of fintech growth. “Payments, data, and spot cannot beryllium successful silos,” helium said. “Open banking provides the connective tissue, and Mono has built captious infrastructure successful this space.”

Hassan echoed that view, arguing that Africa is entering a credit-driven signifier arsenic governments crossed the continent propulsion lending-led fiscal inclusion initiatives. That modulation depends connected some important information infrastructure and regulatory confidence, peculiarly successful markets similar Nigeria, wherever unfastened banking frameworks are inactive evolving.