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Flutterwave roundtable: Africa needs stronger financial infrastructure to scale globally. Vice President Shettima's Delegation Drives Public-Private Dialogue at Flutterwave's UNGA 2026 Roundtable By Peter Oluka To scale globally, Africa's next generation of high-growth enterprises must be backed by stronger financial infrastructure, deeper pools of capital, and closer alignment between governments and the private sector. That was the central message at a high-level executive roundtable hosted by Flutterwave, Africa's leading payments technology company, in partnership with Invest Africa on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81) in New York. Held under the theme Africa Forward: Investing in the Next Decade of Growth, the closed-door session brought together African and global stakeholders to examine what it will take to unlock the continent's next phase of growth. Demonstrating strong public-private alignment, the roundtable brought together prominent government figures, including the Vice President of Nigeria, H.E. Kashim Shettima, ably represented by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, and Mr. Taiwo Oyedele, Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy; Discover more Businesses Business Operations Addressing what it takes for African enterprises to scale regionally and globally, participants pointed to persistent barriers like fragmented regulation, scarce growth capital, and friction in cross-border money movement. Overcoming these hurdles requires tailored solutions for uneven infrastructure, talent availability, and diverse operating environments across markets. The executive delegation also included Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda; Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; and Amb. Lateef Kayode Are, Nigeria's Ambassador to the United States. C-suite tech and multinational executives, institutional banking partners, and international private equity leaders were also present, representing organisations such as 500 Global, Absa Bank, Africa50, Africa Finance Corporation, Amazon, Chapel Hill Denham, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Goldman Sachs, Itana, and Resilience 17. Highlighting the shift from processing transactions to building long-term digital infrastructure that makes long-term growth possible, Olugbenga "GB" Agboola, Flutterwave founder and CEO, noted: "In the last ten years, we've seen very strongly how African technology can work and scale. As we look toward the next ten years, the real opportunity lies in building the deep infrastructure that enables African businesses to operate, grow, and compete seamlessly across borders. This requires simplifying cross-border money movement, expanding liquidity and capital access, and creating trusted digital systems that enterprises can rely on as they expand." To turn this vision into execution, participants explored practical solutions including stablecoin rails, institutional banking utilities, shared fraud prevention networks, patient capital, and strategic public-private partnerships. Discover more Techeconomy Engineering & Technology Business & Industrial The session concluded with a joint commitment from government and business leaders to focus on expanding cross-border infrastructure, mobilizing expansion capital, and building the financial rails necessary for African commerce to compete globally. Business Operations

Flutterwave hosts UNGA roundtable on infrastructure and capital for African businesses. The main message was that African companies need stronger financial infrastructure, more capital and closer ties between governments and the private sector if they are to grow globally. Vigneshwar. Editor's note: African-Startups is a sister publication of EU-Startups, bringing trusted coverage of startups, venture capital, and innovation across Africa. Flutterwave hosted a closed-door roundtable in New York with Invest Africa on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 81). The session was held on 28 September 2026 under the theme "Africa Forward: Investing in the Next Decade of Growth". "In the last ten years, we've seen very strongly how African technology can work and scale. As we look toward the next ten years, the real opportunity lies in building the deep infrastructure that enables African businesses to operate, grow, and compete seamlessly across borders. This requires simplifying cross-border money movement, expanding liquidity and capital access, and creating trusted digital systems that enterprises can rely on as they expand," said Olugbenga "GB" Agboola, Founder and CEO of Flutterwave. The main message was that African companies need stronger financial infrastructure, more capital and closer ties between governments and the private sector if they are to grow globally. Nigeria's Vice President, Kashim Shettima, was represented by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President. Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele also attended. The Nigerian delegation included Katsina State Governor Dikko Radda, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Ambassador Lateef Kayode Are, Nigeria's Ambassador to the United States. Business and finance leaders were also in the room, from organisations including 500 Global, Absa Bank, Africa50, Africa Finance Corporation, Amazon, Chapel Hill Denham, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Goldman Sachs, Itana and Resilience 17. Participants said African companies face three main barriers when they try to expand across regions: fragmented regulation, limited growth capital and difficulty moving money across borders. They added that solutions must reflect uneven infrastructure, differences in talent supply and the range of operating conditions across markets. The group discussed stablecoin payment rails, banking services for institutions, shared fraud prevention networks, patient capital and public-private partnerships. The session ended with a joint commitment from government and business leaders to expand cross-border infrastructure, raise expansion capital and build the financial systems African commerce needs to compete globally. Flutterwave is a payments technology company that lets businesses accept local and cross-border payments in Africa and other emerging markets through one API. It says it has processed more than 1 billion transactions worth over $50 billion. Its customers include Uber, Air Peace, Bamboo and PiggyVest. The company operates in 34 African countries and supports card payments, mobile wallets, bank transfers and Google Pay. Its Send App handles remittances from the diaspora to African countries. Visited 11 times, 11 visit(s) today Join the Club Stay updated with the latest news and articles.

Flutterwave names third CFO in four years as profitability takes focus. Flutterwave has appointed Morounke Olufemi as its new global chief financial officer, making her the company's third CFO in four Flutterwave has appointed Morounke Olufemi as its new global chief financial officer, making her the company's third CFO in four years as the fintech places greater emphasis on capital discipline, margins and sustainable profitability. Olufemi, who joined Flutterwave as EMEA CFO in June 2025, succeeds Mitesh Popat, who is leaving the company to co-found a new venture. Popat became CFO in September 2024, succeeding Oneal Bhambani, who served from mid-2022 until late 2023. The latest appointment extends a period of change in Flutterwave's finance leadership, while the company describes the transition as a planned succession. Olufemi brings more than 24 years of financial and corporate leadership experience. Before joining Flutterwave, she served as group CFO of Access Holdings, where she was involved in major capital raises and mergers and acquisitions. Her move to the global CFO role also represents an internal promotion, giving the company a finance chief who has already spent more than a year overseeing its EMEA financial operations. Olugbenga "GB" Agboola, founder and CEO of Flutterwave, said Olufemi had demonstrated the financial leadership needed for the company's next phase of growth. "We are grateful to Mitesh for his leadership over the last two years and fully support his next chapter," Agboola said. The appointment comes as Flutterwave places more emphasis on the financial efficiency of its expansion. In her new role, Olufemi said the company would continue to focus on capital discipline, margin growth and sustainable profitability. "Our financial trajectory remains firmly on course," she said. The succession from Bhambani to Popat and now Olufemi means Flutterwave has had three CFOs since 2022. The company has attributed the individual departures to different circumstances, including Bhambani's personal reasons and Popat's decision to pursue a new venture. Olufemi's appointment provides continuity because of her existing role within the business, while bringing extensive experience from Nigeria's banking sector into Flutterwave's global finance function. Her immediate mandate will include supporting the company's financial strategy as it continues to operate across multiple markets. The change also comes as African fintech companies increasingly move beyond expansion into questions around sustainable business models and financial discipline. For Flutterwave, the appointment puts an experienced banking executive at the centre of its next stage, with the company explicitly prioritising capital discipline, margin growth and sustainable profitability alongside continued expansion. Royal Ibeh is a senior journalist with years of experience reporting on Nigeria's technology and health sectors. She currently covers the Technology and Health beats for BusinessDay newspaper, where she writes in-depth stories on digital innovation, telecom infrastructure, healthcare systems, and public health policies.