Pan-African cross-border payment app Chipper Cash is set to acquire Zambian fintech company Zoona Transactions International. This acquisition will allow Chipper Cash, which has a self-reported user count of 5 million, to add new online services and a new agent network to its offerings. This move is also an expansion strategy by the company into Zambia. Chipper Cash’s VP of Corporate Development, Laura Kennedy, says Zoona’s acquisition will offer it incredible innovation, a great partner...

Users of Flip, an app developed by crypto startup Fluidcoins, have been facing persistent issues accessing their funds for several months now. These users, some of whom are in Flip’s Telegram group with over 300 members, have expressed frustration over the perceived indifference of Flip’s operators towards their plight. Blockfinex, a crypto exchange company that acquired Flip’s parent company Fluidcoins, says that it is actively working to address these issues. They also shared plans to...

David Hundeyin, journalist and founder of West Africa Weekly, stated that he began working on a story about the Nigerian payment company, Flutterwave, six months ago. Hundeyin accuses Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, of bullying and committing some crimes. These include insider trading, and inflating and deflating stock prices as desired. He also said that Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola illegally exploited the assets, information, and contacts of Access Bank, where he worked. This show is part...

Flutterwave is teaming up with India’s IndusInd Bank to launch its Send App remittance product right into the heart of India. IndusInd Bank boasts an impressive 35 million customers. This strategic alliance is all about connecting Flutterwave which already has a firm footing in 30 African countries to the economic powerhouse that is India. Flutterwave has been on a roll, securing a payment services license in Egypt in June and obtaining name approval for its remittance business in August....

Flutterwave has obtained its Electronic Money Issuer and Remittance Licences from the National Bank of Rwanda. With these licences, Flutterwave can now offer money deposit and withdrawal, electronic funds transfer, as well as inbound and outbound remittance services to the lovely people of Rwanda. Flutterwave will be offering a range of products to Rwanda’s e-commerce industry, including its cross-border money transfer solution, Send by Flutterwave. Flutterwave for Business and its suite of...

Pan-African fintech giant Flutterwave raised $250 million in a series D raise, the company held an event where it announced, amongst other things, that it would integrate Google Pay and Apple Pay into its suite of payment options. The company is making good on its promise about Google Pay, as users of the global payment service can now use it for transactions with merchants on Flutterwave’s stores. With this integration, Google Pay users worldwide can pay businesses on Flutterwave within...

A Kenyan court has ordered that another Ksh 400.6 million belonging to the startup be seized. A Kenyan High Court has frozen more accounts of Africa's biggest fintech startup, Flutterwave, over allegations of money laundering. Kenya's authorities say the Nigerian firm had no approval to conduct cross-border payments in the country and accused it of fraud. The court earlier ordered that its 29 bank accounts with Guaranty Trust Bank, 17 with Equity Bank and six with Ecobank be frozen. The...

Flutterwave, the African payments company, has secured a licence to process payments into Malawi, including remittances. Malawi’s remittance market has grown exponentially since 2016, presenting a growth opportunity for the $3 billion-valued African fintech startup. The International Money Transfer Operator license from the Reserve Bank of Malawi allows the company to process international payments from the Malawian diaspora into the country. Over 200,000 Malawians work and reside...

Fintech company Flutterwave has integrated its payment technology into the International Air Transport Association’s financial gateway. The IFG is a payment platform specifically created for international airlines and travel agencies to process payments from local markets through various distribution channels. This partnership with Flutterwave allows airlines to have full control over the entire payment and settlement process, from initiation to completion. This partnership with Flutterwave...

Nigerian fintech unicorn, Flutterwave, was likely breached a second and third time on March 1 and 14, 2023. The sources alleged that, much like the first incident on February 5, the perpetrators used monies fraudulently obtained from Flutterwave accounts to buy USDT on the crypto platform Binance. The monies involved in both incidents in March are estimated to be N550 million. It remains unclear how the perpetrators were able to move the money. Flutterwave denied the claims that the...

Nigerian payment unicorn, Flutterwave, has secured a Switching and Processing Licence from the Central Bank of Nigeria. This high-profile licence will allow it to facilitate transactions between financial service providers, merchants, customers and other stakeholders without intermediaries. The licence will also allow it to offer new services such as transaction switching, card processing, non-bank acquiring, agency banking and payment gateway services. Flutterwave says this license...

Fintech unicorn Flutterwave isn’t just racking up licences across Africa, it’s also entering big deals. The company announced that it had signed a 5-year deal with Microsoft. The partnership will see the fintech company build a new generation of payment services on Microsoft Azure, powering payments infrastructure across the African continent and beyond. This partnership will enable the African payment firm to service multinational firms. Some of them include enabling payments of Uber,...

Flutterwave has launched Swap, a new product that will digitise the process of getting foreign exchange for Nigerians with the backing of the CBN. The fintech is leveraging a partnership with Wema Bank, a commercial bank, and Kadavra BDC, a bureau de change, to provide liquidity and foreign exchange for the product. Mr Folashodun Shonubi, the acting governor of the CBN, says that Swap could solve two major problems facing Nigeria’s foreign exchange market: the lack of collaboration between...

A former Twitter employee suspected of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia was found guilty. The employee, U.S. resident Ahmad Abouammo, was also convicted by a jury of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, falsifying records and money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in prison. According to the federal complaint, he and another Twitter employee, Ali Alzabarah, were approached by the Saudi government and offered cash and luxury goods for their cooperation in collecting personal information on...

Africa: The Big Deal reports that Investment in Nigerian tech dropped by 30 percent towards the end of the second quarter of 2022 Data from the database and insights firm which focuses on startup funding above $100,000 in Africa showed that of the big four in Africa — Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya—only Nigeria witnessed a dip in the quarter. He explained that with rising interest rates in the United States, investors are diverting their funds to safe places like the US treasury...

The Bank of Ghana, announced the launch of a new cybersecurity platform, the Financial Industry Command Security Operations Centre. FISOC is now integrated with all 23 commercial banks which the Bank of Ghana regulates. The platform will be used to send these banks reports and alerts on cybersecurity threats, so they can act fast. The platform will help banks coordinate cybersecurity efforts within Ghana’s financial institutions. This show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are...

BioNTech, the German biotech company that became a medical powerhouse in 2020 after creating one of the world’s most effective COVID-19 vaccines, will pay a total sum of £582 million to acquire 100% shares of InstaDeep, the Tunisian London-headquartered artificial intelligence startup. The transaction involves an upfront payment of cash and unspecified BioNTech shares worth £362 million, and a balance of £200 million payable based on InstaDeep’s future performance. This deal is coming...

Ghana’s tax authority says the fine is for unpaid tax obligations for 2014–2018. During these years, GRA claims that MTN underreported its revenue in Ghana by about 30%. The $773 million tag also comprises penalties for non-disclosure and interest charges. The MTN Group, says MTN Ghana believes that the taxes due have been paid during the period under assessment and has resolved to defend MTN Ghana’s position on the assessment vigorously. MTN Group and MTN Ghana will continue to engage...

Unicorn Flexport is revolutionizing the world of logistics, serving as a freight forwarder with software that enables customers to manage their shipments. But there are still thousands of smaller freight forwarders, many running on outdated ERP software or spreadsheets. A startup called GoFreight wants to help them compete by providing the Shopify of freight forwarding, with backend software that makes their operations run more smoothly, and a frontend that lets them set up a storefront and...

Global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has announced that it is partnering with South African healthtech firm MedSol AI Solutions to help promote the use of Artificial Intelligence in the detection of breast cancer. The initiative will be done through a state-of-the-art Wi-Fi ultrasound probe that can detect cancer in seconds. The partnership is part of AstraZeneca’s Africa Health Innovation Hub, an initiative mandated to use the latest science and technology to improve access to...

One of Nigeria’s leading online brokerage firms has expanded into Ghana, making it the first trans-national west-African brokerage app. Through a partnership with 10th Capital Investments, a licensed Ghanaian firm, the more than 50,000 users on Bamboo Ghana’s waitlist will now be able to buy and invest in stocks from US companies like Apple Inc and Tesla. Bamboo says it recently received a No Objection Letter from Ghana’s Securities and Exchange Commission to operate in the country,...

Globalstar, a satellite network operator backed by Apple, has purchased launches from SpaceX worth $64 million. The launches, which are scheduled for 2025, will send at least 17 new satellites to low Earth orbit to replenish Globalstar’s existing constellation. Globalstar entered into a $327 million purchase agreement with MDA for those satellites in February last year, with Rocket Lab acting as subcontractor supplying the spacecraft chassis. Apple is reimbursing Globalstar for 95% of the...

Bboxx, a London-headquartered cleantech startup that provides clean energy in Africa, has reportedly acquired PEG Africa, another cleantech startup based in Accra, in a deal that pushes its valuation to well over $300 million. The acquisition is still subject to customary closing conditions, including an agreement with lenders. Institutional lenders like Nairobi- and London-based Sunfunder and Swiss Responsibility, which both finance PEG’s operations, will need to take their time to move...

Neobank Be Mobile Africa has announced the launch of a crypto trading platform which will allow enabling individuals in South Africa to buy and trade cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana as well as USD stablecoins such as USDC using South African rands. Dr. Cédric Jeannot, CEO of Be Mobile Africa, says enabling their users to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies easily and securely is a natural evolution for us. Be Mobile Africa also added that the cryptocurrency trading...