CLOSE-UP: Flutterwave, OPay… nine most valuable African startups

In Africa, startups fueled by a generation of tech-savvy youths are evolving very rapidly.

In 2021, Nigerian startups deploying tech tools to innovate ideas and businesses got investors’ attention with more than $1 billion in funding investment.

The funds raised go a long way in contributing immensely to the growth and development of the economy.

With the recent announcement of Flutterwave moving above the $3 billion valuations mark, we look at fast-rising unicorn startups in Africa.

GLOBAL UNICORN STARTUPS UPTICK

The value of unicorn is generally determined by how investors and venture capitalists believe they will grow and develop over time, so it all comes down to longer-term forecasting.

According to the CBInsight database, there are about 1,000 private companies around the world valued at $1 billion.

The report shows that the total number of the world’s billion-dollar companies jumped from 563 in 2020 to 957 in 2021 — clocking to hit 1,000 in 2022.

Below are the members of the global unicorn club market in Africa:

FLUTTERWAVE – $3 BILLION

Since 2016, Flutterwave has processed over 200 million transactions worth over $16 billion to date across 34 countries in Africa, serving over 900,000 businesses across the globe.

Tiger Global and Avenir Growth Capital are the two major investors backing up the company.

Founded by Olugbenga Agboola, Flutterwave, through its APIs, built customisable payment applications for businesses, banks and government organisations.

In 2021, the company raised $170 million to join the unicorn club and tripled in one year — now worth above $3 billion — to position itself as the leading fintech startup on the continent.

OPAY – $2 BILLION

OPay, founded in 2018, is a Chinese-backed and Africa-focused fintech company. It raised about $400 million Series C in August 2021, led by SoftBank Vision Fund, scaling its worth to $2 billion.

Olu Akanmu, former executive director at First City Monument Bank (FCMB), is the co-CEO of the firm.

The company has attracted major investors in China, including Source Code Capital, Redpoint China, 3W Capital, Sequoia Capital China and Dragonball Capital.

CHIPPERS CASH – $2 BILLION

Chippers cash is a fintech startup that facilitates cross-border payment across Africa. The venture-capital-backed fintech firm builds software to enable free and instant peer-to-peer cross-border payments.

In 2021, the company hit a $2 billion valuation after raising its first Series C round of $100 million led by SVB Capital. The funding round was further strengthened by another $150 million in a Series C extension round led by Sam Bankman-Fried’s cryptocurrency exchange platform, summing the total of Series C capital to $250 million.

The company was founded in 2018 by two African entrepreneurs, Ugandan Ham Serunjogi and Ghanaian Maijid Moujale, in San Francisco, to provide a no-fee peer-to-peer cross-border payment service in Africa via their app. 

The company’s fintech services work in Ghana, Uganda, Nigeria, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Africa, and Kenya.

WAVE – $1.7 BILLION

Wave is a Senegal-based mobile money provider created by two Americans (Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk).

The company promises low fees on accounts, deposits, bills payments and withdrawals for users who want to send money.

It raised $200 million in a Series A round valuing the company at $1.7 billion. The funding is the largest Series A round raised for the region, making it the first francophone African unicorn.

ANDELA – $1.5 BILLION

Andela is a global talent network that connects companies with engineering talent in emerging markets.

It started in Lagos, Nigeria, and now reaching across multiple continents, trusted by hundreds of the world’s top companies to help them seamlessly tap into global brilliance. 

It was founded in 2004 by four professionals, Iyinoluwa Aboyeji, Ian Carnevale, Jeremy Johnson and Christiana Sass.

In September 2021, Andela announced a $200 million Series E fundraising, pushing the company at a valuation of $1.5 billion.

The company got the funding through a series of investments led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 and others such as Whale Rock and pre-existing investors like Generation Investment Management, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Spark Capital. 

INTERSWITCH – $1 BILLION

In 2019, Interswitch reached unicorn status after Visa acquired a minority equity stake in the firm.

The Nigeria financial services company is headquartered in Lagos and founded by Mitchell Elegbe in 2002. The company pioneered the infrastructure for the financial ecosystem.

Today, Interswitch is a leading player with critical mass in Africa’s rapidly developing financial ecosystem and is active across the payments value chain, providing a full suite of omnichannel payment solutions. ​

ESUSU – $1 BILLION

In January, Esusu broke the $1 billion valuation barrier as one of the few startups with a black founder to reach unicorn status.

The Nigerian fintech firm recently secured a $130 million Series B funding round to help build the racial wealth gap.

The funding round was led by Softbank, Vision Fund 2 with participation from Jones Feliciano Family Office, Lauder Zinterhofer Family Office, Schusterman Foundation, SoftBank Opportunity Fund, Related Companies, and Wilshire Lane Capital.

Founded in 2018 by Indian Samir Goel and Nigerian Abbey Wemimo, the fintech platform reports rental data to build tenants’ credit scores while helping property owners increase revenue.

FAWRY – $ 1 BILLION

Fawry became the first technology company in Egypt to get to the billion-dollar valuation in 2021. Listed on the Egyptian Exchange, the fintech company provides payment services to clients to consumers and businesses through more than 225,000 locations and a variety of channels.

Recently, it hit another milestone by surpassing the $2 billion market cap and becoming the fourth most valuable company listed on the Egyptian Exchange (EGX).

Founded by Ashraf Sabry in 2015, the company is one of the largest providers of alternative digital payments in Egypt.

JUMIA – $1 BILLION

Jumia, a pan-African e-commerce company listed on the New York Stock Exchange, was founded by Jeremy Hodara and Sacha Poignonnec,ex-McKinsey consultants, alongside Tunde Kehinde and Raphael Kofi Afaedor in 2012.

In 2016, the company rose to become the continent’s first unicorn valued at over $1 billion.

In recent times, however, the valuation has continued to change. It has experienced about 80 percent stock downtime in one year.

The company will announce its full-year result next week, February 23.