Flutterwave, one of Africa’s unicorns valued at over $3 billion, has denied reports that the Nigerian government approved a $75 million investment in the company as part of a planned initial public offering (IPO).
The claim was made on Monday, April 20, by Dada Olusegun, Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu, in a now-deleted post on X, where he stated that the President had “approved the investment of $75 million, as plans for the deal move closer to completion.”
However, Flutterwave described the reports as inaccurate, adding that the company is not close to going public.
“We’d like to clarify that the information circulating is inaccurate, including the reported $250 million figure,” the company said. “Flutterwave is not in any way close to an IPO, and we have made no announcements regarding a listing or fundraising tied to an IPO as described.”
Speculation about Flutterwave listing on the Nigerian Exchange has been a recurring topic of discussion in recent years. During the Semafor World Economy Summit 2024, Chief Executive Officer Olugbenga Agboola hinted at the company’s long-term ambition to go public, although he did not provide a timeline.
“Right now, our goal is to be IPO-ready, ensuring we have the right corporate governance in place and that we are operating well,” Agboola said.
The now-denied report of a potential investment comes less than three weeks after the fintech company, which provides payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across Africa, announced that it had secured a licence to offer banking services in Nigeria.
“With this banking licence in Nigeria, we are stepping into the core of the system — from enabling transactions to managing them end-to-end, from relying on external infrastructure to building with control over how money moves, settles, and is accessed,” the company said in a statement.
Additionally, earlier this year, Flutterwave acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono in an all-stock deal valued between $25 million and $40 million, further expanding its financial services and data infrastructure capabilities.
Taken together, these developments appear to be fueling a broader perception that the company’s long-term ambition of listing on a stock exchange is gradually taking shape, even though it insists that no immediate IPO plans are in place.