Flutterwave Chief Executive Officer Olugbenga Agboola has confirmed that the company’s recent acquisition of the open-banking startup Mono is a central pillar of its drive toward profitability and a future initial public offering (IPO).
Speaking in a follow-up interview on Friday, January 9, 2026, Agboola emphasized that the move marks a transition from aggressive geographical expansion to a focused strengthening of the company’s financial infrastructure.
The acquisition, an all-stock transaction reportedly valued between $25 million and $40 million, allows Flutterwave to internalize critical account-to-account payment “rails” that it previously accessed through a per-transaction partnership with Mono.
By owning this infrastructure outright, Flutterwave expects to improve its profit margins on those specific payment processes by at least 10%. This cost-efficiency is vital for the company’s goal of reaching sustained profitability—a self-imposed prerequisite for its long-anticipated listing on the Nasdaq.
Beyond immediate cost savings, the integration of Mono’s APIs enables Flutterwave to offer a unified “super-stack” that combines identity verification, credit risk assessment, and payment execution. Agboola noted that this deep data intelligence is particularly timely as the Nigerian banking sector undergoes recapitalization, a move expected to trigger a surge in e-commerce and credit-driven financial activities.
By controlling the data layer, Flutterwave positions itself as a primary gatekeeper for the next phase of African fintech growth, which Agboola believes will be driven by authenticated bank transfers rather than traditional card rails.
While Mono will continue to operate as an independent unit under its current leadership, the strategic alignment provides Flutterwave with a more defensible business model ahead of its market debut. The deal has already been hailed as a significant “liquidity event” for the African tech ecosystem, with early Mono investors reportedly realizing returns of up to 20 times their initial stakes.
For Flutterwave, currently valued at $3 billion, the focus remains on building the “connective tissue” of African trade to ensure it is a “better candidate” for global investors when the IPO window eventually opens.
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