Flutterwave became a unicorn on March 10, 2021, after securing a $170 million Series C funding round that brought its valuation to over $1 billion. Led by Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global Management, this milestone made the Lagos and San Francisco-based payments company one of the fastest-growing African startups to reach this status, only five years after its 2016 launch.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco and Nigeria, Flutterwave aims to make it easier for Africans to build global businesses that can make and accept any payment, across Africa and around the world.
Once considered the stuff of myth, there are now over 180. US shopping site Jet.com holds the unicorn speed record – its $1B valuation occurred just 4 months after the company was founded. Only 4 companies have achieved such a valuation in under a year, and just 20 within 2 years of incorporation.
Paystack offers bank transfers, USSD, and QR codes. Their bank transfer feature works particularly well for high-value B2B transactions where customers prefer direct debit. Flutterwave supports the widest range of options: cards, bank transfers, USSD, mobile money (MTN, Airtel), and even cryptocurrency.
In 2016, alongside Shola Akinlade he established the E-payment website PayStack. It was the first of its kind in Nigeria with a net worth of $120,000 and was later sold to Stripe for $200 million in 2020.
Iyin Aboyeji, 2x Unicorn founder of Andela and Flutterwave. #FoundersConnect
Who is stripes' biggest competitor?
The top Stripe alternatives: key features and fees. Airwallex, PayPal, Adyen, Payoneer, and Shopify Payments are all alternatives to Stripe, each with its own strengths.
The top 10 biggest U.S. unicorn startups by valuation in 2022 included Anysphere, Labs Companies, Kalshi, Mercor, Thinking Machines, Polymarket, Reflection, Loveable, Open Evidence, and Apptronik.
Logistics AI startup Netradyne became the first unicorn of 2025 after raising $90 Mn in its Series D funding round, led by existing backer Point72 Private Investments, in January. The funding saw the startup's post-money valuation soar to $1.34 Bn.
The United Kingdom is home to 67 unicorn startups, with a strong concentration in the financial technology sector. This industry includes many of the country's most valuable private companies.
The United States ranks first by a massive margin, with an absolute startup output score more than five times higher than China, the second-ranked country. No other ecosystem comes close to the U.S. in terms of total volume.
Demystifying the 5 D's of Fintech: Digitization, Disruption, Democratization, Decentralization & Data. The fintech world is buzzing with terms, and among them are five key pillars that help us see through the noise. They are Digitization, Disruption, Democratization, Decentralization, and Data.
This is an incredible feat, and Flutterwave is glad to be the payment partner on this journey. With this partnership, Uber riders can pay via international and local methods like cards, Mastercard, Visa, Verve, Mpesa, and other Mobile Money (MoMo), Bank Transfer, and USSD.
The 80/20 Rule (or Pareto Principle) for startups means 80% of your valuable results (revenue, growth, impact) come from just 20% of your efforts, customers, or features, highlighting the need for founders to focus intensely on the vital few activities that drive the majority of success, rather than getting spread thin. It's about identifying and doubling down on high-leverage actions, saying no to low-impact tasks, and prioritizing the truly essential, allowing for smarter growth with limited resources.
Starting a business in the UK is an exciting venture, but many startups fail within their first few years. In fact, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), approximately 60% of new businesses in the UK fail within the first three years.
Stripe is known for its flexibility and robust set of features, catering to businesses of all sizes. While its integration process might require a bit more technical know-how compared to Shopify Payments, Stripe offers comprehensive documentation and developer tools to facilitate smooth integration.
It depends on your business needs. Stripe is known for its developer-friendly tools, strong support for startups, and broad global reach. Adyen, on the other hand, is popular with large enterprises thanks to its unified platform, advanced risk tools, and direct acquiring licences across multiple regions.
