About Olugbenga Agboola
In a June 2026 interview at Money 20/20 Europe, Olugbenga Agboola stated that Flutterwave, now ten years old, is the largest fintech on the African continent and the most licensed innovator there. He described the company's goal as making money movement simple for Africans. Agboola said Flutterwave has moved from being a "money in transit" company to aiming to be "money at rest," and that with a new banking microfinance license, the company can now rely on its own infrastructure rather than sponsor banks. He noted that stablecoin is treated as another form factor for payment, not as speculation or trading, and that Flutterwave has partnered with Nuviun to build what he called a stablecoin infrastructure for Africa, allowing businesses to pay suppliers in real time.
In an earlier interview from 2024, Agboola said Flutterwave measures success by revenue, impact on communities, and employee growth, rather than by unicorn status. He stated that the company partners with the EFCC in Nigeria to contribute to building a cybersecurity research center. Agboola also expressed the view that Africa does not need a single currency for trade, but rather an infrastructure that connects payment acceptance and settlement across countries, allowing African businesses to operate globally.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Olugbenga Agboola's recent appearances.
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✨ AI-enhanced transcript with speaker attribution
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Olugbenga Agboola0:00
CSMB merchants now who are saying I want to pay my supplier in Singapore, in Europe, or in the US. And they're seeing a new trend. They're saying their supplier asking for stablecoin wallet address. I can supply you real time if you pay with stablecoin, compared to Swift transfer that take maybe 2-3 days.
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Interviewer0:22
Thanks, Remi. I'm here on the floor at Money 2020 Europe, and I have the pleasure of being joined by Olugbenga Agboola, the CEO and founder of Flutterwave, Africa's leading payments technology company. GB, thank you so much for joining me.
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Olugbenga Agboola0:36
Thanks for having me.
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Interviewer0:37
So, for those across in America and in Europe who don't necessarily know, tell us about Flutterwave. You're 10 years old. What does the next 10 years of payments look like, and what is the role of Flutterwave in that?
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Olugbenga Agboola0:50
We started 10 years ago with a vision to change our payment system across Africa. Now today, we're the biggest fintech across the continent. We are the most licensed innovator across Africa right now. We are the premier infrastructure for helping SMBs and enterprise companies move money across the continent. And our goal is still the same: how do we make sure money movement is simple for Africans and Africa?
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Interviewer1:17
I mean, as a continent and as an ecosystem, Africa has completely shown the innovation that can happen in payments when you rethink the payment structures. You mentioned your licenses there. Microfinance banking license in Nigeria is one that you've just received. What does that mean for the evolution of the financial system, and what is Flutterwave's role in that?
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Olugbenga Agboola1:40
In the last couple of years, we started with becoming money in transit company, helping point A to point B move money across. However, now we want to be money at rest. Part of the infrastructure that helps our merchant and our client move money seamlessly. For a long time, we relied on sponsor banks to do our business. Now, with our new banking microfinance license, we're able to now rely on ourselves to build our infrastructure, and that's the key point of what we do right now.
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Interviewer2:10
And so, for some people who might look at that and think, "Okay, you're detaching from the traditional banks and you're competing directly." Is that the way you see it, or is it a different strategy?
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Olugbenga Agboola2:21
We'll get there, but we're not there yet. Phase one, replace the infrastructure. Make it reliable, consistent, create value for our customers. Step two, we'll see what happens.
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Interviewer2:32
I think that's fantastic, and it's such a great way to look at the ecosystem as it moves. Within that, of course, something we've heard so much about here at Money 20/20, stablecoins. Talk to us about your strategy with stablecoins and some of your partnerships that you've been leading with that.
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Olugbenga Agboola2:50
Our stablecoin adventure started with looking at how our money moves for our customers. You see, any merchant now who are saying, "I want to pay my supplier in Singapore, in Europe, or in the US." And they're seeing a new trend. They are seeing their supplier asking for stablecoin wallet address. I can supply you real-time if you pay me stablecoin, compared to Swift transfer that take maybe two, three days. So, our goal really is, how do you make it simple for our customers to pay their suppliers, or to get paid, or to move money around? That's the whole point of stablecoin for us. And that's why we decided to go build the biggest stablecoin infra for Africa. We partner with Nuviun to build what I call a system for every African and every business to be able to have a stablecoin wallet that they can use to pay and get paid simply via platform.
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Interviewer3:37
And as I understand it, much faster in terms of the settlements.
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Olugbenga Agboola3:40
Oh, yes, you can send money right and they get the money right now.
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Interviewer3:42
Which is such a huge
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Olugbenga Agboola3:44
Literally.
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Interviewer3:44
Massive opportunity. Listen, thank you so much for joining us. Flutterwave, based in Nigeria, but the biggest payments company across the African continent. I think we're really excited for the next 10 years.
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Olugbenga Agboola3:56
Thank you so much.
