Olugbenga Agboola is the CEO and co-founder of Flutterwave, located in Nigeria. The Fintech startup was founded in 2016. The entity has managed to maneuver into a unicorn market in five years. The company has over 300 staff employees, who are dispersed between their San Francisco and Lagos offices.
The company has a valuation of over $1 billion. These achievements are what make Agboola rated among the top successful African entrepreneurs. Agboola was born in Nigeria. He studied at the University of California, Berkeley, where he studied computer science. He worked as a product manager at Google and as an engineer at PayPal organization. Investors in Africa are jumping to fintech opportunities.
In 2021 it was marked as one of Africa’s most vital years for fintech. Tyme Bank, Adumo, Diool, and Stitch helped in opening 2022 floodgates. African startups raised $566 million in 2021. 60% of the increased amount went to fintech companies. Flutterwave offers African businesses payment infrastructure. The payments amount to $10 billion to date.
Flutterwave was one of two African startups selected into YCombinator’s accelerator program in August 2016. This was just a few months after its establishment. After qualifying for the YC, the startup is offered a $125,000 seed investment. YC also focuses on the entrepreneur’s knowledge, ambition, and achievements before selecting them for their program.
Olugbenga Agboola explains that if it were not for people and companies who wrote checks for his growth, they wouldn’t be where they are today. He ensured management every penny given to the company and has not failed to help to promise starting organizations. Some firms that supported flutterwave are venture capital, private equity firms, angel investors, etc. Agboola is a role model to many young African entrepreneurs. Some multinational and international companies that help grow entries also played a significant role in making flutterwave big.
Zechariah George is one of the investors who has made moves in Fluuterwave. He was a former investor in Barclays. After intense persuasion, Zechariah realized Flutterwave was a gate pass to many young entrepreneurs on the continent. In 2017 Flutterwave was sponsored for training in San Francisco. After this, Flutterwave raised $10 million. Flutterwave has managed over 14 million transactions totaling $1.5 billion across four nations.
Within the first year of business, Flutterwave collaborated with ten banks. They also raised $35 million in a Series B round which helped to forge some essential alliances. Agboola plans to register Flutterwave on the New York Stock Exchange soon after Series C. If this is successful, many investors will have the chance to receive their investments back with big rewards. Agboola explains that he will continue committing accountability to clients, employees, and investors should his company become a publicly traded unicorn.
He has demonstrated that creating a prosperous enterprise on the continent is feasible. Those who want to start something fresh and make a difference in Africa can find inspiration from his hardships and success stories. Agboola has been persuasive and ambitious in his dreams: he goes for the big, what Olugbenga Agboola knows.