Africa’s largest fintech company, Flutterwave, acquires Nigerian open banking startup Mono in a deal valued between $25 million and $40 million. Mono raised about $17.5 million from investors and will operate independently under Flutterwave. The acquisition allows for deeper vertical integration and enhanced financial services across Africa.

Mono, founded in 2020, provides APIs for businesses to access bank data, initiate payments, and verify customers in African markets lacking standardized access to bank data. Flutterwave CEO sees the acquisition as a bet on Africa’s fintech growth phase, emphasizing the importance of data infrastructure and regulatory confidence.

Nearly all Nigerian digital lenders rely on Mono’s infrastructure, powering over 8 million bank account linkages and processing millions in direct bank payments. The deal positions Mono to scale quickly across African markets once regulatory barriers fall, aligning with Flutterwave’s vision for expanded business possibilities in the region.

The transaction mirrors global fintech consolidation trends, like Visa’s failed acquisition of Plaid in 2020, which combined data infrastructure with payment rails for scale. Both Flutterwave and Mono have Tiger Global as a backer, but the acquisition grew from a longstanding partnership between the two companies in the evolving open banking landscape.

Mono’s financial position ahead of the acquisition remains strong, with plans for profitability this year after raising $15 million in Series A in 2021. The deal signifies a broader inflection point for African fintech, where startups may find better outcomes by integrating into scaled platforms, like the consolidation between South African fintechs Lesaka and Adumo.

Read more at Yahoo Finance: Flutterwave buys Nigeria’s Mono in rare African fintech exit