Flutterwave, one of Africa's largest payments companies, acquired Mono, a Nigerian startup whose APIs let businesses read customers' bank data and take payments directly from their bank accounts. The deal was completed in December 2025 and made public on 5 January 2026, according to Techpoint Africa, which cited TechCrunch.
Flutterwave paid in shares rather than cash, and neither company disclosed the price. Mono's co-founder and chief executive, Abdulhamid Hassan, told Techpoint Africa that the value was well above the roughly $17.5 million Mono had raised since launch. Condia, citing people who briefed it in December 2025, put the deal at about $30 million.
Mono will continue to operate as an independent product under Flutterwave, with no changes to its leadership, team or day-to-day operations, the companies said. Existing customers are expected to keep their API access while Flutterwave gradually integrates Mono's technology into its wider payments stack.
What Mono built
Mono set out to build what Hassan described in 2021 as a Plaid for Africa, because the US data-aggregation company was not available on the continent. Its first product, Mono Connect, lets consumers share their bank account data with financial apps, which lenders and fintechs use to verify customers and assess credit. It later added payments initiated directly from bank accounts.
The startup went through Y Combinator's Winter 2021 batch. When it raised its Series A in October 2021 it had about 30 employees and listed customers including Flutterwave, Renmoney, Aella, Credpal, Lendsqr, Float and Payhippo, Retail Banker International reported. Condia reported that Mono says it has linked 8 million bank accounts across three countries. Techpoint Africa described its customers as fintechs, lenders and digital platforms.
“This acquisition reflects how we think about the future of financial infrastructure in Africa.”
Why Flutterwave is buying
Flutterwave operates in more than 35 markets and is a licensed payments and remittance operator in Nigeria and a money transmitter in 35 US states, according to Condia. Owning Mono gives it direct exposure to the open-banking layer underneath many of those payments, which Techpoint Africa noted is important for credit scoring, lending and account-to-account transfers.
The relationship predates the deal: Flutterwave was listed among Mono's customers when the startup raised its Series A in 2021. Flutterwave's founder and chief executive, Olugbenga "GB" Agboola, told TechCrunch the acquisition would help the company build more inclusive financial products. Hassan described the sale as a natural next step as open banking and payments converge.
Flutterwave did not say whether it plans further acquisitions.
The founders and the funding
Mono raised a $15 million Series A in October 2021 led by Tiger Global. New investors Target Global, General Catalyst and SBI Investment joined existing backers Entrée Capital, Acuity, Ingressive Capital, Lateral Capital and GPIC, Retail Banker International reported. Techpoint Africa also named Ventures Platform and Voltron Capital among its backers.
Condia reported that investors owned about 35% of Mono, that its last reference valuation was $50 million, and that an earlier private secondary sale had already given some shareholders, including Hassan, some liquidity. Because the deal was paid in Flutterwave stock, Mono's investors now hold Flutterwave shares rather than cash. At the $3 billion valuation Flutterwave reached in its 2022 Series D, Condia estimated that would amount to roughly 1% of the company.
A rare exit for African fintech
Exits remain scarce in Africa's startup market, and the deal gives some of Mono's backers a return at a time when few others have one, Techpoint Africa noted. It placed the transaction alongside other recent fintech deals on the continent, including Rivevest's acquisition of Kenya's Hisa and Moniepoint's move to buy Kopo Kopo.
Mono is also adding products after the sale. Hassan told Condia the company plans to launch a treasury management platform that lets enterprises see all their bank balances in one place, and Techpoint Africa reported that Mono intends to expand it across Africa.
