In addition to strengthening its presence in the region, the investment will enable the Nigerian company to provide secure and transparent payment services to consumers and businesses in Kenya.

Nigerian payment solutions provider Flutterwave recently announced plans to invest $50 million in Kenya. Olugbenga Agboola (photo, center), CEO and co-founder of Flutterwave revealed this during a media interview in the country's capital, Nairobi.

According to the CEO, the investment will be deployed as soon as the company receives regulatory approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).  

"We are very optimistic about Kenya and once we get the license, our team in the country is ready to deploy the very next day. [...] We are happy we are going through the process of approval. We didn’t chicken out. We stayed the course even when everything stopped. The current administration is very supportive," he said.

Flutterwave's announcement comes a week after the company signed a partnership agreement with Indian financial institution IndusInd Bank to expand its services to India. 

As far as Kenya is concerned, Flutterwave announced last April that it would be setting up its main operating station in Nairobi, for the East African market. This investment will be used to hire staff and develop Flutterwave's infrastructure in Kenya. Olugbenga Agboola also noted that the company already has more than two dozen employees in Kenya.

Founded in 2016 by Nigerians Olugbenga Agboola and Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Flutterwave is now present in some 30 African countries. The Lagos and San Francisco-based startup is valued at around $3 billion.

Samira Njoya