Flutterwave to Expand Operations in Rwanda After Receiving New Licenses

Flutterwave has secured two more licenses from the National Bank of Rwanda.

The new electronic money issuer license allows Flutterwave to acquire all types of payment instruments in the country, while the new remittance license enables it to process inbound and outbound cross-border transfers, the payments technology company said in a Wednesday (March 15) press release.

“We are delighted for the vote of confidence in being granted these licenses,” Flutterwave Founder and CEO Olugbenga “GB” Agboola said in the release. “With them, we will leverage our extensive global reach and continuous growth in emerging markets to provide [micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)] in Rwanda with the tools they need to stimulate the economy, facilitate seamless cross-border transactions for Rwandans and support the expansion drive of global and Rwandan businesses.”

With the new licenses, Flutterwave can expand its operations in Rwanda beyond being a payment service provider and offering money deposit and withdrawal, electronic funds transfer, and inbound and outbound remittance services, according to the press release.

It will offer these services to the 13.5 million people in the East African country and the MSMEs that account for 97% of Rwanda’s businesses and 55% of its gross domestic product (GDP), the release said.

“As Rwanda continues executing important reforms to enhance the ease of doing business and implementing its Fintech Strategy 2022-2027, Flutterwave keeps contributing towards achieving a cashless economy by innovating and employing digital technology to support businesses and stimulate the economic growth of countries where we operate,” Leah Uwihoreye, East Africa regional lead, regulatory and government affairs at Flutterwave, said in the release.

This news comes about two months after two other reports from Rwanda.

On Feb. 2, Nokia announced that it had been selected by the pan-African technology group Liquid Intelligent Technologies (LIT) to deploy an optical transport network connecting Rwanda and seven other African countries.

The new infrastructure will increase regional network capacity and enable faster internet speeds.

A day earlier, on Feb. 1, Toggle Market said it had expanded its B2B buy now, pay later (BNPL) solution to Rwanda to allow suppliers to extend credit to business buyers efficiently and securely.