Opay, Flutterwave Lead Africa in New Global Fintech Unicorn Ranking

A recent ranking of fintech unicorn companies globally reveals Opay, Flutterwave and Interswitch as top fintech companies in Africa with market valuations of $2bn, $1bn and $1bn respectively.

The ranking was supplied by CFTE, a digital learning platform with exclusive insights from leaders in the technology space.

The ranking accommodated companies that are both publicly listed and companies that are privately owned with Egypt-based company, Fawry (listed) – ranked above OPay in the report.

A number of listed companies are also notably spread across the list with Visa and Mastercard – both listed – leading with $419bn and $323bn respectively.

The only companies with African origin that are not listed companies are OPay, Flutterwave and Interswitch – all of which are Unicorns in the paytech sector of fintech.

OPay

Valuation: US$2+ billion

OPay became a Unicorn in 2021 after SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led a US$400 million funding round in the company. The funding pivoted the startup’s valuation to US$2 billion. This investment was also SoftBank’s debut investment in Africa.

The paytech startup provides mobile money solutions with physical debit cards, POS machines, and offline banking solutions and savings facilities.

Flutterwave

Valuation: US$1+ billion

Although based in San Francisco, this paytech company primarily serves Nigeria and some African countries. Flutterwave became a unicorn after raising US$170 million in a Series C that took place in March 2021. The funding round came pivoted valuation to US$1 billion. In February 2022, the company closed another funding round in Series D with $250m.

The startup has also announced a number of partnerships including partnerships with MTN Group, 9PSB, and Currencycloud.

Interswitch

Valuation: US$1 billion

The digital payments company became a unicorn after Visa secured a minority stake in the company in 2019. This transaction pivoted valuation to $1bn.

According to the company, the deal was valued at $200m for 20% equity in the company. Interswitch first had an Initial Public Offering plan in 2016 and another in 2020 which never closed.

Listed Company

Fawry (Egypt)

Valuation: US$2+ billion

Because it is a listed company, Fawry can’t claim the unicorn status as only startups with $1+bn can claim the title. However, in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region, it is considered as one.

Fawry offers a wide range of B2B and B2C payment services, and trades on the EGX with a market cap of about US$1.5 billion as of 6 October 2021.