Flutterwave, one of Africa’s leading payments platforms, has acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono in an all-stock transaction reportedly valued between $25 million and $40 million. The deal, highlighted by TechCrunch, marks one of the more significant exits in the African fintech ecosystem in recent years and underscores Flutterwave’s ambitions beyond traditional payments.
Over the past several years, Flutterwave has enabled businesses across more than 30 African countries to handle digital payments, remittances, and cross-border transactions seamlessly via a single API. However, as the fintech landscape evolves, payments alone are no longer the core driver. Access to financial data, secure identity verification, and trust infrastructure are increasingly crucial areas where Mono’s open banking solutions play a pivotal role.
Founded in 2020, Mono has been at the forefront of making open banking a reality in Africa. Dubbed the “Plaid of Africa,” the startup allows businesses to securely access banking data, verify identities, and initiate transactions with user permission. In markets where traditional credit information is limited or fragmented, Mono’s platform is transformative, enabling smarter lending, better financial products, and faster onboarding.
With Mono now part of its ecosystem, Flutterwave moves beyond payments alone. The integration allows businesses on its platform to manage account verification, identity checks, and bank-to-bank transfers within a single, unified infrastructure. This deeper integration strengthens Flutterwave’s value proposition, making it an even more indispensable partner for startups and established enterprises alike.
The timing of this acquisition is significant. While African fintech continues to grow rapidly, regulatory frameworks around open banking remain in development. Mono contributes not only cutting-edge technology but also expertise in navigating these complex regulatory landscapes. The startup will retain operational independence under its leadership while gaining the scale and reach that Flutterwave’s network provides.
More broadly, the deal signals a trend for the African fintech ecosystem: as infrastructure becomes a key differentiator, strategic partnerships and consolidation may provide a faster, more sustainable path to growth than going it alone.
Mono has raised approximately $17.5 million from investors, including Tiger Global, General Catalyst, and Target Global. Sources familiar with the acquisition indicate that the deal allowed investors to at least recoup their initial capital, with some early backers realizing paper returns of up to 20x based on the implied value of the stock received from Flutterwave. Mono will continue to operate as an independent product, according to a joint statement from the companies.
Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola described the acquisition as a strategic move toward Africa’s next phase of fintech growth. “Payments, data, and trust cannot exist in isolation,” he said.
“Open banking provides the connective framework, and Mono has built essential infrastructure in this space.”
At launch, Mono faced competition from startups such as Okra, backed by Base10 Partners, and Stitch, backed by Ribbit Capital. Since then, Mono has established itself as a leading player in African open banking, following Okra’s closure and Stitch’s pivot to a broader payments-focused ecosystem, enabling it to raise significantly more capital.
Regarding Mono’s financial position before the acquisition, CEO Wale Hassan emphasized that the company, which raised $15 million in a Series A round at a $50 million post-money valuation in 2021 (according to PitchBook), was not compelled to sell to Flutterwave. Mono is on track to achieve profitability this year. He added that with strong cash reserves, raising another funding round in the current challenging investment climate would have introduced new valuation and growth pressures.
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