Flutterwave founder outlines vision for Africa’s financial operating system

Flutterwave Founder and CEO, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola, stated that stablecoins represent a fundamental upgrade to Africa’s cross‑border payment infrastructure. He added that the companies best positioned to capture this shift are those that already possess local distribution and compliance depth, enabling digital assets to translate into usable, real‑world value.

Agboola made these remarks during two high‑profile engagements at Money 20/20 Europe in Amsterdam. He joined Dima Kats, Founder and Group Executive Chair of Clear Junction, for a fireside chat titled “Building the Rails: Stablecoin Architecture from Lagos to London,” under the Money Stack Rewired: Stablecoins and Beyond content pillar.

He clarified that stablecoins are not a standalone product category but a faster settlement layer that sits directly on top of Flutterwave’s comprehensive, existing local and global payout infrastructure.

For enterprises managing treasury across multiple African markets, Agboola described stablecoins as a liquidity and FX management tool that remains operational when traditional banking rails are closed. “Stablecoin is completely different because money moves at the speed of the internet, not at the speed of banks closing up their house. If you pay with stablecoin, you get that money instantly,” he added.

Addressing whether stablecoins render infrastructure intermediaries obsolete, Agboola noted that wallet‑to‑wallet token transfers are straightforward. However, handling legal compliance, navigating anti‑money laundering (AML) laws, and clearing the last‑mile payout into local bank accounts across multiple jurisdictions are the complex problems that keep Flutterwave’s infrastructure indispensable.

“I’ve been in payments for about 20 years now, and the infrastructure that manages customer funds must be designed for shocks from day one; it doesn’t matter if the value comes from stablecoin or fiat. This is what we’ve prioritised, giving customers one wallet address that is chain‑agnostic, supported by all the biggest blockchains, ensuring customer funds are not at risk,” Agboola said.

Speaking live on Fintech.TV’s Market Movers from the New York Stock Exchange broadcast centre at the event, Agboola used Flutterwave’s 10th anniversary to frame a broader conversation about the company’s trajectory for the next decade.

He outlined the company’s evolution, noting that while the last decade was spent connecting Africa’s fragmented payment infrastructure through a single API, the next will focus on Flutterwave becoming the financial operating system for the continent.

The company’s recent secured microfinance banking licence in Nigeria, Agboola noted, is a structural evolution from a “money in transit” provider to a foundational infrastructure player. This deeper integration systematically reduces friction across the value chain, increases network reliability, and opens up entirely new verticals across the ecosystem.

This evolution aligns directly with the company’s goal of building a multi‑rail infrastructure where stablecoins and fiat rails work seamlessly side by side to power Africa’s growth.

To anchor the cross‑border capabilities of this financial operating system, Flutterwave continues to scale its robust network of global digital asset partnerships, including Circle, Polygon, Fireblocks Flow, Nuvion, and Tempo. This collaborative ecosystem serves as the backbone of what the company is rapidly positioning as Africa’s largest regulated stablecoin infrastructure.