Ripple Catches the Flutterwave 🦓: $3.3B African Fintech Deal Adds RLUSD to the Mix

Ripple has acquired an equity stake in Flutterwave, valuing the African payments company at $3.3 billion, according to a Bloomberg interview with Flutterwave CEO Olugbenga Agboola. Agboola declined to disclose the investment amount or the size of Ripple's resulting shareholding, but confirmed the deal was structured as equity rather than a commercial agreement. "They're participating at the equity level, which means obviously they get to participate on the upside," Agboola told Bloomberg.

Under the partnership, Flutterwave will integrate Ripple's RLUSD stablecoin, Ripple Payments and the XRP Ledger to lower the cost and speed up cross-border transactions across its 35-country African network. Ripple, which provides crypto-based payment solutions to businesses in more than 90 countries, has been building its African footprint through prior partnerships with South Africa's Absa Bank and payments provider Chipper Cash. Flutterwave separately rolled out stablecoin-based payment services last year, allowing businesses and consumers to transact and hold dollar-pegged tokens.

The deal lands as digital asset payments gain ground in Sub-Saharan Africa, where a September 2025 Chainalysis report found crypto adoption climbed 52% over 12 months, with more than $205 billion in onchain transactions recorded. The region ranked as the world's third-fastest-growing crypto market in the report. Stablecoins have been a primary driver, offering a dollar-denominated alternative for cross-border transfers. The World Bank estimates that sending a typical $200 remittance to Sub-Saharan Africa costs recipients between $13 and $17 in fees, compared with as little as $0.50 for transfers using USDt (USDT) on Tron or as little as $2 for transfers using USDC on Ethereum. Other major issuers, including USDC issuer Circle, have also moved into the region, recently partnering with African fintech Sasai to expand USDC-based payment services with a focus on remittances.