Flutterwave, Africa’s leading payments technology company, has acquired Nigerian open banking startup Mono in an all-stock transaction valued between $25 million and $40 million.
The deal highlights growing consolidation in Africa’s fintech infrastructure space and a shift toward bank-based payment systems, bringing together two of the continent’s most influential fintech players.
Flutterwave said the acquisition strengthens its long-term goal of building a more connected and interoperable financial system, with open banking positioned as a central pillar of future growth.
Mono, which pioneered open banking infrastructure in Nigeria and has expanded across Africa, offers API-driven access to financial data, identity verification, and account-to-account payments.
These capabilities are increasingly important as African markets push for more trusted, data-driven financial services beyond traditional card payments, according to Business Insider Africa.
Under the deal, Mono will continue to operate as an independent product, with no changes to its leadership, team, or daily operations.
Flutterwave’s stake is structured to enable strategic alignment rather than operational control, allowing Mono to maintain its pace of innovation while contributing its technology to Flutterwave’s broader payments ecosystem.
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Commenting on the acquisition, Flutterwave founder and CEO Olugbenga Agboola said the deal reflects a broader vision for Africa’s financial infrastructure.
“Payments, data, and trust cannot exist in silos. Open banking provides the connective tissue, and Mono has built critical infrastructure in this space,” he said.
Agboola added that the acquisition expands possibilities for businesses across African markets while remaining grounded in security and compliance.
Integrating Mono’s open banking APIs enables faster onboarding, improved verification, reduced fraud, and seamless account-to-account payments.
Flutterwave also anticipates longer-term opportunities in alternative payment methods and open banking-enabled stablecoin use cases as demand grows for locally relevant, authenticated payment flows.
Mono founder and CEO Abdulhamid Hassan said the acquisition builds on a relationship between the two companies dating back to their first partnership in 2021.
“Since our first partnership with Flutterwave in 2021, we have seen the power of a coordinated effort toward unlocking Africa’s open banking potential,” he said.
Hassan added that combining Mono’s data and identity capabilities with Flutterwave’s scale and global reach creates a more comprehensive and defensible infrastructure layer for the next generation of African fintech.
The transaction also delivers returns for Mono’s investors, with some early backers reportedly achieving up to 20 times their initial investment, reflecting the increasing maturity of Africa’s startup exit market.
The deal was advised by Nichole Yembra of The Chrysalis Advisors Africa and comes at a time when regulators, developers, and businesses are demanding financial systems that are open by design, interoperable, and built for trust across the continent.
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