The investment marks Flutterwave’s first disclosed funding round since 2022, when it raised $250 million in a Series D round that pushed its valuation beyond $3 billion.

Although the company confirmed Ripple has become a shareholder, neither Flutterwave nor Ripple revealed the size of the investment.

Flutterwave founder and Chief Executive Officer Olugbenga Agboola described the deal as a significant cash investment that will strengthen the company’s balance sheet and support its long-term growth plans.

The funding comes as Flutterwave deepens its focus on stablecoins, a growing segment of digital finance that aims to combine the speed of blockchain technology with the price stability of traditional currencies.

As part of the partnership, Flutterwave will integrate Ripple’s RLUSD stablecoin into its payments infrastructure, enabling businesses and consumers across its network to send, receive, store and convert funds using stablecoins.

Agboola said Ripple stood out because of its technology, regulatory standing and ability to facilitate faster and lower-cost international payments.

“Cross-border value movement is one of the most underserved and highest-growth markets globally right now,” Agboola said.

“That is where the synergy with Ripple comes in. We bring Africa’s infrastructure at scale. Ripple brings expertise in digital settlement and stablecoins. Together, this helps solve actual customer problems.”

The collaboration will also see Ripple’s XRP Ledger technology connected to Flutterwave’s payment network to support cross-border settlements across Africa.

The move positions Ripple to gain exposure to Africa’s rapidly expanding digital payments market, particularly for dollar-based transactions, with Mastercard projecting that Africa’s digital payments economy could reach $1.5 trillion by 2030.

Flutterwave believes stablecoins could play an increasingly important role in reducing the cost and complexity of moving money across borders, a challenge that continues to affect businesses and consumers throughout Africa.

According to Agboola, the Ripple partnership could increase Flutterwave’s stablecoin transaction volumes by more than 30%.

The latest valuation represents a modest increase from the company’s $3 billion valuation achieved in February 2022 when investors led by B Capital backed its Series D round.

At the time, Flutterwave became Africa’s most valuable startup after raising $250 million.

Despite the relatively small increase in valuation, Flutterwave has expanded considerably over the past several years.

The company has broadened its services beyond payments, adding new financial products while strengthening its regulatory footprint across multiple markets.

It has also pursued acquisitions and secured additional licences as it works toward becoming a comprehensive financial services platform.

“We are now running a multi-product platform. We have banking, we have payments, we have everything, and now we have stablecoins,” Agboola said.

“That is in line with our goal to be a one-stop shop for financial services.”

Founded in 2016, Flutterwave has built one of Africa’s largest payment infrastructures, supporting businesses that process transactions across dozens of countries and currencies.

The company has previously attracted backing from global investors including Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Tiger Global, Salesforce Ventures and Y Combinator.

Agboola argued that the scale of Flutterwave’s payment network and compliance systems gives it a strong competitive advantage in the market.

“Nobody has our infrastructure at scale right now,” he said. “We do not see competition for this.”

He added that the RLUSD integration will eventually be available in every market where Flutterwave operates, with implementation tailored to the requirements of local regulators.