Setting the scene, Falade described Africa as a continent alive with opportunity, a place with “a truly young population, extremely curious people, and early adopters of technology,” eager for technology-driven change to leapfrog all infrastructure gaps, stressing that the future demands bold ideas to harness these strengths for a connected and developed continent.

Throughout his engaging discussion with Afua Osei, Ddirector of Strategic Partnerships at Foreign Policy, Falade spotlighted recent breakthroughs such as the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Ghana and Rwanda to implement a licence passporting framework and cross-border payment interoperability for regulated fintech companies, and the African Continental Free Trade Area Agreement (AfCFTA).

These milestones, he argued, demonstrate what is possible when regulators, innovators, and businesses collaborate in earnest, and added that, “We have only scratched the surface” of the continent’s vast potential.

Flutterwave’s infrastructure now spans more than 30 African countries, yet Falade emphasised that small and medium-sized enterprises making up over 90 per cent of businesses still struggle against high operational costs and fragmented systems. He noted that while millions of entrepreneurs have the drive to succeed, their progress is often hindered by avoidable barriers, urging industry leaders to make practical changes so that businesses can scale and flourish.

The conversation closed with Falade’s powerful invitation: “If you’re truly serious about business, Africa is the next frontier.” With Flutterwave at the forefront, Africa’s digital transformation is no longer a distant dream, it’s happening, and it’s the result of ambition, collaboration, and a commitment to real, meaningful change.

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This event highlighted the critical contributions of the African diaspora in driving economic growth, innovation, and investment across the continent.

Moderated by Daniel Jayeoba, CEO & Founder of Guideli, the panel brought together distinguished industry experts including Sola Yomi-Ajayi, CEO of UBA Americas; Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President of Nigeria on the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC); and Benjamin Fernandes, CEO and Founder of NALA.

Oluwabankole emphasized the diaspora’s role in facilitating Africa’s economic development through growing remittances, expanding global networks, and investments. He noted that the African diaspora is reshaping industries and fueling new opportunities across rapidly growing African economies.

“The African diaspora community contributes significantly to the continent’s growth, and they can do even more. It’s essential that we continue to create platforms and policies that enable them to participate effectively in our economies either directly from abroad or whenever they are home,” said Bankole. “Their ability to build relationships from around the world, bring them back home, and make introductions can help open doors to generate new business opportunities, making dreams come true for millions of people,” he added.

Flutterwave’s role in supporting the diaspora has been instrumental, particularly through its seamless cross-border payment solutions.

These services help the diaspora meet both personal and business needs, enabling them to remain deeply connected to Africa’s economic landscape.

The discussion underscored how the diaspora serves as a bridge for innovation, investment, and expertise.

Bankole emphasized the value of partnerships with the diaspora, stating that their ability to foster global relationships and channel these connections into Africa opens doors for new business opportunities.

This, in turn, contributes to realizing dreams for millions of entrepreneurs and citizens across the continent.

The panel also explored challenges such as navigating cultural differences, legal frameworks, and competition when doing business in Africa. Despite these challenges, cross-sectoral partnerships and policy reforms were highlighted as potential solutions to improve the business environment for diaspora-led investments.

With Flutterwave’s continuous growth across Africa—its enterprise payment solution active in over 30 countries and its Send App operational in 49 out of 50 U.S. states—the company remains dedicated to connecting Africa with the world, creating seamless payment experiences, and supporting diaspora engagement in Africa’s economic resurgence.

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This license allows Flutterwave to offer transaction switching and card processing services to customers. Others include non-bank acquiring, agency banking and payment gateway services.  

The Switching and Processing license allows Flutterwave to enable transactions between banks, fintechs and other financial institutions. 

The Company is also able to process card transactions, participate in agency banking and offer various payment services without any intermediary.

Prior to this license, Flutterwave operated with its Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) and International Money Transfer Operator (IMTO) licenses.

Commenting, Olugbenga GB Agboola, the CEO and Founder, said, “This is big news for our customers, partners, investors, and other stakeholders. It is an important milestone in our growth story. Building a thriving payments ecosystem in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is in line with our goal of developing a world class and secure payment infrastructure for global merchants and payment service providers across the continent.”

Commenting on the news, Oluwabankole Falade, Flutterwave’s Chief Regulatory and Government Affairs Officer, said, “We’re thrilled to have been issued this license after fulfilling all of the regulatory requirements. The application process was very rigorous and included a detailed review of our operations as a business. As a switch, we have more responsibilities and will continue to work with Regulators to ensure we meet and exceed their expectations.”

Reacting to the news, Onyedikachim Nwankwo, Head of Product Marketing said, “The license will allow us to offer more services and explore more payment use cases for our ecosystem. With this license, we can offer more value to our customers while taking more control of our value chain to enable an improved payments experience for our enterprise, medium scale and retail customers.”

The application and review process by the CBN was a tough and rigorous process that examined every aspect of Flutterwave’s business, including the company’s financial position.

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