In recognition of its impact across the African fintech landscape, Nigerian unicorn, Flutterwave, has been named ‘Fintech of the Year’ at the 2024 African Banker Awards, one of the continent’s most prestigious banking and finance events.

The coveted award celebrates Flutterwave’s innovative digital payments solutions that are enabling businesses of all sizes to seamlessly operate and scale across Africa’s burgeoning market. It marks the third major international accolade for the San Francisco-based startup this year alone.

“We are incredibly honored to receive this prestigious award,” stated Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola. “It reaffirms our mission to simplify payments and create endless possibilities by building solutions that empower multinationals to expand within Africa, and African enterprises to compete globally.”

Flutterwave’s flagship technology allows businesses to accept a variety of payment methods like mobile money, cards and bank transfers through a single integration. This has proven instrumental in facilitating e-commerce growth and driving financial inclusion across the continent.

The fintech’s latest recognition comes hot on the heels of its inclusion in CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list of innovative growth companies and being named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies worldwide.

While an initial public offering has been speculated since 2022, Flutterwave has remained tight-lipped on its listing plans. However, the startup continues expanding its geographic footprint, recently receiving in-principle approval for a payment aggregator license in Mozambique.

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The African Banker Awards ceremony was held in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, drawing over 300 influential figures from Africa’s banking and financial services sectors. Other big winners on the night included United Bank for Africa (UBA) as Regional Bank of the Year for West Africa, and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) claiming Bank of the Year honors.

As African startups like Flutterwave continue blazing trails and reaping global acclaim, the continent’s finance industry is signaling its readiness to project homegrown innovation and disruptive business models onto the world stage.