Ripple has acquired an equity stake in African fintech company Flutterwave in a deal that has valued the payments firm at $3.3 billion, adding another regional payments network to Ripple’s growing global infrastructure strategy.
Summary
- Ripple has acquired an equity stake in Flutterwave, valuing the African fintech company at $3.3 billion.
- The investment strengthens Ripple’s presence in Africa as demand for faster and cheaper cross-border payments grows.
- Ripple has recently expanded RLUSD and XRP Ledger payment infrastructure across Türkiye, Latin America, the Middle East, and AI-driven payment networks.
According to Bloomberg, Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola said Ripple participated as an equity investor, providing the company with fresh capital while becoming a strategic shareholder. Agboola declined to disclose the size of Ripple’s investment or the percentage ownership the company received through the transaction.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Agboola said Ripple’s involvement is limited to an equity position rather than a commercial partnership. He added that the structure allows Ripple to benefit from Flutterwave’s future growth as the company continues expanding its payments business across Africa.
Operating in 35 African countries, Flutterwave has become one of the continent’s largest financial technology companies by building payment infrastructure for businesses, merchants, and consumers. The investment comes as demand for faster and lower-cost international transfers continues to rise across African markets.
Ripple expands payment infrastructure across emerging markets
Beyond Africa, Ripple has been adding new payment and settlement networks across several regions during the past month.
Earlier this month, Ripple expanded the availability of its U.S. dollar-backed stablecoin RLUSD in Türkiye through partnerships with BiLira, Bitexen, and Bitlo. According to Ripple, the rollout provides Turkish institutional users with access to its regulated stablecoin for digital asset transactions and settlement.
In Latin America, Ripple recently integrated Bitso’s Mexican peso-backed stablecoin MXNB into the XRP Ledger and its Payments on Decentralized Exchange infrastructure. According to Ripple, MXNB and RLUSD will support enterprise payment flows between the U.S. and Mexico by providing regulated settlement assets for cross-border transactions.
Recent product launches have also extended beyond traditional payments. As reported by crypto.news on June 13, Ripple introduced the XRPL AI Starter Kit, a developer toolkit that enables artificial intelligence agents to use XRP and RLUSD for autonomous payments on the x402 machine-payment network. Ripple said the tools allow software agents to create wallets, track balances, and complete transactions with limited human involvement.
Institutions seek simpler access to digital asset rails
At the same time, Ripple has been positioning itself as an infrastructure provider for banks and financial institutions entering digital assets.
According to Ripple’s UK and Europe Managing Director Cassie Craddock, many financial institutions already recognize the value of blockchain-based financial services but continue to look for easier ways to access them. Writing earlier this week, Craddock said banks increasingly want support across custody, liquidity, settlement, and compliance rather than building each component internally.
Ripple has also expanded its physical presence in the Middle East and Africa. As previously reported by crypto.news, the company recently opened a larger regional headquarters at the Dubai International Financial Centre after receiving approval from the Dubai Financial Services Authority to offer regulated international payment services within the DIFC.
The regulator has also approved RLUSD for use by regulated entities operating in the financial hub.