Flutterwave hits “unicorn” status after raising $170m from investors. 2 other things and a trivia

These latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today.

1. Flutterwave hits “unicorn” status after closing $170m from investors

Nigerian payments startup Flutterwave has announced closing a US$170 million Series C funding round, taking its valuation to over US$1 billion.

The raised amount is the largest amount ever secured by an African tech startup.

The five-year old Fintech player builds modern payments technology and infrastructure for Africa to enable people and businesses connect with the global economy.

Reports revealed that the solution enables banks and merchants to replace multiple payment integrations with one simple API, which enables processing of any form of payment anywhere in Africa.

In August 2017, the startup raised US$10 million in Series A funding while it raised another US$35 million Series B in January 2020.

The round was led by the US-based investment firms Avenir Growth Capital and Tiger Global with participation from new and existing investors including DST Global, Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital, Greycroft Capital, Insight Ventures, PayPal, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Management and WorldpayFIS 9yards Capital.

READ ALSO: Fintech startup Ukheshe to expand portfolio outside S’Africa. 2 other things and a trivia

Flutterwave has an active presence in 11 African countries, including Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa, and at the time of its Series B just over one year ago had processed 100 million transactions valued at over US$5.4 billion for global leaders including Uber and Booking.com.

Tech Trivia: What animal was the first to make an orbital spaceflight around the Earth?
A. A dog
B. A cat
C. A lion
D. A bird
Answer: See end of post.

2. Iyeza Health emerges winner of 8th Sankalp Africa Summit Awards

South African startup Iyeza Health has emerged winner of the eighth edition of the Sankalp Africa Summit Awards.

Sankalp Forum, which is an initiative of Intellecap, hosted the virtual Sankalp Africa Summit last week, bringing together ecosystem stakeholders to share insights on a variety of developmental topics.

Annually, the summit is famous for recognising and rewarding high impact enterprises in the Africa region which tackling key development challenges.

After a rigorous entry stage, finalists get the opportunity to pitch their enterprises to a jury panel comprised of eminent business leaders and investors.

Iyeza Health, which is a healthcare startup from South Africa, emerged overall winner for running a company that collects and delivers high-cost and critical chronic medication for HIV, diabetes, and cancer treatment drugs from public health facilities to patient’s doorsteps through a bicycle delivery service called Iyeza Express.

3. South Africa’s Adumo secures $15m from IFC

Adumo, a South African fintech startup has secured ZAR225 million (US$15 million) from IFC.

IFC, which is a member of the World Bank Group, invested in the startup to help expand its access to electronic payment solutions.

According to press, the startup seeks to help South Africans solve the challenges that comes with payment methods, especially for underserved small and medium-sized businesses.

Although, Adumo is South Africa’s largest independent payments processor, it also offers a range of smart payment solutions to large multinational and independent retailers as well as entrepreneurs and informal traders.

Today, the company has a presence in 14 African countries, and IFC’s investments will support Adumo to make digital payments systems more affordable and accessible to smaller businesses in Africa, many of which currently rely on cash transactions.

Tech Trivia Answer: Dog Laika

The first animal to make an orbital spaceflight around the Earth was the dog Laika, aboard the Soviet spacecraft Sputnik 2 on 3 November 1957.

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