Nigeria’s Flutterwave Named One of TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies

Nigerian fintech firm, Flutterwave has been named a “Pioneer” on TIME’s 2021 list of the 100 Most Influential Companies in the World.

The firm is the only African company in a list that includes big wigs like Apple, Twitter, Netflix and Stripe. The list was divided into 5 categories: Pioneers, Leaders, innovators Disruptors and Titans.

TIME said the fintech company was chosen for its efforts in recharging retailers after the pandemic slowed travel in Nigeria.

“The co-founder and CEO of Nigeria’s Flutterwave, Olugbenga Agboola, compares the infrastructure of digital transactions across nations and platforms (think credit cards, debit payments and digital wallets) to plumbing: you don’t want to think about it, you just want it to work,” TIME said.

“When pandemic lockdowns hit brick-and-mortar businesses in Africa, the digital-payment service was able to rapidly set up digital storefronts for 20,000 customers, throwing them a lifeline. Agboola called the free campaign “keeping the lights on.” Flutterwave hit tech-unicorn status in March when it secured $170 million in Series C funding from global investors, valuing the company at more than $1 billion.”

In a tweet, Flutterwave said it was “beyond excited to have made the inaugural TIMES100 Most Influential Companies 2021 list alongside amazing companies like Paypal, Alibaba, Netflix and many others.”

Companies listed under ‘Pioneers’ include, Rihanna’s SAVAGE X FENTY, Bumble, and Beyond Meat, Hello Sunshine, Strava, Klutch Sports Group, amongst others.

Leaders on the list include Apple, Twitter, Nike Nubank, Mastercard, Volkswagen and the English Premier League, amongst others. Netlix, Spotify, Stripe, Nintendo and Zoom made up the Innovators list.

Flutterwave reently received about $170 million in investment from global investors, valuing the firm at more than $1 billion. Agboola recently made the Forbes Africa’s “100 Innovations, Inventions and Icons from Africa” list, and also got featured in TIME’s “100 Next” 2021 list.

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